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« on: October 31, 2010, 08:23:47 PM »
Hello dotScott, I understand your limitations concerning time availability. I think the way to go is taking one step at a time, to overcome a task that could become overwhelming, while seeking professional results. I have no experience at all developing GUI' s but I have some time operating a CNC machine running Mach3, so I' ll try to help you figuring out the screen layout.
Observing the screen captures of the work in progress I think that you could move the status display and history and clear buttons just between the reset one and the group that controls the rewind, resent, stop and cycle start functions. In that way you could add up a safety feature related to the reset being to close to the rewind, without altering a desing, that I too consider very clean and straight forward.
I do too appreciate that the keys remain in the same locations, no matter what screen you are on. As you might have experienced, you keep going back and forth while needing to configure your running work. So a simplyfied design makes it easier and intuitive.
what I have firstly noticed in your program run screen is that there is no block Line# display and the same occurs with the Set Next Line and Run From Here buttons. All those features I consider too valuable and useful to resume a halted work. I assume that could be a good idea to place all those controls in the MDI screen or some other, along with the Input text box and a code blocks follow up window.
Also being a touch screen, I guess is of vital importance to have a set of Up and Down buttons to scroll up and down along the program blocks, so that the selection of a particular one could be done without the assistance of the mouse. That is also of relevance while selecting a point of view in all Job Follow Screens. Here are needed some Pan, Tilt and Zoom buttons like the ones found in RU Screen done by Elpablito, here in Mach3 forum. Mouse control should be put aside or at least be optional.
I do think too that al least 7 or 8 pages are required for a touch screen to undertake all control instances, without getting everything overcrowded. Finally concerning the Edge Finder configuration tool found in the Offsets page, let me tell you that most conversational programing or wisards trend to be very graphical, like the ones found in the std mill screen. I suppose that you' ll have to come up with something out of your creative graphical mind.
So, I hope my contribution help you find some way into the completion of this fine job. Sincerily yours, Aviomac
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