Author Topic: SUGGESTION: Maximum Screen Size (Read 24485 times)

OLLI_S · « **on:** May 03, 2013, 02:30 AM »

Hello,

I use Screenshot Captor to make screenshots of applications and mark issues (bugs) in there.
The applications run in full-screen size, so the screenshot has the same size than my screen resolution.
If I want to see the complete screen shot (to see if I have forgotten to mark some issues) I must reduce the zoom to 85%.
At this zoom it is hard to identify issues and to measure font sizes or color contrasts.
The best solution would be to see the screenshot in 100% zoom.

I suggest you allow the user to drag the Thumbnail Panel and the Toolbar (the bar with the buttons and the element properties like transparency or shadow) out of their positions, so they are floating on the screen.
This way I can move them to the second monitor.
Of cause you must allow to dock them again at their original position.

The Zoom-Slider could either be moved to the top (left to the checkbox "AutoFit") or in the statusbar.
Or you attach the zoom slider at the toolbar.

In the preferences the user can decide if the elements should be floating and where the zoom slider should be positioned.

This feature would save me many mouse clicks (zooming).
Please consider this suggestion.

An easier way for you would be to add a checkbox "Toolbar" beside "Thumbnail Panel" that shows/hides the toolbar (including the zoom slider and the element properties).
But this means I need two mouse clicks to hide the Toolbar and the Thumbnail Panel and again two mouse clicks to show them again.
A floating solution is in fact the better way (better usability).

Greetings

OLLI

ArminWeber · « **Reply #1 on:** August 29, 2013, 08:17 AM »

Hello Oliver,

I really like your ideas you post here.
If you need the full screen for the image then it really would be useful if certain parts of the window could be hidden.
Did you get any answer beside this forum about this suggestion?

Greetings

Armin

mouser · « **Reply #2 on:** August 29, 2013, 09:53 AM »

Hi Olli and Armin.

It's an interesting idea.. I can see some value in a full screen mode.. but it's not that easy to do.

However there are some things you can do to make it easier working on 100% magnification screenshot:

1. Hide the thumbnail panel (see checkbox at top left).
2. Turn off the scanner toolbar (in options scanner tab).
3. Drag the bottom panel size down to minimum.
4. Remember than you can right-click and drag the image to pan it -- you don't have to use scrollbars (this is the biggest tip!)

tomos · « **Reply #3 on:** September 06, 2013, 02:43 PM »

4. Remember than you can right-click and drag the image to pan it -- you don't have to use scrollbars (this is the biggest tip!)
-mouser (August 29, 2013, 09:53 AM)

this. I dont know how long this has been hidden in SC but boy am I happy to find out about it

I've been cursing those scrollbars for years now

mouser · « **Reply #4 on:** September 06, 2013, 02:58 PM »

I've been cursing those scrollbars for years now

ugh that's horrible!!!

i guess i need some kind of quick tips thing, or some kind of video tutorial on things that are most useful.

OLLI_S · « **Reply #5 on:** May 22, 2014, 03:22 AM »

Hello,

I am working on screen shots of an application, that uses the full screen size.
I also measure the font size, so I need the 100% zoom.

I have minimized the bottom panel and also hidden the scanner toolbar.
But I need the thumbnail panel to select different screen shots (need to read the file name, select it, modify the screen shot, go to the next screen, compare, edit and so on).

So it really would be very useful if I can un-dock the thumbnail panel (this way I can move it to the second monitor).
Same for the toolbar on the right side (including the zoom slider).

Alternatively you can add [F11] hotkey for full screen mode (like Mozilla Firefox has it).

Greetings

OLLI

mouser · « **Reply #6 on:** May 22, 2014, 10:54 AM »

This has been requested before -- it's an interesting idea.. Let me chew on it a bit.

In the meantime, let me tell you about a tip that you may not know about that makes all the difference in the world when dealing with an image larger than the viewpoint in SC:

TIP: You can right-click to drag and pan the image when it is zoomed.

That one tip makes all the difference in the world when it comes to working with large images.

Ath · « **Reply #7 on:** May 22, 2014, 01:01 PM »

Did you break the record?, I seem to hear it repeating a statement over and over

mouser · « **Reply #8 on:** May 22, 2014, 01:03 PM »

Ooops, i didn't realize this was the same thread where i already posted about this tip..

OLLI_S · « **Reply #9 on:** September 23, 2014, 02:32 AM »

Hello,

I work with Screenshot Captor daily, it really is an excellent tool.
But I really miss the "Maximum Screen Size" feature that I have suggested above.

The most urgent part of this idea would be to un-dock the screenshot panel (the list of my screenshots) and have this as a floating window.
I selected to see the Screenshot panel as a simple list on the left side.

My filenames are longer and differ just by the counter at the end.
So I need a wider panel to differ all file names, I have to switch screen shots very often.

I know that I can cklick the checkbox "Thumbnail Panel" to show and hide the panel.
But this is a very bad usability (requires many mouse clicks when I change the screenshot).
A floating panel would be very useful because I cold move this to a second monitor.

Mouser: any chance to see this?

Greetings

OLLI

mouser · « **Reply #10 on:** September 23, 2014, 08:55 AM »

Let me give this a little more thought.. I suppose there are two ways to approach this -- once is to have a toggle somewhere (available with hotkey perhaps) that switches the SC interface to a mode where the ONLY thing visible in the entire window is the image, hiding all other interface items. The other would be to have a way to break our the main image panel to a window of its own that could be maximized on a different screen. Both options seem kind of awkward for SC..

tomos · « **Reply #11 on:** September 23, 2014, 09:58 AM »

If I 'open' an image file via the SC thumbnail panel (double-click, or press enter with thumbnail selected), it opens in my windows default viewer.

Could that be used to view a large image full-size in another monitor?

OLLI_S · « **Reply #12 on:** September 23, 2014, 01:50 PM »

Hello,

once is to have a toggle somewhere (available with hotkey perhaps) that switches the SC interface to a mode where the ONLY thing visible in the entire window is the image, hiding all other interface items.
-mouser (September 23, 2014, 08:55 AM)

I think the minimum solution would be if you add an hotkey that shows/hides the screenshot panel.
This is wasting most space.
A hotkey is better than pressing the checkbox.
Maybe a one-key jotkey like [F12].

Additional you should allow to un-dock the screenshot panel as a toolbar.
This way I can move it to the second monitor and can select the screen shot I want to work with.
This would help a lot.

In my eyes it it NOT needed to hide the toolbar at the right side or the menu at the top.
This is not wasting much space.
Just the screenshot panel is a bit large, because in our company we have "Segoe UI 12 pixel" as system font (so the text in the screenshot panel is larger) and my filename are longer (full name of the dialogue and the application and the version number and a counter).

The other would be to have a way to break our the main image panel to a window of its own that could be maximized on a different screen.
-mouser (September 23, 2014, 08:55 AM)

This is also not needed, see explanation below.

If I 'open' an image file via the SC thumbnail panel (double-click, or press enter with thumbnail selected), it opens in my windows default viewer.
Could that be used to view a large image full-size in another monitor?
-tomos (September 23, 2014, 09:58 AM)

No, because I am editing the image, not viewing it.

I work as a ergonomic engineer.
Here I am responsible for one big application (1400 dialogs).

The application has different windows, each widow has tabs at the top, each tab has multiple tabs at the right side (sub-tabs).
Some dialogs have also a popup dialogue that is opened when you press a button on a dialogue.
The application is delivered 4 times a year, so there are multiple version numnbers.
And for one dialog I need often 2 to 8 screen shots to mark all problems I have found (because the application can be displayed in 5 different font sizes and at 14 pixels font size there are often problems).

So my filenames look like this (also the length is comparable to the original file names):
Application-Name-is-here-and-longer_Tab-Name_Sub-Tab-name_14.0_01.png
Application-Name-is-here-and-longer_Tab-Name_Sub-Tab-name_14.0_02.png
Application-Name-is-here-and-longer_Tab-Name_Sub-Tab-name_14.0_03.png
Application-Name-is-here-and-longer_Tab-Name_Sub-Tab-name_Popup_Title-text-of-the-popup_14.0_01.png
Application-Name-is-here-and-longer_Tab-Name_Sub-Tab-name_Popup_Title-text-of-the-popup_14.0_01.png

So my filenames of the screen shots are really long and I need to see the full screen shot name.
If I enlarge the screenshot panel to see all file names, then I have scrollbars in the screenshot (the image) that I need to see in 100% (because I also measure the font sizes and this is only possible in 100%).

So at the moment I select an image, hide the screenshot panel, edit the screen shot (mark some errors and write some textboxes).
Then I show the screenshot panel, go to the next screenshot and edit it.
I often go back to the previous screen shot, because I have found an additional bug (styleguide violation) and on the previos screen shot there is enough space for the text box.
I switch really often between the screen shots.

So hiding the screenshot panel with a hotkey would help just a little bit, I would have to press the hot key very often.
But a hot key would be faster than moving the mouse to the "Thumbnail Panel" and clicking it.
This should be implemented for quick helping me.

The best solution would be if I have the screenshot panel as a tool window that I can move to my second monitor.
On my first monitor I see exactly the same window that I see now when I have hidden the screenshot panel (by the checkbox).
Enough space for the screenshot and also for the toolbar.

Sorry if you have to read a lot, but I hope now my problem gets more clear.

Greetings

OLLI

mouser · « **Reply #13 on:** September 23, 2014, 01:58 PM »

much clearer, and the idea of having the thumbnail panel as detachable IS something that might be a lot more feasible; let me try.

OLLI_S · « **Reply #14 on:** October 23, 2014, 08:41 AM »

Hello Mouser,

any plans when this will be realized?

Greetings

OLLI

mouser · « **Reply #15 on:** October 23, 2014, 10:51 AM »

I've got a couple of apps to work on since my latest big sc release recently, but i will try to get to it in the next 2 weeks.

OLLI_S · « **Reply #16 on:** October 23, 2014, 02:38 PM »

Perfect, thank you!

OLLI_S · « **Reply #17 on:** December 04, 2014, 05:10 AM »

Hello Mouser,

how is the actual status?

Greetings

OLLI

mouser · « **Reply #18 on:** December 13, 2014, 08:29 AM »

It's still on my todo list, I still like the idea a lot -- just haven't gotten to it yet. But I will.

OLLI_S · « **Reply #19 on:** December 29, 2014, 06:38 AM »

Hello Mouser,

thank you for implementing this!

Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

OLLI

mouser · « **Reply #20 on:** March 15, 2015, 11:28 PM »

Ok so before I embark on this, can I ask if people had a choice, would they prefer to have a view mode where the thumbnail panel was broken off into a separate (maximizable) window, and everything else showed normally (same as it does if you hide the thumbnail panel now. Or would you guys prefer if there was a mode to show the screenshot in a separate maximizable window by itself, and the normal window had the thumbnails covering the entire space where the screenshot is normally docked?

cranioscopical · « **Reply #21 on:** March 16, 2015, 11:51 AM »

Or would you guys prefer if there was a mode to show the screenshot in a separate maximizable window by itself, and the normal window had the thumbnails covering the entire space where the screenshot is normally docked?
-mouser (March 15, 2015, 11:28 PM)

Would it still be possible to work on that image, when maximized? If so, that would get my vote. (Or, why not both?

)

mouser · « **Reply #22 on:** April 09, 2015, 11:17 PM »

Ok I have implemented my first pass at a mode where you can separate the main screenshot panel from the rest of the interface..
We'll have to see how well it feels in practice..

Download alpha test version (4.9.6 ALPHA) from here (or portable).

Essentially the way it works is from the View menu you can toggle a standalone screenshot window. This window shows ONLY the screenshot, nothing else, and can be maximized on another monitor. The main interface area is now used to display a full panel of thumbnails, making it an especially nice mode for browsing large numbers of screenshots (and don't forget you have a new image search bar you can toggle for quick searching of images).

As a side benefit, the standalone screenshot mode can be made quite small and kept on screen while you take new screenshots -- something that people have requested in the past.

The main difficulty i think is going to be that people have different workflows in mind, and this mode i've implemented may be slightly schizophrenic..
This mode might be best for people who have 2 or more monitors and want the main interface on one monitor and current screenshot on another.
It will be less convenient for people who want the interface on one monitor and want a quick keyboard toggle between full screen and normal mode -- we may have to add something for those people.
Because you can easily resize the standalone window to be a small floating window, it can also be used to keep the current(last) screenshot always visible on screen while you do other stuff -- that's something people have asked for in the past. BUT the nature of this standalone window probably makes it less than ideal for people who want THIS functionality, since it REPLACES the main interface window and is a bit more heavy weight, versus a simple little floating COPY of the the current screenshot.

In short, we're going to have to use this alpha build to figure out what kinds of work modes people really want and expect to use with this, and try to make that work well.. For now, lets just try to see if this helps figure out what people really want.

Anyway, let me know!

mouser · « **Reply #23 on:** April 10, 2015, 08:32 AM »

Minor update, same url -- standalone shot window will now auto hide during captures, if option is set to hide main window during capture -- makes it a little easier to keep a small shot window on screen while working.

dluby · « **Reply #24 on:** April 10, 2015, 09:36 AM »

A few observations from brief testing. I am unsure if I will explain them well though!

(1) I maximised the standalone window but can't figure out how to re-size it! As it is set to be always on top, I can't see the other programs that are on the same monitor
(2) Can we have a toggle shortcut such as F11?
(3) While initially showing large images (with the screen maximised), I see a window or maybe it's a frame (sometimes with scrollbars) showing within the larger window, then it displays fine.
(4) After clicking an image in the newly maximised thumbnail panel, the screen briefly refreshes showing the Windows 7 default image for thumbnails and then shows the real thumbnails. Is there a reason why the refresh happens in the first place?
When switching off the standalone window, it takes about 5 seconds on my system. Can the standalone window be removed before returning to the normal view?