Bug: File > Open Ignores Window Sizing Preference

[CaliforniaJerry]

WeBuilder 9.5.2.106

Severity: Bad Behavior

Initial State:
I have four files open in "Windows > Tile Vertically" mode. They are all sized and placed to be viewable in certain areas of the desktop. None of them is "Maximized". I'm using multiple (3) monitors for one extended desktop. The application window is stretched over the entire desktop, and visible in all three monitors.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Select "File > Open" from the menu toolbar, or "File Explorer" frame.

2. Click on another file in the "Active Files" toolbar.

Bad Behavior
a) The file opens in "Maximum" mode, and all the files are now in "Maximum" mode. I have to select each one to reset them to their preferred size.

b) After resizing, the size and location of the newly opened file is inconsistent with the behavior of the other open file windows. it's left border is located far to the left of the other files. I have to scroll way over to see it. It's length is very long, and is misplaced above the other files.

If you click the "Reduce Size" button of the newly opened file right away, before activating any other file, you may not see all other file windows maximized. It's still bad behavior to be maximized at all when none of the other windows is.

Please view and comment on more of my Feature Requests.

[Karlis]

Let's put this to voting. Since nobody else has found this uncomfortable at least so long as I can remember, I believe features requested by multiple users should be favored first. Though, indeed here we have a valid and reasonable point.

If you feel that this really really needs attention, do a +1 thing.

[CaliforniaJerry]

+1

Thanks, Karlis, for your reply.

Regarding this issue, it is definitely of high importance to me. Perhaps it is a bit strong to call it a bug, but to me it is. To have to spend time adjusting my workspace every time I open a file is simply not reasonable. Even without multiple monitors, I believe it is an issue worth resolving. Most people it seems don't bother giving their input in the forum. It takes a great deal of time for me to do this. I'm trying to be helpful so we can have a tool that helps with our productivity. There have only been 9 views of this thread, and at least several of those are repeats by me. So to get a truly representative vote will be difficult. But we'll give it a try.

[CaliforniaJerry]

I just discovered this post today, so it baffles me that you would say there have been no requests for this type of behavior from others. This guy found it such an essential missing feature, he's gone for good, and he took his development team with him. From Oct 22, 2008:

the constant forced opening in full screen is enough of an irritation that I now understand why fellow programmers do not like any of your editors for major corporate work. It is a childish display not letting the user choose the size and placement of involved multi-file projects each time it needs to be reopened. I just worked on a project that required five files open at the same time and I used your Tools/Load a list of files but they all open full screen losing the sizing and placement on the screen that I previously had set for them. View This Post > Here

Here is another from July 19, 2009, that addresses the Remember and Restore Size issue: Message-pane always resizes to default size after restart!

Please view and comment on more of My Feature Requests.

[syrupcore]

+1

[davenz]

So how many people use three monitors here? One? Two? And how many find it a show-stopper to not have the window open at some weird size? One? Two? I think there are more important issues to resolve than this. Dreamweaver is made by teams of coders who work for a multi-million-dollar company. Karlis and Gatis and possibly someone else make this editor (and all their other software) by themselves and they aren't there to take orders from us or spend 28 hours a day trying to accommodate the whims of someone who has just discovered the software. Coming in and comparing software by saying that program A has this and program B has that is almost insulting. Do you think the developers of this software haven't sat back and looked at what else is out there? If you take a list of useful features, I bet Webuilder comes out ahead of most, and that is because these guys have put a lot of thought into what to put into it. For customizability, I haven't found any editor that matches it. I have picked up from the dealings that I've had with the coders that there is a list of stuff to do and this gets done in order of priority. Try emailing Adobe and asking them to put something into their software, you'd be lucky to get a reply and then it would be from some support member in Bangalore; at least these guys listen and run an almost unheard of democratic ship. It seems to me if enough people want something they will do their best to put it in as soon as they deal with their list of things.

Remember that it isn't just a matter of a few lines of code tacked on to what is already there; any new code has to be thoroughly tested to make sure it hasn't broken anything else and the software still performs at the high level we all expect of it. I imagine they could add all sorts of stuff to it and in the end it would be another Dreamweaver clone; slow, poxy and bordering on unusable. I use this software because I like it, I can afford it and I like the idea of giving my money to people who really deserve it. I have tried just about every html editor out there and while I am no coder, this is the best I have come across for what I do. It may lack something some other editor has but that's just how it is, otherwise all of them would be exactly the same.

Anyway, this is my 2 cent rant.

[CaliforniaJerry]

Thanks for your input, Dave.

In addition to the previous disgruntled user, here's another...

WebSquad said (March 15, 2007): I'm using HTMLPad in a dual monitor setup...Gosh, it would be nice if an .ini file would record this at application exit time and reapply it when the application is restarted. Application state at exit time reloaded with next execution

The point is, "Remember and Restore" is not a trivial issue. It is a productivity bottleneck that needs to be set to a high priority and dealt with. It makes the software look unfinished and buggy. Mentioning high-end software such as Dreamweaver and low-end like Kompozer is a way of saying, "Hey, this is an industry standard that you should pay attention to because users of this type of software have come to expect it."

By the way, Karlis did mention he'd be addressing multiple monitor systems in the 2010 release. Here are some other posts from the forum:
Mutiple Monitors - Different Display sizes - March 14, 2005
Dual monitor quirkyness, Nov. 17, 2006

Generally, if you get one person taking the time to post in a forum, there are perhaps 10 or 100 who just don't bother. Here are some links that discuss statistics on customer input:
Believe it, Complaints are Gifts
Basic Facts on Customer Complaint Behavior > PDF
Statistical Research
96% of dissatisfied customers donā€™t complain they just stop buying

[Karlis]

We have been improving window position saving and multi-monitor support constantly. First, it was major bugs, then smaller bugs and things that affect most users. It is simply that there is no such standalone feature as "multimonitor support". There are zillion of windows, many positions and many factors that need to be taken into account and various user wants.

I think what CaliforniaJerry outlined from various places of this forum are requests that not only the position of WeBuilder main window and all the previously loaded files and all cursor positions should be remembered, but also the positions of all smaller windows inside should be remembered. Though each has requested different subset of features, I think this is the general idea.

Why this hasn't been done? Two reasons: 1) Because we did not have time. Yes, we did, but it was all booked by other things, incluing customer support. Also yes, because I do not believe it is as important as many other things still sitting in the list. Yes, we have these few users requesting these features, but we have tens and hundreds of votes for other features that we are working on first. It is as simple as that - most demanded features and bug fixes get implemented first. 2) Implementation is not cheap or easy. It would make the program abit bigger and what is more importent - slower, yes only for 0.1 seconds, but that is a lot factoring in how few users would benefit from this. We need a smart implementation (can't just blindly save everything and restore everything) and that is a real challenge that would take weeks to implement and test.

That said, I do agree that CaliforniaJerry has a completely valid point, it is just about the priorities.

p.s. Sometimes I wish there was no MDI interface with a separate window for each doc, but rather only full-screen docs and tabs (as it is in 90% of our direct competitors). This is a joke, of course I hope we are able to improve everything and make everybody happy at some point.