Option for an SDI mode

Request new features or suggest modifications to existing features of Atlantis.
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orc4hire
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Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2020 2:02 am

Option for an SDI mode

Post by orc4hire »

Yes, yes, I know, it's an MDI app and not likely to change. But having to work that way is so cumbersome to me that it's a deal-breaker. Which is a shame, because Atlantis otherwise seems to be a fine little word processor.

(The only reason why I would ever have more than one document open at once in a word processor is to look at both of them, and that's so awkward in an MDI interface that, well, no thank you.)
Robert
Posts: 1887
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2003 8:27 pm

Post by Robert »

If you hardly ever open more than one document at a time, what difference does it make to you if the interface is MDI or SDI?
It does not matter if the interface is MDI or SDI when you want to display 2 documents side by side: you have to split the screen in both cases…
orc4hire
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Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2020 2:02 am

Post by orc4hire »

It matters when I do open more than one document, and want to look at both of them without having to go through a whole musical production number involving resizing the main window (probably covering up other things I need to refer to), fiddling with the document sub-windows, and then resetting it all when I'm done.

I've been using word processors for about 35 years. You're not going to talk me out of how I work.
Robert
Posts: 1887
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2003 8:27 pm

Post by Robert »

I am not trying to talk you out of anything. I simply don’t see where is the problem!

In Windows 10, if I grab the Atlantis main window by the title bar, and push it to the right or left against the screen edge, it gets automatically resized to half the screen estate. Any other application can be resized in this way and pushed to the other side of the screen.
In any case, it is extremely easy to navigate from one open application to the next using the Windows taskbar. The taskbar has pop-up previews of each open application. You get them by just hovering the mouse pointer over any taskbar button.
If you open 2 documents in Atlantis, you can tile them horizontally or vertically. You can also even more conveniently display them side by side horizontally or vertically, with or without synchronized scrolling.
You can also display a single document in split view. This allows you to copy/paste text from one location of the document to another, or to refer to one part of the document while working in another part.

What exactly can you do (or do you do) with a SDI app that you could not do with an MDI app?
orc4hire
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Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2020 2:02 am

Post by orc4hire »

Offhand, something like this, with being able to slide the top window left or right, to be able to see more of the other windows. It's not just a matter of being able to see the multiple sub-windows in one app, but also being able to see and interact with other apps just as easily. Or even worse, if I want to drag one of the document windows over to another monitor, so I can see both of them full-sized at the same time.

Yes, I could adapt my workspace and working methods to a multi-document window if I had to. It would be painful and awkward, but I could do it. But I don't have to.
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Robert
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Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2003 8:27 pm

Post by Robert »

I think we should agree to differ on this. But to be honest, your screenshot looks like clutter to me! I can imagine having to go through a whole musical production number to be able to work in such a "SDI" environment.

Note that you don’t have multiple sub-windows in Atlantis if you work on a single document. With 2 documents, you only have 2 sub-windows. Seeing and accessing other open apps is a breeze with the Windows Taskbar “toast” previews.
Leister
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Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2020 6:00 pm
Location: Austria

Post by Leister »

In case somebody is interested in this conversation and does not know – as I did – the difference between SDI and MDI mode:

In SDI applications, each window is independant from others and can have its own menu bar. SDI applications are opposed to MDI (Multiple Documents Interface) applications, where all windows are contained in and depend on the main window.
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Robert
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Post by Robert »

There are 4 open documents in that MDI screenshot. I wonder how the SDI screenshot would look with 4 open documents instead of 2… Would it look more practical or manageable?
Robert
Posts: 1887
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2003 8:27 pm

Post by Robert »

On the difference between SDI and MDI applications, you might want to take a look at this page: Document-Based Applications: SDI/MDI Applications
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