[sword-devel] Re: GUI interfaces

[Chris]

>
>
>  GUI apps are standardized far 
>better than commandline apps are,  and the well designed ones  are 
>intuitive.  The general user can move from app to app and never have 
>to consult a manual on mouse clicks.  Coders writing GUI apps who 
>short-circuit this design principal are shooting their apps and 
>themselves in the foot.  
>
Getting back to topic, a few more comments on the Windows Sword...

* In the search window, I was at first puzzled why I couldn't click on 
the verse
preview to see the whole verse. Then I realized you have to click on the
reference. Suggest you allow either.
* Then I was puzzled why I couldn't click the full verse at the bottom to
get to that location in the bible. Then I realized you have to double click
the reference up top. Suggest that a single click on the full verse in the
search dialog should take you to the bible location.
* I find it really annoying I can't select a verse in the bible by clicking
it in the window. Instead I have to actually select the verse using
the buttons up top. Argh.
* Would be nice if it also showed the standard book abbrev somewhere
(optionally perhaps) as an aid to remembering them.
* I think there should be a button to turn off verse numbers. (Makes it
easier to cut and paste if you don't want to include the numbers).
* Would be really REALLY nice if there was a cut and paste option
that fully ascribed the text. I.e. if I cut out "And over all these virtues
put on love", it would actually insert into the cut and paste buffer...
"Col 3:14 (NIV) And over all these virtues put on love". Really make
it nice for internet discussions :-).
* I find it a little disconcerting how the search window automatically
searches the current bible window. The linkage is a bit non-obvious.
Plus it's annoying to swap windows to have to change. I'd like to see
a pull-down list on the search window to change what translation
you are searching. Actually I'd like to be able to search multiple
translations at once as well.
* The New Search Window option is mis-named, seeing as you can
only have one search window open. Would like it so that it really
opens a new window.
* This is a real annoying one. If you have a verse highlighted in
blue in the bible, the corresponding verse is NOT highlighted in
say Matthew Henry's commentary. That makes it hard to find
the corresponding verse. I'd REALLY like to be able to click
the verse in the bible and have it highlight the comment in
the commentary.

>The reign of the command line has come to an end.  
>
I think that's going a bit far. GUI is great if you want to do something 
different
than you did last time. Command line is good if you want to do the same
thing many times.