[ptt-users] TM 5.1 RC 2: editing buffer stops responding

[Frank Cohen]

Hi Lars:

You can tell which Java you are using by running "java -version" from  
the command-line.

Thanks for the usability improvements. Your ideas are very good. I  
opened a new ticket to track the improvements at http:// 
bugs.pushtotest.com/ticket/212. I would be happy to give you an  
account to add your own enhancement/bug requests.

-Frank



On Feb 22, 2008, at 1:23 PM, Lars Huttar wrote:

> Frank,
> Thanks for your reply.
>
> My OS is WinXP Pro SP2.
> Java version: I'm not really sure! I have more several versions  
> installed, from 1.4.2_12 to 1.6.0_02. Is there an easy way to tell  
> which one TM is using?
> Video driver: NVIDIA Quadro NVS 120M, 4/28/2007, 6.14.11.119
> Mouse driver: Alps Touch Pad, 10-19-2005, 5.4.104.4
>
> Since you asked about feedback to improve usability, one thing I  
> have noticed in the last few days is this:
> There are four "Open" actions available in the main window:
> 1- one labeled toolbutton in the upper toolbar
> 2- one unlabeled button (with an "Open" tooltip) in the lower toolbar
> 3- one "Open..." item on the File menu, which is also Ctrl+O
> 4- one "Open TestScenario..." item on the File menu.
>
> The first and last items open a dialog. The second and third items  
> may seem at first to do nothing, but (it took me a while to figure  
> this out) they actually put the keyboard focus into the Location  
> bar, apparently with the idea of navigating around by editing the  
> path and pressing Enter.
>
> So the main issue is that this is all confusing. It's not obvious  
> to the user which of these "Open" functions are the same and which  
> are different, and what each one does.
> - Are 1 and 4 redundant with each other? Will 1 not work for  
> opening TestScenarios? Does 4 have any advantage over 1? If they do  
> the same thing, why are there two different menu items?
> - Since 2 and 3 do the same thing as each other, but something  
> different from 1 and 4, it would be clearer if 2 and 3 were labeled  
> distinctly from 1 and 4. E.g. 2 and 3 might be labeled "Browse" or  
> "Navigate" or something like that.
> (Or, either the navigation interface or the file-open dialog could  
> be removed from the UI; they seem redundant with each other as far  
> as I can tell.)
>
> Another small issue: if you go to the View menu and uncheck  
> Toolbar, then go back and check it again, the toolbar you get back  
> is not like the toolbar that was there originally. The original one  
> had about four toolbuttons in the upper row. The new toolbar has  
> only one button in the upper row, labeled "PushToTest", which seems  
> to do nothing.
>
> One more usability issue:
> To create a "new" something, there are two places to do it: the  
> toolbar, which offers new load test, new service monitor, and new  
> functional test; and the File / New menu item, which opens a  
> "Create a new test" dialog, which offers four other test creation  
> options.
> It's not obvious to the newbie why there are these two separate  
> groups, and so I don't necessarily know which group to go to when I  
> want to create a new test.
> My analysis, after learning PTT for a while, is that the File/New  
> dialog is for creating new *unit* tests, while the toolbar buttons  
> create higher-level tests that make use of unit tests. Am I right?
> If so, it would be helpful to label the two methods that way, e.g.  
> "New Unit Test" vs "New Test Scenario" (is that the right term for  
> functional and load tests and service monitors?)
> (Alternatively, they could be collapsed into one group.)
> If they are two separate groups, it would be helpful (for usability  
> -- "Don't Make Me Think! [tm] :-) if the two were accessed in  
> parallel ways - i.e. both through the menu, or both through  
> toolbars, or both via both; rather than one via toolbar only, and  
> one via menu only.
>
> Just my few cents. Probably more than you bargained for.
> :-)
>
> Lars
>
>
> On 2/22/2008 8:37 AM, Frank Cohen wrote:
>> Hi Lars:
>>
>> TestMaker uses the J editor and I believe the freezing problem is  
>> located in that module. What is your OS, version of Java, video  
>> driver, mouse driver?
>>
>> By the way, we are working on major changes to the UI to make it  
>> more user-friendly. (This is WAY over due.) Changing editors is  
>> one of things I have in mind. I would certainly appreciate any  
>> feedback to improve the usability.
>>
>> -Frank
>>
>>
>>
>> On Feb 21, 2008, at 2:52 PM, Lars Huttar wrote:
>>
>>> I'm in TM 5.1 now, with buffers open such as C:\src\tm5\TestMaker 
>>> \build.xml and C:\Program Files\PushToTest_TestMaker 
>>> \example_agents\testgen4web_examples 
>>> \PTT_Examples_UnitTest.testgen4web
>>>
>>> The problem I'm experiencing is that the editing buffer -- the  
>>> window that shows the contents of each file -- does not respond  
>>> to keyboard or mouse input.
>>> If I click the mouse in that area, the blinking cursor goes to  
>>> the start of the buffer. But I cannot move the cursor with mouse  
>>> or keyboard, nor type or delete text, change the selection, etc.
>>> On the other hand, other controls in TM are responsive: the  
>>> Location bar is fine, as is the Output window.
>>>
>>> When I restart TM, the problem goes away.
>>> I'm not sure at what point the problem began.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>> Lars
>>>
>
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--
Frank Cohen, http://www.PushToTest.com, phone 408 871 0122
PushToTest, the open-source test automation company