[Scribus] Usability needs attention -- time for a feature moratorium?

[John Beardmore]

Hedley Finger wrote:

> As a complete newcomer to Scribus, my expectations from working on 
> Macintosh (OS 9 for 6 years, OS X for 3), Windows, HP-UX with Motif, 
> Sun OpenLook, etc. with PageMaker, Illustrator, FrameMaker (three 
> platforms), various word processors, vector graphics apps, etc. are 
> frequently not met.  I am amazed how often seemingly commonplace 
> actions break with well-established precedents.
> 
> For example, you cannot copy from the layout and paste into the 
> Scrapbook but must right-drag.  (When was the first Macintosh released?)
> 
> If you do something in a palette or dialogue which changes an object, 
> you would think that Ctrl-z would restore the previous state but more 
> often than not, the key event is not trapped by the palette/dialogue 
> with focus but goes through to the layout/canvas/window where it 
> undoes some OTHER state.  I keep getting this all the time and am 
> beginning to think that Scribus is a secret cult where you have to 
> remember what you can do or not do in various contexts in order to be 
> accepted into the brotherhood.  Sadly, it will be a long time before 
> this novice becomes and acolyte!
> 
> The serious point I am trying to make is that perhaps it is time for 
> a moratorium on feature building for a point release or two while 
> usability issues are addressed, especially implementing orthogonality 
> across objects and controls.
> 
> Are there any other rank newbies who want to tell of their 
> experiences/opinions?
> 
> (It is the end of a long and tiring day ...)

You may have some good points, but I have found 1.3.3.9 just as usable 
as I found Pagemaker 6.52 and InDesign 1.5.

I gave up throwing money at Adobe because they didn't seem to be adding 
features I wanted, or even fixing bugs that I cared about, and all the 
while they were putting the prices up.

While Scribus has shortcomings, the community seems to be actively 
overcoming these, and even 1.3.3.x seem to be less buggy and crash prone 
than Pagemaker and InDesign.


Cheers, J/.
-- 
John Beardmore, MSc EDM (Open), B.A. Chem (Oxon), CMIOSH, AIEMA, MEI
Managing Director, T4 Sustainability Limited. http://www.T4sLtd.co.uk/
Carbon Trust Consultant: Energy Audit, Carbon Footprint, Design Advice
Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme Registered Assessor
P:0845 4561332  F:0870 0522417  M:07785 563116  Skype:t4sustainability