Please could you look into doing something about the current suboptimal functioning of TAB -ing between GUI elements

[Hippo]

This is sadly widespread within the ME, but for example in the dialog shown in the screenshot below:

- Click on group name text dialog -> text entry cursor appears

- Press TAB key -> cursor disappears, but nothing happens

- Press TAB key (again) -> nothing happens

- Press TAB -> cursor switches to CONDITION text box

- Press TAB -> cursor switches to % text box

- Press TAB -> cursor switches to UNIT text box, but COUNTRY drop down list is skipped

- Press TAB -> cursor switches to FREQENCY text box, skipping three drop down lists, a text box and six check boxes

- Press TAB -> cursor switches to OF (UNIT) text box, skipping a drop down list and two check boxes

- Press TAB -> cursor switches to UNIT NAME text box, skipping two drop down lists

- Press TAB -> cursor disappears, but nothing happens

- Press TAB seven times -> nothing happens

- Press TAB -> cursor switches to GROUP NAME text box

- Press TAB -> cycle repeats

In summary:

• Buttons, drop down lists and check boxes are ignored when using TAB (and shift-TAB)
• Pressing the TAB key sometimes seems to do nothing
• Elements are not progressed through in a logical order

Additionally there appears to be no way to switch to the options below (route, ammo, triggered actions, etc) using the keyboard

Edited January 15 by Hippo

[cfrag]

Unfortunately, I think that UX talent is exceedingly thin at ED. If you look at the UX/Implementation of the new band selection or last year's line art function, you start wondering if they have any UX expertise at ED at all, and counting yourself lucky that tabbing in dialogs works somehow, sometimes, in some places. Yes UX matters a lot, it's how customers experience your product. This realization seems not to have reached the relevant people at ED yet. So let us hope that the abysmal UX releases of the past 18 month become a thing of the past some fine day.

[Hippo]

Since the ME is essential for the production of content for DCS, it is very frustrating that ED can allow it to continue to have such basic, shameful failings.  As I mentioned in another post, I ocassionally dabble with the ME, but in the past have always given up with emotions ranging from frustration to rage as e.g. when I unintentionally move a meticulously placed object and... no undo!

I don't think, however, that it's due to a lack of talent, but more to a lack of resources and choice of priorities, and a community which is nowhere near loud (or large enough in the case of the ME) enough in its criticism.

I normally wouldn't post something as pedantic as the above, and I expect it will achieve nothing, but it does help to bring down the frustration levels.

Edited January 15 by Hippo

[Rudel_chw]

46 minutes ago, Hippo said:

I normally wouldn't post something as pedantic as the above, and I expect it will achieve nothing, but it does help to bring down the frustration levels.

honestly, I’m more of a mouse than keyboard user so I hadn’t really attempted to use the tab key within the Editor, but I agree that there are many tools lacking on it … one that I would love to have is a way to select a block of triggers and then be able to move them up or down within the trigger list, currently it only allows movement of single triggers.

I also would love if triggers (and trigger zones) could be added to Static Templates, allowing me to build trigger blocks like a library of common functions.

Finally, adding the ability to comment on triggers would do a lot for documenting the mission’s logic.

[Hippo]

1 hour ago, Rudel_chw said:

so I hadn’t really attempted to use the tab key within the Editor

What is this barbarism you speak of?!  Having said that, I can see how too much time in the ME might make someone never want to use a keyboard ever again.

1 hour ago, Rudel_chw said:

one that I would love to have is a way to select a block of triggers and then be able to move them up or down within the trigger list, currently it only allows movement of single triggers.

I also would love if triggers (and trigger zones) could be added to Static Templates, allowing me to build trigger blocks like a library of common functions.

Finally, adding the ability to comment on triggers would do a lot for documenting the mission’s logic.

A suggestion so excellent that some might say it even deserves its own thread .  Since you mention triggers, I at times have needed to copy triggers between missions and would like that functionality also.

[cfrag]

2 hours ago, Hippo said:

I don't think, however, that it's due to a lack of talent, but more to a lack of resources and choice of priorities

Perhaps. Then again, we see the same terrible UX blunders in the sim (look at the 'join faction' mess, and the clownishly bad CH47 cargo dialog), so I'm not sure what to think - except that the result is the same: terrible, terrible UX and a bad customer impression.

1 hour ago, Rudel_chw said:

I also would love if triggers (and trigger zones) could be added to Static Templates, allowing me to build trigger blocks like a library of common functions.

Finally, adding the ability to comment on triggers would do a lot for documenting the mission’s logic.

I wholeheartedly agree. Frankly, there is so much basic functionality missing from ME: try and change the faction of multiple groups or objects, something so basic that I would have thought that it would be the first thing to be implemented in a mission editor, yet two decades down the line, ME can't do it. Look at the tool palette at the left edge. EVERY UI designer knows how important the upper left corner and left edge is, and that they are the exclusive area for only the most important, most used tools for editing. In ME they are squandered for silly, third-tier functions like 'new mission', 'open' or 'save' that can easily be relegated to menus. From this I assert that no-one with even a hint of UX knowledge has looked at ME in decades, and I lament that it appears that this stain is now leaking into the main app (simulator) as can be evidenced by amateurish interface blunders like the 'join coalition' blunder and cargo clown show.

Edited January 15 by cfrag

[Rudel_chw]

20 minutes ago, Hippo said:

A suggestion so excellent that some might say it even deserves its own thread

 

actually, I already did