* Custom Icon bar/tool bar

For existing requests please see The Wish List
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davidf
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Custom Icon bar/tool bar

Post by davidf »

Spawned from Better options for adding plugins to Tools menu

In office suites, browsers and email clients, I often end up customising the icon bars to suit me. In FH a custom icon bar to which we could attach (personally) commonly used options (e.g. a "run a specific plug-in", "open a specific custom diagram", "run a specific query", or just a specific sub-menu item, etc.) would be useful.

We have before discussed needing to run a plug-in after an activity (say entering a compound name in the NAME field and wanting functionality - such as the plug-in Mike wrote - to run to parse that name into the Name Part Fields - SURN etc.). In many respects, the ability to configure FN to run a plug-in after a program event (update NAME field for instance) would do this - but that is probably significant work. Being able to add an icon to a custom icon bar, means the user can just click that icon to get that functionality to run. It also means other activities as listed above could be associated with an icon. A customisable icon bar is probably therefore a better midpoint

I would suggest that for support purposes, the existing icon bar should not be customisable (so you would have view/hide/add/delete icon bar functionality).

Each icon would need to accept:
  • A "FH instruction"
    • which ideally would be context-sensitive - e.g. apply instruction to "current record", "current diagram" etc.
  • tooltip text
  • a custom icon image
One for V8?

David
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David2416
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Re: Custom Icon bar/tool bar

Post by David2416 »

I think this should be a new wish list request.
I have just been searching the Wish List for just this option and failed to find it.

I have a number of plugins, queries and other frequently used items which I would add to such as customisable tool bar. I have some workarounds to ease finding things ( such as naming and customising queries with underscores other other characters to influence the sort order, plugins I remove from the Tools menu and add them back so they appear at the bottom)

A customisable would save me having to use these fudges.
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NickWalker
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Re: Custom Icon bar/tool bar

Post by NickWalker »

I've been surprised that an option for adding a plugin as a toolbar icon hasn't appeared over the years as it seems such an obvious thing to allow and the plugins are relatively hidden away currently so I agree that this should be a wish-list item.
Nick Walker
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https://fhug.org.uk/kb/kb-article/ancestral-sources/
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johnmorrisoniom
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Re: Custom Icon bar/tool bar

Post by johnmorrisoniom »

I made the suggestion about plugin toobar to CP years ago when Beta testing FH5
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Vyger
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Re: Custom Icon bar/tool bar

Post by Vyger »

davidf, could you frame this up into the Accepted

Issue,

Proposal

Format so I can accurately transcribe it to the Wish List.
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davidf
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Re: Custom Icon bar/tool bar

Post by davidf »

Proposal in "Wish List Format"

Custom Icon bar/toolbar

Issue
  • [Original] Where a user has a number of plug-ins installed, the "add to tools" option can become unwieldy, resulting in difficulty in quickly running a particular plug-in. (see Better options for adding plugins to Tools menu)
  • [Extended] Individual users may have a desire to regularly run a particular "action" (plug-in, open specific diagram, run specific query, or any "deep menu option"). A familiar way to do this in other software (e.g. Office Suites: Microsoft Office, LibreOffice etc.) is by having an icon on a toolbar, which when clicked runs the "action".
Proposal

FH should have functionality to:
  • Add/delete/hide/show custom toolbars. The current default toolbar should be permanently shown and uneditable (in order to provide a constant environment to support).
  • Add/delete icons to those toolbars and associate with each of those icons an "action" (if necessary, with a parameter) possibly a custom icon image and a tooltip text.
    "Actions" could cover existing FH actions:
    • Run a plug-in (the parameter being the plug-in name/internal reference)
    • Open a diagram (the parameter being the diagram name/internal reference)
    • Run a query (the parameter being the query name/internal reference)
    • Any existing menu accessible action (with the optional parameter being a parameter that that action may take)
    • [Future]Run a "macro" should such functionality be introduced
  • Back up functions should include the backing up of custom toolbars and associated icons/actions
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tatewise
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Re: Custom Icon bar/tool bar

Post by tatewise »

Under the Proposal I'm not sure that a parameter/name is necessary.
IMO the Actions are all simply a menubar/toolbar set of nested menu options.
e.g.
  • Run a Plugin = 'Tools > Plugin name' where Plugin name is chosen from the menu (Add to Tools Menu must have been used to create menu entry).
  • Open a Diagram = 'View > Charts > Ancestors...' or 'View > Charts > Custom Diagrams > Custom Type' where Custom Type is chosen from the menu and similary for Saved Charts...
  • Run a Query = 'Query > Facts and Events > All Facts' or whatever other Query menu choice exists.
What this analysis has revealed is that the menubar 'View > More Workspace Windows > Media/Map Window' commands do not offer the same features as the toolbar 'Media' and 'Map' icons.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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davidf
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Re: Custom Icon bar/tool bar

Post by davidf »

I have previously been challenged (in business) to think how to get an action completed in two clicks (without creating a massive very shallow menu structure):
  • Select an item (e.g. select an individual)
  • Select an action (e.g. run a specific query on this individual)
Allowing customising to suit different users, gets their major actions within two clicks (80,20 rule etc.)

I am also thinking of those "frequent actions" which it would be useful to complete in one click. For example, months ago we were looking at parsing "name parts", where we enter an individual, "John van Bloggs" in the name field, and with one click want to parse out and fill a default set of name parts. Clicking an icon to run a plug-in, but then having to select the specific plugin (in this case, yours), runs us up against the original issue of searching a (potentially long) list for the one we want to run. Clicking on a "Parse names" icon, gets the "one click" solution.
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tatewise
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Re: Custom Icon bar/tool bar

Post by tatewise »

I completely agree, but my point is that there is no need for a 'parameter' in your Proposal.
Taking your example, assuming the Match Name with Components plugin has Add to Tools Menu ticked, then the "Parse names" icon is defined as the toolbar command menu option 'Tools > Match Name with Components'.
No 'parameter' is needed, just a menu option selection.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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davidf
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Re: Custom Icon bar/tool bar

Post by davidf »

We may be having a vigorous agreement!

I don't have FH(6) in front of me at the moment but, you don't for instance necessarily add a plugin to the tools menu, you can action them via a "run plug-in" selection box. The same applies to queries and diagrams.

For setting up a custom icon, I can imagine a menu sequence (i.e. File, Print), but if an item is in a selection box, you can specify the menu actions to get to the box, but is the end of the sequence then, for instance, "take the 3rd item" (like a macro keystroke record)? That would not be robust against another plugin getting inserted prior to the 3rd item, so you have to enter the specific plugin name (or its internal index via its name at the time) as a parameter. You enter the "parameter", not at the point of running, but at the point of icon action specification.
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Vyger
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Re: Custom Icon bar/tool bar

Post by Vyger »

David began this wish stemming from a desire for Plugin add to Toolbar but really anything should be possible and it's often useful to look at some context. David mentioned Office Suites but the image examples I share below were from Rootsmagic 7 and whilst Rootsmagic users did not enjoy the convenience of Plugins they did enjoy some Toolbar customization. Rootsmagic has since lost its traditional top line menu and also any customization possibilities

Knowing this workflow which I describe below I see no reason a highlighted Plugin could not be dragged to a free area on the FH Toolbar, of course the user would need to prompted for some hint text.

Before firming up this important Wish I wanted to include these images for reference and, of course, they may inspire some further Toolbar discussion.
Attachments
toolbar-01.png
toolbar-01.png (38.55 KiB) Viewed 99 times
toolbar-02.png
toolbar-02.png (36.82 KiB) Viewed 99 times
toolbar-03.png
toolbar-03.png (39.82 KiB) Viewed 99 times
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Vyger
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Re: Custom Icon bar/tool bar

Post by Vyger »

Workflow #2
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toolbar-04.png
toolbar-04.png (38.63 KiB) Viewed 99 times
toolbar-05.png
toolbar-05.png (42.95 KiB) Viewed 99 times
toolbar-06.png
toolbar-06.png (39.74 KiB) Viewed 99 times
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