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kiwidude · 02-18-2012, 02:45 PM

@Kovid - well like I said, we shall just have to agree to disagree, as I see that as a workaround, not a solution

. Has it already been implemented? As I reckon this question is coming up just as often as it always has?

I confess to just not understanding the use case for separate toolbars. I can't think of a single other application I have that forces me to add items to multiple toolbars, or has any similar concept. I completely understand that there are things that need to appear only when a device is connected, but in my mind there is just no use case for by default appearing to remove completely unrelated functionality when a device is connected? As why would I not want to be performing the same plugin activities (reading lists, metadata related stuff etc) just because I happened to plug my Kindle in? Other applications I use will *add* a toolbar related to current context if needed, they don't turn off the standard default toolbar. It surprises users, not in a good way

And while adding to two toolbars might work as a workaround when first installing a plugin, what happens if a user decides initially to put it on a context menu, and then later decides to put it on a toolbar? Or wants to change order on a toolbar? They have to do everything twice (once they do figure out what is going on). It is just too many clicks and friction.

I know it hits gui plugin authors like me far more than normal calibre support, since users are less likely to add to the toolbar without adding plugins. So maybe my perception of the problem it causes is distorted by that. It is just one of those quirks that no amount of counselling has removed my dislike of, and the 2-3 times a week I answer a post from a user bamboozled by it just reminds me all over again.

02-18-2012, 02:45 PM	#1550
kiwidude Calibre Plugins Developer Posts: 4,637 Karma: 2162064 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kindle Oasis	@Kovid - well like I said, we shall just have to agree to disagree, as I see that as a workaround, not a solution . Has it already been implemented? As I reckon this question is coming up just as often as it always has? I confess to just not understanding the use case for separate toolbars. I can't think of a single other application I have that forces me to add items to multiple toolbars, or has any similar concept. I completely understand that there are things that need to appear only when a device is connected, but in my mind there is just no use case for by default appearing to remove completely unrelated functionality when a device is connected? As why would I not want to be performing the same plugin activities (reading lists, metadata related stuff etc) just because I happened to plug my Kindle in? Other applications I use will add a toolbar related to current context if needed, they don't turn off the standard default toolbar. It surprises users, not in a good way And while adding to two toolbars might work as a workaround when first installing a plugin, what happens if a user decides initially to put it on a context menu, and then later decides to put it on a toolbar? Or wants to change order on a toolbar? They have to do everything twice (once they do figure out what is going on). It is just too many clicks and friction. I know it hits gui plugin authors like me far more than normal calibre support, since users are less likely to add to the toolbar without adding plugins. So maybe my perception of the problem it causes is distorted by that. It is just one of those quirks that no amount of counselling has removed my dislike of, and the 2-3 times a week I answer a post from a user bamboozled by it just reminds me all over again.