Better defaults make for a good first impression
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As we all know, the developer didn't skimp on features and customization options — here on the forum users frequently ask about this or that feature or UI option and many times they find that it is implemented already or there's a checkbox for it in the app's Preferences.
However, I would say that there are a few default UI settings that are not the best choice — IMO, of course — and when these minor niggles add up it can make for a less positive first impression for users testing the app before purchase.
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So here are two defaults that I find less desirable:.
1. The color palette bar is positioned horizontally at the bottom- I for one would move it to the right vertically by default. It's easier to move the mouse horizontally towards it (there has to be some study confirming this
), it's easier to scroll it up and down, and very important — there's less visual interference with the colors used on the canvas.
I know I can change all this and save my custom UI, but… better defaults make for a good first impression.
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2. The artboard defaults to portrait orientation- I don't think having the artboard default to Portrait mode is the best choice — Landscape orientation fills the view better (go for 70% zoom) and is better suited for drawing. Portrait mode by default goes well for a word processing app.
I know it can be changed, but it makes the app feel less… welcoming for drawing.
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Am I wrong about these?Are there any other UI defaults that are not exactly right, fellow forum members?
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Bonus: I mentioned somewhere else that I find the font size used on the forum a bit smaller than it should be, especially the quoted text. 1pt bigger for regular text and 2pt bigger for quoted text would be an improvement. And the thread titles can be 1pt or 2pt smaller, to avoid spilling into a second row (I saw it happening with longer titles).
- I for one would move it to the right vertically by default. It's easier to move the mouse horizontally towards it (there has to be some study confirming this
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@b77 (2) will be in the next build.
About (1): would this also work, with the default panels being docked on the right?
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@vectoradmin Great about (2)!
I for one see no problem with the color palette bar being docked to the right of the default panels. That, or I misunderstood the second question.
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@b77 No misunderstanding. Lets try with the palette on the right.
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@b77 said in Better defaults make for a good first impression:
- The artboard defaults to portrait orientation
I don't think having the artboard default to Portrait mode is the best choice — Landscape orientation fills the view better (go for 70% zoom) and is better suited for drawing. Portrait mode by default goes well for a word processing app.
I know it can be changed, but it makes the app feel less… welcoming for drawing.Speaking for myself, everything I export needs to fit on a 13x19 inch piece of printable film. Doing t-shirt designs I always prefer the dartboard be in portrait mode.
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I have no problem with the color palette bar being horizontal
(as in CorelDraw) or vertical (as in Magix Xara). I'm used to both.But I like the default orientation of the canvas in Landscape format
more than a Portrait format
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@vectoradmin I remembered something else — the 'Show Segment in Pen tool' option (Prefs > Changing Options) is disabled by default. I might be wrong, but I guess most users would find this preview helpful if they knew about it, so why not have it enabled by default.
Opinions?
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@b77 Thanks! I didn't know it was possible.
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@b77 I don't always use it but it can be handy for new users, so I don't mind it being on by default. I think we should have a new users set up section that highlights an ideal starting setup for preferences
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In a no so near future the ideal way of handling this is to add a setup guide - a few basic questions.
"Select workspace setup and keyboard shortcut defaults
Wording should probably be different - I am not a native English speaker - but something suggesting that selecting that option will set VS up to be easier to use.
Some companies do this to penetrate the market and to attract die hard users from other programs - people are very conservative - muscle memory especially.
It is just a time consuming task - and violá - what about the documentation.
But you get the picture - what really makes people feel at home is what they are used to. A little survey would probably be a clever thing at an appropriate time.
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@Ingolf I agree this would be nice to have, however the prefs files need to be made by users who are very familiar with the latest versions of AI, CDR or AD.
Having worked before for many years in CDR, I tried to make a preferences file that mimics it, but I didn't use CDR since 2018 and even then it was X7 — not the newest version.
Then two years later or so I trialed the first version of CDR for Mac, and the object selection method was changed from 'select only what is inside the marquee' to 'intersecting selection', IIRC. (Maybe this is only on the Mac version? I don't know).
That's basically why I gave up, and also because VS has defaults I like for the most part.
But if anybody is interested, I can send the one for CDR to use it and maybe take it further.
