Stuff about AC9

[Anonymous]

I notice that the contextual menu (right-click on a PC) doesn't include Elevate or Multiply. These were available by right-clicking in 8.1. Anyone out there know if there is an 'Option' selection somewhere to to enable these two useful commands?

[Anonymous]

They're in the pet palette now. It seems at least as easy.

Notice also that the pet palette mirror & rotate no longer start at the place clicked. Much more useful than in 8.1.

[Ben Odonnell]

Hi guys.
They are there it just depends on which work environment you have activated.

If you have the standard or novice you will not see them, but if you have the expert work environment activated you will see them.

One unfortunate thing about the context menu is that is not customizable like everything else in ArchiCAD is now.

Cheers.
Ben

[Laszlo Vertesi]

Ben wrote:
Hi guys.
One unfortunate thing about the context menu is that is not customizable like everything else in ArchiCAD is now.

We at Product Design considered this issue hard: as you also mentioned, context menus vary in the different default Work Environment Profiles included in the package, which shows that context menus in fact are customizable in the core. BUT what we realized during the early usability testing was that the customization UI of the context menus was just too complex: an additional panel in the WE settings Dialog with a list of 100+ context menus: it was not easy at all (to find which one you would like to cusomize, etc.). I would like to make a poll and get feedback on it: would it be desirable to make context menu customization available on the UI in the future?

[Anonymous]

Laszlo wrote:
would it be desirable to make context menu customization available on the UI in the future?

I think it would be desirable, but only as an advanced option. This way perhaps the interface doesn't have to be as cleaned up and simple.

There is a certain point in making things customizable where you risk losing the consistency of the program overall. The context menu is especially sensitive since it is essentially gestural. One becomes accustomed to where the commands are in the menu - right click to cancel is something I do many times per day - so it becomes automatic physical response requiring no conscious attention.

(I am looking forward to getting AC9 installed around the office so I can load standard workspaces on all the machines.)

[Anonymous]

Laszlo wrote:
would it be desirable to make context menu customization available on the UI in the future?

If a short answer is to be given... then NO.
The reason is that the context menu is element-position-case dependent.
It would be very very complicated for a user to get involved and changing it .

On the other hand having one more option avaliable to customize the userinteface cannot hurt anyone.

So the long answer would be, if its easy to implement, do so...
if not just place it at the bottom of the wish list.