Chris wrote:Just had a quick play with it, and first impressions are very good.
Got a few comments, but some of them will be personal preferences so others might not agree, and all are just sort of tidying up points.
I would prefer it to go straight to the program when starting up and not give me messages on the way. They could maybe be given in a "help - about" dialogue box.
I would sooner the "reset to zero" button didn't also reset the scale, I didn't notice it did that and when I typed new dimensions in the "scale size box" gave the result "1.#inf", would be nice if instead a message came up saying something like "please insert scale".
Lastly it is a shame the fractions can't be used without having to use the convert to decimal bit (as you also point out). Could the code you have written to do the conversion not be ran automatically if fractions are entered so it happens behind the scenes rather than having to click the "add inch ...." button? Just think there must be a neater solution?
Anyway, it is a very useful program, and I like the sense of fun it has.
Thank you for taking the time to produce this useful program.
If it helps I ran it on windows vista (think it is home edition), with no problems.
:D
Well done.
Thanks for the comments Chris, much appreciated.
I admit that I got a bit annoyed with the start up when I first started testing it. After a while I got used to it, as I would just quickly click the buttons to bring me to the appropriate calculator. I wanted it to be welcoming to new users and easy for them to get the hang of, with the least need to read a help text to get them started. I also figured that anyone using it regulary, would, like me, automatically click to where they wanted to be, and then work on the scaling of measurements. Also, I figured that normally it would only be started once to convert a set of measurements. But I will give it some thought, and see what I come up with.
Remembering to set the scale has also caught me out too ! Actually the reset button is not really necessary, it is there for convenience. As I put in the help text, it is not necessary to reset to zero after doing a scale calculation. A new measurement can be entered into the input boxes, and calculated using the scale already in the scale ratio input box from the previous calculation. OR, the measurement can be left in the input boxes and the scale ratio changed and a re-calculation performed so that a size comparison between two scales can be made. I could add optional buttons to clear the various input fields, but I think it may make the interface more complicated. Maybe removing the reset buttom would be an idea !
The fractions error drove me crazy for quite a while. originally it was set up to calculate the fractions at the same time as the the rest of the measurements, and add the result to the inches result. Everything worked fine until I actually entered a fraction in the fraction input box, then the error occured. I finally realised that the variables were conflicting. It was all being done at the same time, how could the fraction calculation be added to a figure that was probably still being calculated. I tried time delaying one of the processes, but it did not help, hence the seperate fraction function. As for the code... err, uhm...there is no code ! Well technically there is, but the software I use doesn't let me see it... and personally I don't want to :lol:
It just generates the code for all the objects and masses of parameters when I decide to compile it.
I have noticed one very small bug... when the help text is shown, a line of text from the interface is showing on the top of the help text. I have corrected this, and an updated setup file will be sent up to the storage server by noon today.
I think it maybe because when I created the program it was configured for Direct X support. Ubuntu gives me the option of disabling Direct X, but it still won't start. I will have to have a play around with it one day. I had expected it to work, as it does not require. dll files etc and is one basic file, and I have a few quite demanding and more complicated Windows programs running perfectly on Ubuntu Linux using WINE.
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