Suggestions/Corrections on Button Bar Tooltips

[pdavit]

1. Update help section ( http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/9421/helpfc3.png ) on the way tooltips are retrieved

e.g.

When a button doesn't have a tooltip defined apply one in the following order:
a. User-defined tooltip,
b. Command description from wcmd_lng.inc (English: from totalcmd.inc),
c. Same command from main menu,
d. cm_xyz without the prefix cm_

2. Automatically pass description in button bar configuration tooltip space when
a present association is found or (less professional) simply indicate the user that
an automated tooltip is active.

http://img474.imageshack.us/img474/7855/automatedqa5.png

Initially having the tooltip section grayed sounded like a good idea but that
would have made a user-defined one impossible.

3. Current tooltip retrieval order is not flawless. The inc file does not
contain an individual description for each command although tries to do
that for the majority of cases. Those cases can be problematic.

e.g.

cm_SrcActivateTab1=5001;Activate first tab
cm_SrcActivateTab2=5002;Activate second tab
cm_SrcActivateTab3=5003;(Source window)
cm_SrcActivateTab4=5004;etc.

cm_SrcSortByCol1=6001; Sort by first column
cm_SrcSortByCol2=6002; Sort by second column
cm_SrcSortByCol3=6003; (source window)
cm_SrcSortByCol4=6004; etc.

cm_SrcCustomView1=271; Source: Custom columns 1
cm_SrcCustomView2=272; (user defined columns)
cm_SrcCustomView3=273; etc.

Having said that, those cases are mainly for custom commands where customization
by the user is expected anyway.

But in this case:

cm_CompareDirsWithSubdirs
tooltip -> Also mark subdirs not present in other dir

The tooltip is almost meaningless.

I have to admit though that there are more chances of a more complete inc file
than a menu file in terms of covering all commands. So, I don't oppose the
current order but I would like to suggest the following tweak:

An algorithm to check if an internal command has already a menu entry and use the
menu description as tooltip if not use the inc description for the tooltip. So, in
the case of cm_CompareDirsWithSubdirs which I already had a menu description I
would not have gotten "Also mark subdirs not present in other dir" but my
custom menu description "Compare Including Subdirs" as a tooltip.

So, the final order can become:

a. User-defined tooltip,
b. Main menu entry if one already associated with an internal command
c. Command description from wcmd_lng.inc (English: from totalcmd.inc),
d. cm_xyz without the prefix cm_ if a custom menu or .inc description for that command not present

[petermad]

2pdavit
I don't agree with you in this matter, and the order of where to obtain the tooltip text from has been discussed intensively in the alpha forum too.

cm_CompareDirsWithSubdirs
tooltip -> Also mark subdirs not present in other dir

The tooltip is almost meaningless.

That's correct but the same thing can be said about the opposite approach where the text is taken from the wcmd_eng.mnu file in a case like this:

cm_srcbyname
tooltip -> Name

pretty meaningless too - here the text from the .inc file: "Source: Sort by name" would be better.


In general the text in menus are pretty short and therefore often less descriptive, whereas you have all the space you want for the descriptions in the .inc file.

So in stead of changing the order of where to obtain the tooltip text from, it is better IMHO to adapt the descriptions in the .inc file to reflect that they might have to be used as tooltips.

That's what I have done in my tranlation of wcmd_dan.inc. And I can only encourage all the other translators to bear this in mind.

When I look through totalcmd.inc I think that most of the descriptions can stand alone, and the one you found (cm_CompareDirsWithSubdirs) really is one of the few that can't stand alone.

But I admit that totalcmd.inc could need a little checkup concerning this - including the items you mention under 3 (cm_SrcActivateTab1 etc.)

[pdavit]

I don't agree with you in this matter, and the order of where to obtain the tooltip text from has been discussed intensively in the alpha forum too.

I hope I'm allowed to bring this up to the public forum as well!

I understand your concerns and have also outlined that there's no such thing as
the best solution.

Anyway, you've commented on issue 3. What about 1 and 2?

[petermad]

I hope I'm allowed to bring this up to the public forum as well!

Of course, sorry.

What about 1 and 2?

1. Where is that help, that you are referring to?

2. I think your idea shown at http://img474.imageshack.us/img474/7855/automatedqa5.png is very good. But the <automated> has to be "nervous" i.e. it has to disappear automatically when the edit field gets focus.

[pdavit]

1. Where is that help, that you are referring to?

TC's help file. Currently the only reference in the help file states just the following:

Content of the small window which is shown when the mouse cursor is pointed on a button for more than one second.

No note on the order tooltips are applied.

[petermad]

2pdavit
Ahh, now I found it in the buttom of the "Change buttonbar" help.

Yes I agree, some words about where the tooltip comes from in case it is not manually entered could be in place. Like you have suggested it.