Hi,

I find Screen Calipers very interesting and have already done some testing. Despite all the nice features
which are available I would have some requests before buying the product:

* diplay the current unit in the Caliper measure display
* hotkey for bringing the Caliper into the foreground (stay on top switch)
* the middle mouse button (+wheel up/down) should be customizable with any arbitrary Caliper feature
* lock/unlock both angle & measure with one click
* possibility to delete default unit entries
* enable/disable transparency to improve performance (a deactivated "stay on top" Caliper is still transparent!)
* possibility of closing Magnifier/Logger with Caliper termination
* Magnifier: update problem after Caliper repositioning (mouse has to be moved for a Magnifier update; Windows magnifier works)
* interface for keying data into the Caliper measure display (graphical feedback instead of hidden input)

Please give your comments about your thoughts and if the feature requests can be implemented soon.

Regards,
Gerhard

Gerhard,

Thanks for your message, you make some interesting comments about the Calipers. We do a lot of customization of the software for various clients to suit their needs, I'm wondering if this might be one of those cases as some of the cahnges that you suggest I'm not sure would be appropriate for the general release version of the application. I'll give you my thoughts on each point below:

* display the current unit in the Caliper measure display
This really comes down to a question of space. Currently we've opted not to dispaly the unit name as that's extra screen space that would make the application larger.


* hotkey for bringing the Caliper into the foreground (stay on top switch)
We currently have a 'Stay On Top' checkbox option which is on thr 'Options' menu.

* the middle mouse button (+wheel up/down) should be customizable with any arbitrary Caliper feature
This is something that can be added, however as most mice do not have a middle mouse button I wouldn't see it as a priority for the application.


* lock/unlock both angle & measure with one click
Using the keyboard shortcuts 'A' and 'M' you can toggle locking the Angle and Measurement. As you cannot lock both of these things at once these keys should cover all situations.

* possibility to delete default unit entries
This is possibale as a manual process. You can edit the distances.ini file which is found in the application folder and also in
C:\Documents and Settings\[Username]\Application Data\Iconico\config


* enable/disable transparency to improve performance (a deactivated "stay on top" Caliper is still transparent!)
We increase the transparency when the application doesn't have the focus for usability reasons. I'm a little unsure as to what you are asking.

* possibility of closing Magnifier/Logger with Caliper termination
Certainly possible but something I would not consider for the general release application as users would be surprized when the Calipers suddenly exited.

* Magnifier: update problem after Caliper repositioning (mouse has to be moved for a Magnifier update; Windows magnifier works)
Our magnifier works by magnifing the area under the mouse, not under the magnifier. We are considering adding a checkbox to the Magnifier to toggle this feature.

* interface for keying data into the Caliper measure display (graphical feedback instead of hidden input)
Certainly possible.


Please let me know your thoughts.

Hello,

thank you for your specific answers. Please find my comments below.

* display the current unit in the Caliper measure display
This really comes down to a question of space. Currently we've opted not to dispaly the unit name as that's extra screen space that would make the application larger.

I understand the problem with the space, however some skins have perfect room for units, e.g. Metal. A graphical element for a "Unit-Button" could be a solution, right?

* hotkey for bringing the Caliper into the foreground (stay on top switch)
We currently have a 'Stay On Top' checkbox option which is on thr 'Options' menu.

Yes, I checked the feature, however calipers in the background of a fullscreen application require a windows minimization or task manager selection, which is not professional in our application. A simple definable keypress like F12 would do the trick.

* the middle mouse button (+wheel up/down) should be customizable with any arbitrary Caliper feature
This is something that can be added, however as most mice do not have a middle mouse button I wouldn't see it as a priority for the application.

Opposite to your view I think that most mice have a third button. I wonder if it's still possible to buy a 2-button mouse? ;)

* lock/unlock both angle & measure with one click
Using the keyboard shortcuts 'A' and 'M' you can toggle locking the Angle and Measurement. As you cannot lock both of these things at once these keys should cover all situations.

Why isn't that possible? What if I want several calipers with a fixed measure for comparison that should not change whatsoever (except its position)?

* possibility to delete default unit entries
This is possibale as a manual process. You can edit the distances.ini file which is found in the application folder and also in
C:\Documents and Settings\[Username]\Application Data\Iconico\config

Ok, would be nice to do this via the GUI, but your suggestion is ok as well.


* enable/disable transparency to improve performance (a deactivated "stay on top" Caliper is still transparent!)
We increase the transparency when the application doesn't have the focus for usability reasons. I'm a little unsure as to what you are asking.

I just want to deactivate transparency at all, independent of a the calipers status (on top or without focus). In my view this would prevent flickering if the calipers stay on top of a fullscreen application but have no focus.

* possibility of closing Magnifier/Logger with Caliper termination
Certainly possible but something I would not consider for the general release application as users would be surprized when the Calipers suddenly exited.

I meant it the other way round. Just a checkmark to automatically close the logger/magnifier with termination of the calipers.

* Magnifier: update problem after Caliper repositioning (mouse has to be moved for a Magnifier update; Windows magnifier works)
Our magnifier works by magnifing the area under the mouse, not under the magnifier. We are considering adding a checkbox to the Magnifier to toggle this feature.

The Windows magnifier works the same way, i.e. under the mouse. Just try "magnify.exe" :)

* interface for keying data into the Caliper measure display (graphical feedback instead of hidden input)
Certainly possible.

Probably possible by using a text-area in the calipers?

Thank you for your remarks!
Gerhard

* display the current unit in the Caliper measure display
This really comes down to a question of space. Currently we've opted not to dispaly the unit name as that's extra screen space that would make the application larger.

I understand the problem with the space, however some skins have perfect room for units, e.g. Metal. A graphical element for a "Unit-Button" could be a solution, right?

NW: I'm not sure I agree, the unit names are customizable and can be quite long. We do note the unit name on the taskbar button so it is visible on the screen at all times.

* hotkey for bringing the Caliper into the foreground (stay on top switch)
We currently have a 'Stay On Top' checkbox option which is on thr 'Options' menu.

Yes, I checked the feature, however calipers in the background of a fullscreen application require a windows minimization or task manager selection, which is not professional in our application. A simple definable keypress like F12 would do the trick.

NW: Which application are you running as fullscreen? The Calieprs usually hovers over everything even full-screen applications. Also please check you have the latest v4.0 of the software.

* the middle mouse button (+wheel up/down) should be customizable with any arbitrary Caliper feature
This is something that can be added, however as most mice do not have a middle mouse button I wouldn't see it as a priority for the application.

Opposite to your view I think that most mice have a third button. I wonder if it's still possible to buy a 2-button mouse? ;)

NW: Ahh, I didn't realize you meant the mouse wheel. We can certainly assign a function to that button, but I'm not really sure another menu option and customization screen is warrented. Rotation might be an interesting option to use for the mouse wheel.

* lock/unlock both angle & measure with one click
Using the keyboard shortcuts 'A' and 'M' you can toggle locking the Angle and Measurement. As you cannot lock both of these things at once these keys should cover all situations.

Why isn't that possible? What if I want several calipers with a fixed measure for comparison that should not change whatsoever (except its position)?

NW: You can simply drag the left side of the Calipers to move them around the screen, regardless of what lock is set and the angle and distance will not change. I think 99% of the time toggling the locks is the most useful.

* possibility to delete default unit entries
This is possibale as a manual process. You can edit the distances.ini file which is found in the application folder and also in
C:\Documents and Settings\[Username]\Application Data\Iconico\config

Ok, would be nice to do this via the GUI, but your suggestion is ok as well.

NW: Good. We like to keep the default units in place for our users.

* enable/disable transparency to improve performance (a deactivated "stay on top" Caliper is still transparent!)
We increase the transparency when the application doesn't have the focus for usability reasons. I'm a little unsure as to what you are asking.

I just want to deactivate transparency at all, independent of a the calipers status (on top or without focus). In my view this would prevent flickering if the calipers stay on top of a fullscreen application but have no focus.

NW: I'm unsure where you're seeing flickering, which application are you running the Calieprs over? Also please check you're using version 4.0.

* possibility of closing Magnifier/Logger with Caliper termination
Certainly possible but something I would not consider for the general release application as users would be surprized when the Calipers suddenly exited.

I meant it the other way round. Just a checkmark to automatically close the logger/magnifier with termination of the calipers.

NW: I'm not sure that this is really a huge problem or that the need for this is very great for most of our users.

* Magnifier: update problem after Caliper repositioning (mouse has to be moved for a Magnifier update; Windows magnifier works)
Our magnifier works by magnifing the area under the mouse, not under the magnifier. We are considering adding a checkbox to the Magnifier to toggle this feature.

The Windows magnifier works the same way, i.e. under the mouse. Just try "magnify.exe" :)

NW: You're right, it does!

* interface for keying data into the Caliper measure display (graphical feedback instead of hidden input)
Certainly possible.

Probably possible by using a text-area in the calipers?

NW: We're actually considering adding an options screen, as the options menu is getting a little big. On this screen we would have a textbox for measurement entry and angle entry as well as postion.

----

Thanks again for your comments. Again I'm not sure that the public forum is the best place to be discussing your specific requirements; if you're interested in customization of our software then please contact us and we can do something for you on a consulting basis. Otherwize I thank you for your comments and we will certainly bear them in mind for the next release. You have raised some interested points and we will consider them in due course.