PixInsight Forum (historical)

PixInsight => Bug Reports => Topic started by: David Serrano on 2009 August 12 13:48:17

Title: ProcessingConsole can't be made smaller
Post by: David Serrano on 2009 August 12 13:48:17

Hi there,

In previous versions of the platform I was able to reduce the size of the ProcessingConsole, but when I try to do it now, the cursor moves out of the corner and the window remains the same size. If I move the cursor again towards the corner, the Console gets bigger.

Title: Re: ProcessingConsole can't be made smaller
Post by: Juan Conejero on 2009 September 05 02:57:42

Hi David,

This is not a bug. The console window has a minimum size by design. The reason is that the console is the only way that PI has to communicate with the user during process execution. The console is also one of PI's strongest "identity signs" (is this the correct English translation for "señas de identidad"?); something that unambiguously shows its true "hearth". I detected that in some instances some users were reducing the console to ridiculously small size, and this was being shown publicly on video tutorials. This was one of the main reasons to impose minimum window dimensions.

Perhaps we could have a special settings item to unlock the console window. It wouldn't be available on the Preferences interface though, but only through the "set" command.

Title: Re: ProcessingConsole can't be made smaller
Post by: Nocturnal on 2009 September 05 07:19:24

I don't see why the PC needs to pop up every time if the user doesn't want it. It may be its true heart but the fact that people are trying to get rid of it should (must!) tell you something.

Title: Re: ProcessingConsole can't be made smaller
Post by: Juan Conejero on 2009 September 05 17:24:04

Hi Sander,

Quote

I don't see why the PC needs to pop up every time if the user doesn't want it.

It doesn't. From the main menu: Edit > Global Preferences > Miscellaneous Process Settings > Console window delay. Enter the elapsed time in milliseconds before the console is shown automatically when a process is launched. The default value is 750 ms, and the maximum 60000 ms. For example, if you enter 5000 (five seconds), the console will only appear during quite long processes, provided your machine is reasonably powerful. My intention has been to provide good control over the automatic behavior of the console.

PixInsight includes three different user interfaces integrated into a single environment: a graphical interface, a command-line interface, and a scripting interface. As far as I know, no other imaging application has been structured like that. The console shows the heart of PixInsight because it demonstrates the versatility and modularity of the platform: a GUI and a CLI seamlessly integrated, coexisting and working cooperatively (or that's the intent, at least).

My decision about a minimum console window size was because I don't like to see a 16x16 px console window (for example) appearing on a tutorial. That doesn't make any sense, and demonstrates lack of understanding of PI. Of course, I'd have nothing to argue about a tutorial where the console never appears because the author has selected a long delay time —although I prefer the default behavior.

Title: Re: ProcessingConsole can't be made smaller
Post by: David Serrano on 2009 September 07 00:11:34

Hi,

I understand your reasons. The special setting you suggest is OK, and could open the door to more settings of this class, aimed to power users or developers.

According to this post (http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=496026) in the forums at wordreference.com (near the bottom of the page), you could translate "seña de identidad" as "hallmark". Maybe "flagship feature" or something like that could fit the bill too.

Title: Re: ProcessingConsole can't be made smaller
Post by: Nocturnal on 2009 September 16 19:02:33

Hi Juan,

that setting does not do what I want but I wasn't clear, sorry. I don't want the console window to popup when I accidentally touch it with my mouse. I think we talked about this a while back. I'd like to click on the explorer tabs to make them appear. Maybe my mousing skills are a little rusty but I do occasionally slip a few pixels off my preview tab onto a process tab. BAM! Process tab covers my preview tab and I have to dismiss it first. That's not cool. Please add an option to make the explorer tabs behave like the preview tabs: click to activate.

Title: Re: ProcessingConsole can't be made smaller
Post by: Carlos Milovic on 2009 September 16 19:11:56

I second that!

Title: Re: ProcessingConsole can't be made smaller
Post by: Juan Conejero on 2009 September 18 06:48:41

Hi Sander, Carlos,

Sander, I know this is a long time claim from you and other users. I am working on this feature right now and it will probably be available in 1.5.8, due within a week or so for all platforms (mainly when I manage to fix a few messes that I have now for cross compiling on Fedora 11). It will be a Preferences option: "Enable mouseover explorer activation" or something like that (exact name not decided; suggns. welcome). The current behavior will be the default, though.

Cheers!

Title: Re: ProcessingConsole can't be made smaller
Post by: Nocturnal on 2009 September 18 07:04:27

Sound good Juan! Now make installs so that they don't overwrite my preferences and I won't complain the 'click to active' behavior isn't default :)