Decker

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confusion with transparency (and its documentation)

A topic by june-tree created 24 days ago Views: 96 Replies: 3

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june-tree24 days ago

- i would love if right-click to erase were "discoverable" through the UI. Missed that part of the docs, and didn't see it in the "all about color" deck, so just never learned it. (i also skim-read a lot so this one might be on me!) Spent a while trying to work out transparency in other ways.

I assumed the "white" and "black" when color mode is on referred to patterns 32 and 47 but uh, i think they draw in pattern 0 and 1 instead! (Yeah, i just verified(???) by drawing, copy-pasting into a canvas, and reading off the pattern number directly using the listener. Unless doing the copy/paste alters the pattern somehow?)

- the view-menu item "transparency mask" changes how drawing works. This is kinda confusing for an item I'd assume would only change our view on things.

- calling pattern0 "transparent" and pattern32 "opaque white" feels misleading in the docs tbh, especially because I expect the "white" colors in both color-mode (expecting #32) and the normal mode (expecting #0) to draw either transparently or opaquely... but they don't (they both essentially erase (or draw transparency) unless transparency-mask is on, in which case they both draw opaquely.)

- the color of the "white" in the palette turns into gray when transparency mask is activated, implying drawing in this color draws "transparently". This is the exact reverse of the behavior though!

i feel like the following would be lovely:
- maybe keep pattern 0 and pattern 32 both visible in the palettes of color-mode and non-color-mode (indicating that 32 is always opaque white and 0 is always transparent somehow through an icon? idk. this "sometimes transparent sometimes not" behavior is mind boggling and causes the need for like a very vague "transparency" menu item for copying/moving imo)
- perhaps a tool item called "eraser" that reverses left/right click behavior? idk! just anything so that i don't need to read all the documentation before doodling

so i guess my question is: is this a bug? is this intended behavior? if it's intended, i feel it could be improved a bit

ahmwma24 days ago (1 edit) (+2)

I do think most of these things are intended behavior.

But, hmm, yeah I do see what you mean about the palette turning gray in the "Stroke..." menu while transparency mask is active... That's confusing.

I hadn't noticed that because I tend to use the Toolbars.

(Found in the menu bar under Decker > Toolbars)

This is with transparency mask on -- the background transparent white has turned gray but the sidebar palette white (which is now opaque) still looks white.

But yeah, I see what you mean about it being weird when you're working directly from the menu bars at the top.

For the other stuff, the difference between the two black colors isn't relevant very often. For most users, I think just using '1' all the time is fine.

For '0' and '32' however... it generally makes sense to me that you can only draw with opaque white while transparency mask is active because it's also one of the only times when you can see the difference between the two whites. And I tend to think of this use of the word mask not as in "thing you look through" but as in "thing that masks off areas of white" like masking fluid in watercolor painting, but that might just be my own association with it.

Anyway I wonder if the toolbars would be helpful to you for now? It doesn't answer all of the things you mentioned but it does sidestep one issue (and I think they're very useful in general while drawing in Decker).

Internet JanitorDeveloper24 days ago (1 edit) (+2)

I just corrected the inconsistency in how the modal fill/stroke palettes draw the first swatch while in transparency mask mode; the fix will be included in the next Decker release; probably this Friday. The behavior of the toolbar is as intended.

june-tree24 days ago (1 edit)

ok glad the gray thing is gonna get changed but that was mostly a minor complaint tbh. most of my issue was being confused about how transparency functioned.

Is it just supposed to be puzzled out somehow that while the documentation is like "yep 1+47 colors/patterns!" and the palettes in the toolbar list 48 things... #47 can't be drawn by normal means, and to switch between drawing #0 and #32 you need to change something in the view menu (a menu labelled View because it changes how i view things, not what they are), and when that menu item is ticked there is zero intended indication on the palette that you're not drawing in a different color?

like idk much about UI, but maybe add a palette item for all the colors you can draw in?

like i'm sure you're both used to how this works and it all makes sense to you (and i understand it's a personal project, not trying to say you owe anyone anything) but it's confusing as heck for new folks!

(i will try the toolbars on the side too btw, i appreciate that tip!)

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confusion with transparency (and its documentation)