Apache OpenOffice (AOO) Bugzilla – Issue 43343
"Master Mode" is very confusing, error-prone and not coherent with the "Layouts" dialog
Last modified: 2005-05-23 17:59:55 UTC
Hi, OOo2.0 includes a new master-mode manager on Impress, which is very confusing compared to 1.1.x. Let me tell why i think so. - The "master view" is hidden deep on the menus, while it was one click away on 1.1.x. A quick access should be on by default. Even by customizing the toolbar, it has no default icons, and it's still hard to left the master mode. - The "master" tab of the Task panel is very confusing because it doesn't always apply designs (while it _can_ apply layouts) to the local slide. One has to use the "Slide Design" context-button for that (altough for applying layout, one _has to_ use the panel, the context-button does nothing) - The "master tab" panel applies the master to _all_ slides, which is very dangerous (it can leads to lost of any current custom master), hard to undo (one has to click "Undo: Apply presentation attributes" as many times as the number of slides). This feature should provides a warning (same as the layout changing does). This is very confusing compared to the very simple way in OOo1.1.x (altough a little more powerful for the seldom case one wants several Master in the same documents). To make it more friendly to 1.1.x and new users, it should: - make "Apply to selected slide only" the default action when clicking on any master of the "Available for Use" tab of the Tasks panel - put a warning when the current master is edited (or copy it in the task panel so one can choose it again later) -Either remove the "select Design" popup which is redundant with the task panel, or add a "select Layout" popup which would be redundant with the task panel. At least, it would be coherent. Note that one Tasks Panel is closed, the "change layout" seems not to work, it should be workarounded - add an easy way to switch to master mode like in 1.1.x (either in toolbar, near scrollbar like 1.1.x, or within the "Normal/Outline/Notes..." tabs series) Of course, those are suggestion. I hope somethings can be done about it, because Impress 2.0 looks confusing and harder to learn that 1.1.x, the current way it is, while it should be even simpler ! Thanks !
Reassigned.
benji2, thanks for reporting this! defect -> enhancement
1) Change the position of the master page button: We change the position of the masterpage button because the handling is now closer to other presentation programs . The position of the button is now more familiar to people which are normaly using other presentation programms. 2) I don't understand what you mean. Please describe more exactly what you mean. 3) You can open the context menu of the Master Page preview there you can choose between 'Apply to all slides' and Apply to selected slides' The undo behaviour was a bug and is fixed in the meantime.
Please tell me what do you mean with the 2nd Description -> The "master" tab of the Task panel is very confusing because it doesn't always apply designs (while it _can_ apply layouts) to the local slide. One has to use the "Slide Design" context-button for that (altough for applying layout, one _has to_ use the panel, the context-button does nothing)
Sorry for replying so late. Indeed, i can not reproduce what you just quoted, so i guess it have been fixed, or i was confused at last time. Yet i still find the master interface very confusing : Is there a reason why "apply design only to selected slide" is not default everywhere ? What's the point of having "apply to all" when in Master Mode ? Sorry, i don't know PowerPoint(tm) (I figure that's what you really meant when you mean "other program"), so it may not be so obvious for me ;) But for sure i figured how to use 1.1.x very easily. (By the way, the "Master" button (which you can add to the toolbar with "Tools->Customize" in order to simulate 1.1.x UI) is not toggleable, as it should be) The slide-design context dialog (right-button->slides design on "Slide" panebar) opens a new dialog, yet the layout-design one only shows the Task Panel. Is it intended behaviour ? it feels confusing for me.. The "apply to all" is very dangerous because it keeps deleting unused designs.. Actually i keep losing designs because i did not care enough about the "reference counting" way of dealing with design. Please dont think i'm complaining, and don't feel obligated to answers if you think it doesn't need... If you feel MSPowerPoint(tm) users need this UI, then it's ok for me, i'll adapt ;)
You wrote 2 more bugs about this area. Issue 43354 and issue 43356. I send issue 43354 to the development and they will fix it as soon as possible. I set issue 43356 to the user requirements. This means that the issue is in the User Experience department. The User Experience department will have a look how we can improove the behaviour. I think both issues together (43354, 43356) are the same like this issue. Please tell me if I can close this issue as invalid or do you mean that the other bugs are completely different.
You're right. I may have been confused because of those two issues (and also already-fixed now bugs). I'm glad other bugs are being processed. Please close this "meta-bug" as Invalid. Thanks
I set this issue to invalid.
I close this issue.