default settings that should be changed

[seandepagnier]

The settings dialog itself is disorganized, offering many useless options, as well as displaying many items in the wrong locations. It would be nice if the dialog were stateless, so enabling/disabling options would show immediate results rather than closing and reopening settings to do it, and the apply/ok/cancel is also confusing.

I have noticed that by default many settings in opencpn are not the best ones to use for most users in most cases. In some cases, the best setting could be actually "guessed" by opencpn rather than using the current default values.

I think many users have a less experience because they don't change the many settings from defaults. Many don't even exist from the settings or options panel. A few defaults I would change:

Display:

1. 'zoom to cursor' ON
2. 'smooth panning/zooming' ON... are there still systems where it is a bad option with the latest git code now? We could detect them rather than simply disable by default.
3. 'preserve scale switching charts' ON
4. opengl, ON except for blacklisted drivers (which ones?)

Charts:

4 colors instead of 2 colors for vector chart colors
enable alternate vector palette by default?

Connectons:

Default connection to localhost on 2947 if gpsd is installed and working. Otherwise some sort of probing of serial devices may be possible in windows?

Ships:

COG heading predictor default to 60 minutes or 1 hour.


Some fonts could be larger by default??


Finally, a completely new and hidden option (by default disabled) I would like to see by default, please add the following line in [Settings] to opencpn.conf:

UseSimplifiedScalebar=1

Now the scale bar is more human readable? Should it be this by default?

[houlejm]

IMHO I would not change 'zoom to cursor'. When planning it is OK but when sailing with 'follow boat' enabled it is a nuisance.

Better yet would be automatic switching depending on 'follow boat' being enabled.

[bcn]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

Ships:

COG heading predictor default to 60 minutes or 1 hour.

This will depend very much from where and how you are sailing.
In tight quarters, channels etc. one hour does not make any sense at all.

Traveling at 4kn or 11kn makes a difference.
Or offshore or coastal.

No general solution, I fear.

"T"ext should be enabled by default (in case it is not already). Always very hight on the billboards at the forum....

[Hakan]

My views on Sean's proposal:

The general view on options being complicated for new user may be so. I've used OCPN for so many years I know more or less every option and where to find it. So my opinion here is more or less useless.
More:
1. 'zoom to cursor' ON
No not at all. While sailing and I want to change zoom I'm interested in the area around the boat and not where the cursor happens to be.
2. 'smooth panning/zooming' ON... are there still systems where it is a bad option with the latest git code now? We could detect them rather than simply disable by default.
No opinion, I've never used it.
3. 'preserve scale switching charts' ON
OK
4. opengl, ON except for blacklisted drivers (which ones?)
OK
4 colors instead of 2 colors for vector chart colors
enable alternate vector palette by default?
OK
COG heading predictor default to 60 minutes or 1 hour.
OK
Some fonts could be larger by default??
Not for me. I use to make most smaller.
UseSimplifiedScalebar=1
I've tested but can't see any differences to the chart bar but the scale ruler is very nice and useful, thanks. See shot.
Håkan

[seandepagnier]

So zoom to cursor, the fonts (although maybe can be adjusted based on physical screen size??) and predictor length don't need to change, but no objections to the other changes?


In addition:
The vector depth soundings should be a font so they scale well, currently they are ugly when enlarged slightly

[Gilletarom]

Hello All,

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

The settings dialog itself is disorganized, offering many useless options, as well as displaying many items in the wrong locations. It would be nice if the dialog were stateless, so enabling/disabling options would show immediate results rather than closing and reopening settings to do it, and the apply/ok/cancel is also confusing.
.....

I do not understand very well this "It would be nice if the dialogue were stateless". But I say that the set of options is too complicated. Too many questions were asked on the French forums because of this.

Concerning the 3 buttons "Ok", "Cancel" and "Apply". Either we keep them, or we suppress them. BUT, users still have to close the options dialog box. In this case, there are two ways to do this:
- Either they must click on the red cross at the top right of the window,
- Either, we replace the 3 buttons with a "Close" buttons.

I observe that:
- On the one hand Dave ensures that the red cross at the top right of the windows is not used
- On the other hand Sean d'Epagnier and other developers of plugins do not follow the same rule.

This makes the use of OpenCPN and plugins very unpleasant, and even more, incomprehensible for many users.

It would be nice if there was consistency between the developers on this.

Personally, I prefer the "Dave" method because it is older. Moreover, many users begin by exploiting the core of OpenCPN, then, eventually, they use the plugins.

I return to the 3 buttons "Ok", "Cancel" and "Apply". To make them easy to use, just add a tooltip, explaining their role. There would be no more confusion. With this condition, it avoids breaking the habits of the users.

Best regards. Gilletarom.

[Gilletarom]

Hello All,

Originally Posted by bcn

This will depend very much from where and how you are sailing.
In tight quarters, channels etc. one hour does not make any sense at all.
Traveling at 4kn or 11kn makes a difference.
Or offshore or coastal.

No general solution, I fear.

"T"ext should be enabled by default (in case it is not already). Always very hight on the billboards at the forum....

COG heading predictor:
I agree with Hubert. On our boat, in the first time we used 20 minutes, for our boat and for AIS targets. Now, we use 10 minutes. Because in the area where we sail, there is so many boat with AIS, that too much difficult to read the screen with a too long time.

"T" :
Yes, Ok with Hubert. Again, I think you have to change the "A+" icon and replace it with a "T", even the we change the habits.

[Gilletarom]

Hello All,

Originally Posted by Hakan

My views on Sean's proposal:
...
1. 'zoom to cursor' ON
No not at all. ...
2. 'smooth panning/zooming' ON... ....
No opinion, I've never used it.
3. 'preserve scale switching charts' ON
OK
4. opengl, ON except for blacklisted drivers (which ones?)
OK
4 colors instead of 2 colors for vector chart colors
enable alternate vector palette by default?
OK
COG heading predictor default to 60 minutes or 1 hour.
OK
Some fonts could be larger by default??
Not for me. I use to make most smaller.
UseSimplifiedScalebar=1
...Håkan

1. 'zoom to cursor' ON
No not at all. ... Ok with Hakan. We never use "Zoom to cursor"
2 'smooth panning/zooming' ON
NO. we do not use this option.
3 'preserve scale switching charts' ON
Ok.
4 colors instead of 2 colors for vector chart colors ----> Yes
enable alternate vector palette by default? ----Both.
COG ---> No, see previous post.
5 Some fonts could be larger by default??
It depends on the quality of the view of each one. So hard to make a choice in advance.

UseSimplifiedScalebar=1 Where is this options ? Not in 4.4.0 ?

Gilletarom.

[Hakan]

Sean..
If you in to the fuction UseSimplifiedScalebar maybe the ruler on screen position may be adjusted when GRIB is shown or vice versa. Now they interfere with each others. Always placing the ruler at the down right canvas corner instead may be fine?
See shot.
Håkan

[seandepagnier]

hakan, can you try my branch:

https://github.com/seandepagnier/Ope...scale_location

I think it's better now

[Hakan]

Sean..
I'm on Windows as you may know.
Yes it's better orientated on the right side but if your intention was to lift it if the charts bar reach the same area it didn't quit succeed. See pic 1
On the other hand it's seldom that many bars so it might not matter?

If I just for a debug test make this:

     int x_origin = m_canvas_width - 200;
        int chartbar_height = GetChartbarHeight();
        ocpnStyle::Style* style = g_StyleManager->GetCurrentStyle();
        //if (style->chartStatusWindowTransparent)            chartbar_height = 0;
        int y_origin = m_canvas_height - chartbar_height - 5;

The result is as of pic 2
Thanks
Håkan

[seandepagnier]

do you think your change is better? I liked it sharing the line with charts.

the compass/gps status window can sometimes also be relocated to the lower right, in this case it can also overlap with the chart bar

[Hakan]

No, I also like it better at the bottom chart line. So my opinion is you leave it down if there isn't an "easy" way to lift it only if the bars also reaches that far right.
(I couldn't find a "GetChartbarWidth()"
Håkan

[HappySeagull]

It would be nice if the dialog were stateless, so enabling/disabling options would show immediate results rather than closing and reopening settings to do it, and the apply/ok/cancel is also confusing.

Not sure how this would look- there's so much going on in there (pages of Options!) so it seems inevitable you have to cover the charts anyway.

As to Apply , it allows changing things through several pages of options without closing the settings dialogue, where OK does not. Typical Windows usage that people get used to...

Charts:

4 colors instead of 2 colors for vector chart colors

sure. I always set this on new install.

Ships:

COG heading predictor default to 60 minutes or 1 hour.

I agree with BCN, et al on this. just knowing you have a heading indicator is enough to start...and if it's too long, it's really annoying sailing in chop, sweeping backnforth, growing, shrinking etc.

Perhaps just some things could be in a "stateless" "Fast (important) Settings" dialogue. This heading indicator might be one of them.

Also, I would add to "Fast (important) Settings" this:
"Ships/
Advance route Waypoint on Arrival only. (on/off)"
it's still (just my? peevish ) concern that this is by default off. hereabouts, anyways, there are waypoints you must get to even if you have to go back. I never quite understood this setting anyways where it's already possible to change the arrival boundary or "activate next waypoint"...oh well.

as to "simplified scalebar" I don't know what use the scalebar is anyways. I don't need a scalebar and never look at it. I don't use dividers on my screen! I have the measuring tool or the route-making tool for that.

Zoom to cursor...cool thing when I turn it on but by default Mine seems to be off all the time so that'd be my choice.

PS: I tried your config tweak to scalebar but so far, no change to it on linux ..

[jongough]

Hi,
The "Advance route Waypoint on Arrival only. (on/off)" as added as when sailing it is quite possible to get further away from the waypoint and this caused the original code to advance to the next waypoint. This got even worse if the route had a curve in it as the active waypoint could continue to advance to the end of the route or to a point where you were not going away from it.

The setting is set to "off" so that the original behaviour is used by default. This was so that OCPN did not suddenly change the way it works for users.

This setting is 'simplistic' as that was all I needed at the time to allow routes to work for me when sailing. If there is now a requirement for a third option, such as "must pass within X of the waypoint" this could be added.

Jon