playMaker

Author Topic: Better layout position of multiple copied states  (Read 1169 times)

Broken Stylus

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Better layout position of multiple copied states
« on: September 19, 2019, 07:18:11 AM »
When the user copies the same state multiple times (paste paste paste), the new states appear on top each other on Z (depth). So the latest copy masks the other ones.

It would be better if they stacked vertically.

With option in Preferences > Graph View : Stacking gap.
Essentially, each gap is the size of a transition-less state.
So it defines how many of such spaces is left between each successive copy.

-1: the way it operates today (latest copy masks former copies).
0: they pile up with each new state below the former copy, and are contiguous.
1: they don't touch but if each state has an exit transition, they would actually touch.
2: they will not touch unless each state has two exit transitions.
3+: etc.

Perhaps with a slider with whole numbers + an exposed int field nevertheless?

Extra option : queue horizontally.
Copies are placed one the same horizontal line.
But the gap management would be a bit different here obviously since the spacing should be more like fractions of the width of a state otherwise the spreading of new states would be ridiculous, even at 1.

Maybe for this gap size area could change depending on the user wanting vertically or horizontally aligned copies?

Or let's entirely drop the slider and go for a drop down menu proposing the following options for the Gap size: none, 1/4th state, 1/2 state, 1 state, 2 states, 3 states, etc.
("none" would be the current way it works)

It might take into account the default state size and the grid snapping too?