Feature request: allow PDF setup on primary display

[cfcurtis]

There was a discussion on Facebook about trying to use the following workflow, but being hindered by the calibration warning:

1. Calibrate on projector
2. Move PP window back to primary display
3. Open PDF, select layers, stitch, adjust line weights, etc
4. Move PP window back to projector

FB users talked about how they couldn't do step 3 because of the calibration warning, but of course they don't want to calibrate to their computer screen.

I'm not sure the best way to fix this, and it seems that browser support for detecting a primary display is limited. Perhaps it would make sense to give users a button to hide the calibration warning one time? That way they could move the window, hide the warning, load the PDF etc, and if it pops up again when they move back to the projector then it's legitimate.

[hluedeke]

I like this idea. In fact, what I'd probably do is if you dismiss the popup, it shows a small warning icon in the menu somewhere. If you click on the warning icon, it pops the window back up again

[courtneypattison]

I can see why people would get frustrated with this flow! When I use extended mode, on my primary display, I press Project, open the pattern, do my adjustments, move the window to the extended display, get the calibration warning, click recalibrate, calibrate, and then project.

It's not an obvious or ideal flow for sure, but it works alright. In the future, I'd like the stitching/altering to be separate or the first step in some way. I think that would be nicer, but a lot of work!

I'm hesitant to allow users to dismiss the warning. I could see people thinking they've solved the issue by dismissing the warning. Even if there's still a warning icon, it could be off their table in extended mode.

What about changing the background of the warning's opacity? Similar to how you can see through the main menu now.

[hluedeke]

What if it forced you to confirm the close? Like "Are you sure you want to dismiss this?" And explain that it could cause their cuts to be wrong if they dismiss the window. Don't make it easy to close it, but make it possible?

[cfcurtis]

Hmm, perhaps this is worth a clarification on the Facebook discussion - they OP said "pattern projector won't let me open the pattern without saving the calibration for the screen on my computer". I just tested on my system (Firefox + Fedora) and I can ignore the warning and open the file - it shouldn't actually block anything, right?

If it's a matter of screen space, could the warning dialog be just on the canvas area so that it's behind the menus? That way it would interfere with projecting, but not setup.

[courtneypattison]

What if it forced you to confirm the close? Like "Are you sure you want to dismiss this?" And explain that it could cause their cuts to be wrong if they dismiss the window. Don't make it easy to close it, but make it possible?

I still think people would dismiss the message without checking and continue. People can click "Calibrate" and then "Project" to remove the warning. However, the wording on the "save window size and continue" warning should probably be updated so people can understand and use this method. That warning means the window size/location has changed since the last time they calibrated and they'll be saving the current window size/location. That saved data is what it used to trigger the calibration warning.

What do you think about changing the "save and continue warning" in the calibrate page to this?

Different window size?

The window size is different than it was the last time you calibrated. Make sure the grid still lines up with your mat.

                                          Edit (Save)

I just tested on my system (Firefox + Fedora) and I can ignore the warning and open the file - it shouldn't actually block anything, right?

Yeah, it only blocks some space on the screen.

If it's a matter of screen space, could the warning dialog be just on the canvas area so that it's behind the menus?

That's a very good point. I don't test on phones so didn't notice this issue, but it can end up covering the menus.

I'm thinking a translucent background on the warning with it sitting behind the menus and then a stretch goal of moving the stitching/adjustments out. Also, an update to the "save and continue" warning.

What do you folks think?

[cfcurtis]

I'm thinking a translucent background on the warning with it sitting behind the menus and then a stretch goal of moving the stitching/adjustments out. Also, an update to the "save and continue" warning.

What do you folks think?

I think making it clear that it's only displayed in front of the canvas would be great, and the translucent background would still allow for line width modifications and stitching. This would certainly help with the workflow I originally described.

However... the original user who shared this issue responded on FB and said that the file browser doesn't appear until she saves her calibration (on Windows 10 with Google Chrome). Now I'm thinking I misunderstood the original issue, the user wanted to first load the document and get it set up on the computer, then move the window to the projector to calibrate. In this order of operations, you do need to save calibration first.

[courtneypattison]

However... the original user who shared this issue responded on FB and said that the file browser doesn't appear until she saves her calibration (on Windows 10 with Google Chrome). Now I'm thinking I misunderstood the original issue, the user wanted to first load the document and get it set up on the computer, then move the window to the projector to calibrate. In this order of operations, you do need to save calibration first.

Usually in this case, I'd just save the calibration, without actually calibrating, then go back and calibrate after. That being said, people could definitely forget to go back and calibrate after. How about adding a third option when saving? If they choose (Continue without calibrating) we could throw up a message similar to the scale and zoom messages that says something like "Not calibrated" or "Editing mode. Do not cut! Not calibrated." or something else. Maybe with a button to link to calibration. It'd be obnoxious enough not to ignore but less intrusive for editing than the calibration warning.

First time:

Save calibration

Would you like to save your calibration and start projecting?

                                          Edit (Continue without calibrating | Calibrate later) (Save)

Following times:

Different window size?

The window size is different than it was the last time you calibrated. Make sure the grid still lines up with your mat.

                                          Edit (Continue without calibrating | Calibrate later) (Save)

Then maybe the new flow in the future could be:

1. start on the editing page with the message about being in editing mode
2. click calibrate and calibrate
3. go back to project to start projecting

That'd mostly remove the popping out of fullscreen when opening a file issue and be nicer for people who just want to stitch/edit. It's really only one extra click. Maybe it's time to switch to the Edit -> Calibrate -> Project flow. In editing mode, we could remove zooming limitations to make it easier to stitch and also remove the matrix transform so the pattern doesn't look wonky on screen.