Different suggestions (#1682)

Hello, I already texted almost a year ago, usually you reply but that time you didn't. I didn't use the app for some time anyway. Now when I use it those things still bother me so I decided to repeat my suggestions.

1) Can you implement automatic save like in scrivener or probably any online app. When I close the app don't ask me if I want to save, of course I do. You shouldn't ask such thing all the time just because one of billion times somebody will choose now.

2) IDEF1X diagram is called just "diagram" in the project tree for some reason.

3) Key attributes in IDEF1X entity are too close to the top border line. It is distracting.

Created
12 September 2021 16:50:38
Closed
6 October 2021 8:12:20
Requested by
SplinterX
State
Solved
Version
12.95.7899.14042
OperatingSystem
Windows 10
Solved in
13.00

Dusan Rodina - softwareideas.net 13 September 2021 9:34:55

Hello,

I am sorry, I must have forgotten to respond to your last message (I remember I have read it).

1) I understand your point. It may be added as an optional behavior via a dedicated setting. I think it may not be a good idea to set it as a default behavior as it is not expected for desktop applications. It could cause saving unwanted changes in some cases.

2) 3) It will be fixed and adjusted.

SplinterX 17 September 2021 18:23:20

Thanks.

Maybe you will manage to implement the next one in the same release.

4) Convert elements and diagrams from one to another.

For example when I just start analyzing data I use idef1x diagram because it is more expressive for representing the fundamental structure of a field. But when I study and establish it enough I need to think about more dynamic processes. Then it can be convenient to use UML class diagram. But 95% of it will be very similar to idef1x.

Maybe you don't even need to program all the possible conversions separately, you probably already use common patterns for them. So entity becomes a class with no methods. I guess you understand very well what I mean, so I won't say more)

SplinterX 18 September 2021 20:00:26

5) Weak entity in idef1x has thicker border line than a strong one. It looks pretty sloppy.

SplinterX 19 September 2021 0:11:14

6) Methods of class are too close to the border line too.

7) Some classes in my diagram doesn't show methods area of entity at all. Showing part menu doesn't help. This menu is weird anyway. It shows parameters like nothing is chosen so I need to click twice on it sometimes. I guess you know what I mean.

Dusan Rodina - softwareideas.net 20 September 2021 10:52:19

4) It will be added in some other version. It's quite a big feature and the next version will be released very soon.

5) I can't see any problem there. Could you please provide a screenshot?

6) It will be improved. The separator line will be centered. Anyways, if you want you can increase the space with Padding style even now.

7) Could you please provide a screenshot of a class without a method area? If it is possible, also an example project file would be appreciated. You can send it to softwareideas@softwareideas.net

SplinterX 22 September 2021 23:53:40

4) Actually I've found the way to convert entity to class. There's such button in floating menu but it is not in context menu by some reason. I like the app, but its interface is a mess. No offense)) But it doesn't work anyway. Only title of an entity was copied as title of the class. The attributes wasn't copied by some reason. Plus converting the whole diagram is much better way if it existed.

5) https://yadi.sk/i/-4q7JmhrmvMJqw

6) But it works only for the entire class, so the difference will still be there. And padding work on both X and Y coordinates. Not separately.

7) I've fixed it. The setting is called Presentation style.

Dusan Rodina - softwareideas.net 6 October 2021 8:15:21

4) Converting attributes was fixed in the new version.

5) This is an anti-aliasing artifact, probably because of non-integral coordinates. We will see what can be done about it.

6) It should be better now

SplinterX 13 October 2021 12:06:45

Hello. Thanks. It is mostly much better. But now there's new serious bug I guess that still prevents me from using idef1x. I can't make bold titles of entities and keep normal (not bold) attributes and operations. Also I can't edit attributes and methods right in a diagram with double click or even option "rename".

Dusan Rodina - softwareideas.net 14 October 2021 8:14:02

Hello, you are welcome. You are right. There is something wrong with attribute editing (directly in diagram editor). It will be fixed very soon. I expect the next version on Tuesday.

SplinterX 23 November 2021 11:11:35

I had no time to text earlier, but entity style bug is not fixed still.

If I change text style of the title of an entity all attributes change their style too. Sometimes they don't but new attributes I create are made in the title's style. I need an opportunity to make titles super bold and attributes regular.

Also often when I change at least something in the style of attributes, titles or something else it also changes the border line width from 0 to 1 what doesn't make sense and annoying.

In general styles was always weird in your app. It is hard for me to remember every single thing maybe you will find it yourself, I don't know. Please fix at least things I mentioned.

Dusan Rodina - softwareideas.net 2 December 2021 9:51:27

Hello,

Sorry for the late reply. The issues you mentioned were analyzed and they will be fixed in the next release. Previously, there was a misunderstanding of what exactly is the problem. Thank you for your feedback and this clarification.

SplinterX 3 December 2021 8:54:27

Also when I rename an attribute it fills "not null" there and the width of an entity increases accordingly even though I didn't use that part at all. It is hard to explain better though if you see it yourself I don't need to. But if you don't then let me know I will try to explain better.

SplinterX 21 June 2022 21:37:03

Hello. Couldn't text sooner. But you still didn't fix what I was talking about. It is all about idef1x diagram at least.

If I change the font of the entity title it automatically changes the font of all the attributes. It shouldn't happen. Especially considering that by default they are different things with different font styles.

And I don't remember if it was in the previous version but now I see that the black circle in the end of the connector is too big. How can I change it?

Dusan Rodina - softwareideas.net 22 June 2022 17:16:02

Hello,

It seems it works for all other elements except the IDEF1X entity. It will be fixed in the next release.

You can adjust the size of the circle using the Style sidebar - Layout/Proportion modifier.

If you want to make it your default style for the project, select the connector in the diagram editor and then open the Styles sidebar and click on the arrow part of the second button and choose Set Default Style For Selected Element Type from the drop-down menu.

SplinterX 24 June 2022 13:18:30

Thanks. Another problem is about savings and back ups. I set to save the file upon the closing without additional confirmation. So when I do something, close the file and then open it again everything is fine. But if i didn't do any change to the diagram, closed it (with autosave upon closing\exiting still being turned on) and open it then the notification appears. That I didn't save anything and offers me to use the back ups. It is not true and annoying.

It sounded easier in my head, but my message got too complicated, sorry for that. I hope you've got what I meant.

SplinterX 27 June 2022 17:29:47

Also

1) When I open the file again it shows me model folder overview. I want it to open the last diagram at once instead. It is an old problem.

2) When I change some settings in the option window I want these changes to be applied automatically. Stop asking confirmation every time. If I change my mind I will just use the chancel button.

It is even more annoying when confirmation is asked when I made zero changes at all.

Dusan Rodina - softwareideas.net 27 June 2022 17:47:17

1) You can change this behavior from Options - uncheck the option Show project overview on loaded in the General section.

2) This behavior will be adjusted.

SplinterX 27 June 2022 19:41:33

Thanks. What about my previous message?

SplinterX 27 June 2022 20:45:01

Also

1) "uncheck the option Show project overview on loaded" doesn't work properly. the left toolbar\panel doesn't appear before clicking on something. Very tedious.

2) And I think it won't be too difficult to implement. Can't you add tall and narrow buttons on each panel to show\hide them. And one button on the top to hide them both.

3) As on option I want to be able to move the tab bar to the top of the screen like Chrome does.

https://disk.yandex.ru/i/BY3R-ik8V2uBSw

Dusan Rodina - softwareideas.net 28 June 2022 8:51:43

To the previous message - the issue with the notification before opening the file was fixed in version 13.45.

1) If you do not want the toolbox to hide, uncheck Toolbars / Toolbox / Auto hide toolbox in the General section in Options. Actually, there is an issue that the toolbox does not hide in all the scenarios when it should. We need to look at it.

2) 3) Interesting suggestions. I added them to our to-do list of future improvements.

SplinterX 28 June 2022 11:07:26

I use the last version and the issue is still there.

If i close with no change then the restore backup window appears.

Unchecking auto hide toolbox didn't work either.

Dusan Rodina - softwareideas.net 28 June 2022 11:28:00

If the version is 13.45 and the 'Auto save on close' option is checked, the notification should not appear. Unfortunately, we were not able to reproduce the described behavior with various combinations of settings and project actions (changed/unchanged project). We will analyze whether some local system settings could not interfere with the mechanism.

SplinterX 28 June 2022 13:00:26

Maybe I got something wrong

https://disk.yandex.ru/i/f4cFrCDiln9ZWg

And please don't forget to look at autohide toolbar bug.

SplinterX 28 June 2022 17:31:44

Also I couldn't find how to disable this thing

https://disk.yandex.ru/i/XRQxRehn--FaAA

It should be in both the view menu and the setting but it is in neither.

SplinterX 28 June 2022 18:08:12

- I couldn't find how can I transform many to many relationship into one to many.

- Idef1x notation also includes the possibility to use two verb phrases: one for each direction. SIM doesn't.

- Definitely a bug. When I try to move cardinality letter it starts jumping all around the close entities.

- There are only three cardinality option in idef1: P, Z and specific number > 0. I think it would be a good idea to have such setting somewhere than just giving an option to write whenever you want there. Such an option shouldn't be excluded either.

Dusan Rodina - softwareideas.net 30 June 2022 18:22:08

These suggestions will be implemented in the next version.

You can transform the relationship in the diagram editor - if you want to change the relationship into one-to-many, edit the label on the desired end by clicking on it and entering the number 1.

SplinterX 5 July 2022 1:01:46

1) When I type the name of an attribute in an entity in the diagram editor (not entity editor) with a space SIM uses it as an indicator of a type. It doesn't make any sense. It is a model, not a program. Attributes with spaces is a typical thing. In such diagrams we don't type "DeliveryTime", we type "Delivery time".

2) Padding doesn't work normally. The distance between top border and left border just not the same. The name of an attribute is too close to the left border, but if I increase padding it gets too far from the top border. Can you just add 4 elements for padding and probably margin: from the top, left, right, bottom and one an option to make them the same.

3) Line spacing between attributes should also exist. It is totally independent from what I previously mentioned thing.

4) Entities doesn't have auto-size option as erwin. It is pretty convenient thing, add if you can.

5) Styles work a bit better but it still create too much problems. I guess some problems will be solved if you just add new category "the title", where we can set specific fonts only for the title. I think almost all diagram has elements with titles: classes, entitles. Titles for connectors should be different of course. Right now you have just Texts. As if all texts in style are the same. Or it probably should work the following way. Right now I can use different styles for two different entitles in the same diagram. Maybe different parts on one entity can have different styles too and you won't need to mess with styles like it is only one thing. It can be only two for me personally: the titles and the body of an entity. But if somebody wants to emphasize the operation (in UML) section with some special style then we shouldn't stop him. It also may be useful not just for styles. If operations and attributes sections are recognized as different not only visually I may also set all operations as public with once click on the section without setting attributes as private.

SplinterX 5 July 2022 1:27:55

*5) Sorry that the five was so long. But when I sent the message I realized how many problems it can solve and how many interface opportunities it can give. I gave two solutions. Though now I think the first is irrelevant compared to the second, even with the second solution one problem at least will remain. How to use the defaults for different elements. I emphasize an entity title with the font to separate it from other texts in entity but in Activity Diagram an action doesn't have other texts but the title so it is pretty bad when it is bold. There should be some way to differentiate them and default for them without creating additional styles.

Can you disable the captcha or at least set it as a field with no filling suggestion from chrome. It covers the pic. I mean how many spam or some sort of attacks do you even have here? Probably zero.)

Dusan Rodina - softwareideas.net 5 July 2022 16:40:02

1) It will be fixed.

2) Padding seems to work correctly. The distance is the same in all directions. It may seem it is not the same if you consider the distance from the left top edge of the first letter, but it is correct because the padding is defined as space from the border to the line of the text. Above the text is free space called ascent (in typography), which is reserved for diacritics (e.g. letters Ñ or Ć)

You can specify different values for left, top, right, and bottom padding when you enter the values as a comma-separated list (e.g. 5,10,0,0)

3) It will be added as a new style property in one of the next versions.

4) There is an auto-size feature. You can auto-size an element in one of these ways:

- Ribbon/Design/Auto Layout/Auto Size

- Menu/File/Arrange/AutoSize

- Shortcut keys: Alt-A

- Double-click on the right-bottom sizing grip

You can also set the auto-size after editing - you can set it in the Options - Diagram Editor / Auto size elements after editing - Auto enlarge and shrink (or you can choose only Auto enlarge, which is the default option)

5) You can edit various text sub-styles within a style. There is a plus button on the left of the Texts section label in the Style editor. You can click on it to expand separate style settings for name/title, stereotypes, other texts, etc.

Comment Image

The software does not differ between elements that have only a name and the ones that have also other texts, this way it is more consistent. Otherwise, it will be also a little bit complicated to specify such a category because some elements may have other texts, but they are usually hidden, so it will be tricky. However, if you want you can specify different styles for the elements by their type (Styles sidebar - open the second button dropdown and choose Set Default Style For Selected Element Type).

* The captcha was added quite shortly after starting the website because the spam bots had been ruining the forums and comment sections. The spam messages needed to be deleted on daily basis, it was unbearable. (And the website had only a fraction of current visitors that days.) The setting to prevent autofill will be implemented.

SplinterX 12 July 2022 14:57:19

I will reply with a new numeration.

1) Auto-size is not actually auto if you need to click something all the time. By auto I mean the following. I activate auto-size mode once and then after every change I make an entity adopts its size immediately. Without that it is so routine it almost pointless to use. In erwin it is even called auto-resize, not auto-size. So maybe it is my bad to use the wrong word)

Also it doesn't work anyway. It takes away extra space but it doesn't add new space for something that doesn't fit. At least with Alt-A option. And also it pushes every word after space to the next line like this:

Order

List.

It should be:

Order List

always. Doesn't make any sense to separate it.

2) An empty entity looks weird. It makes more sense in erwin

https://disk.yandex.ru/i/LLb5gB3Yhg05rw

This way I can see that primary key section is empty and other attributes section is empty. When it takes space as if one invisible attribute is there. In SIM it looks like it is some drawing bug. And it is hard to separate the two sections. Actually considering how many things I advice you because of erwin I would appreciate if you would just study it. Especially if this kind of diagram is popular enough for you to bother.

3) When I change a style an entity this style is attached often doesn't change till I do something with it: moving or resize. Sometimes it doesn't work even then.

4) "Set Default Style For Selected Element Type" is useless for the case I described you. Maybe it requires new types.

5) Fonts in SIM look weird. In erwin and google docs the same fonts look better. It is hard to explain why. But I will try to say that lines are too tiny. It is not the same as boldness though. Maybe it is connected to anti-aliasing.

6) In properties of an entity I would prefer to add attributes immediately without an additional window. In majority of cases (practically never) I don't need other properties of an attribute besides the name. When I need I will click edit or will edit right in the table as it is already possible.

7) Category connector has a bug of indication. If I hover a mouse below it SIM makes if as if I hover a mouse directly on a CC.

8) Consider adding Regular User account here. I got tired to fill my nickname, e-mail and captcha additionally to the message all the time.

9) https://disk.yandex.ru/i/es0YTZ9pN1HpAg

- 1 to n identifying option is missing

- all three connectors look the same visually, inconvenient

- the panel changes its visual active\inactive status while the cursor is moving over it. So even if the cursor is inside the panel it looks like it doesn't sometimes. It "flickers" simply saying.

10) I offered my company to buy SIM but they all have mac books. Do you consider different platforms? Or those are limits of .NET?

Dusan Rodina - softwareideas.net 19 July 2022 12:43:27

Hello,

I apologize for my late reply. Please try the new version 13.50 - it includes several improvements for IDEF1X diagrams.

1) ALT-A is meant for the one-time resizing of an element to its smallest possible size. For constant auto-sizing, check the option 'Auto size elements after editing' and 'Auto enlarge and shrink' in the Options (setting the option works now).

2) It is better now.

3) Unfortunately, we can reproduce this one. It would help if you had some detailed descriptions with steps that can be followed or a video with steps leading to this issue.

4) It is very hard to specify such a type, but we will see whether it could be sorted out somehow in the future.

5) Currently, clear-type rendering (provided by Windows GDI+) is used for text rendering. We added new options to the latest version - you can choose the anti-aliasing algorithm: Default/None/Standard Anti-Aliasing or Clear Type (the default option). You can also adjust the text contrast - the default option is 4. You will find these options in the Options dialog/Diagram Editor/Rendering.

6) Added in version 13.50.

7) Fixed in version 13.50.

8) Noted, we will consider it, but do not promise anything.

9) Icons enhanced.

10) Thank you. Actually, there are limits to the .NET framework. At the beginning of the project, when the framework was chosen, it seemed promising regarding multi-platform abilities, but the today's reality is not so bright. We will see what can be done about it in the future. (Maybe using MAUI or UNO. Anyway it would need a lot of development effort to migrate to a new platform.) You can try to download the 32-bit Portable edition and run it using Mono http://www.mono-project.com/download/.

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