Default layout not identifiable

[helmut]

XnView MP offers a lot of configuration and settings. From what I can see, unexperienced users can ruin their configuration pretty easily and quickly. If possible, this should be avoided and if it does happen, users should have hints to get their configuration back on track. Below is a suggestion to turn this current disadvantage into an advantage for all users.

Current beviour:
In XnView MP 1.00 there are various layouts available (menu "View > Layout"). Currently it is not clear, which layout is the default layout.

Suggestion:
Default layout, i.e. the layout which is standard when starting XnView for the very first time, should be recognizable in the menus and choosable.

[xnview]

the default layout is not in View>Layout, the layouts here are predefined from Standard

[helmut]

the default layout is not in View>Layout, the layouts here are predefined from Standard

Right. But why is "Default layout" not in View > Layout? And why not just add it?

[ggiumarra]

I say amen 1000 times to the above comment "users can ruin their configuration pretty easily and quickly". Evidently I hit something on my keyboard accidentally and it changed my layout in XnView MP and I ended up spending over an hour, including uninstalling and re-installing the program (which did not help) before finally being able to restore what I had before, which was folders in the upper left, files of the selected folder in the upper left and the actual image in the bottom part of the window (it changed so that all I saw at the bottom were file attributes). It turns out what I had to do was go to the View menu and the Info panels sub-menu deselect the Histogram (whatever that is) option. How is that for intuitive?

I would just ask why it should be so easy to change the layout to begin with? And why make it so hard to restore the default?

[ceej]

And Please, can the name of the current layout be identified somewhere?

Scenario
I open XNView for a task. I pick the appropriate layout. I work. During the work I make some changes. I decide I want to keep the changes, i.e. update the 'current layout'. But, dummy that I am, I have forgotten which layout it was (A,B,C,D,E - are not great names for remembering). And as far as I can tell, there is no where in the UI that will tell me what is the basis for this layout.

I fully understand that this is not trivial. there are *many* scenarios with layouts and changes and do i update old or create new.

As a start -
First, I personally would like to be able to change the names of the layouts to be meaningful to me. Could the program keep A,B,C,D,E internally and allow me to assign a string label to each to be used in the UI?

Next, whenever a layout was selected to be loaded/restored, could the 'button' for that layout be highlighted in some way? colored or made darker? So that if I open the layout dropdown I'll know "the last one restored"?

Finally, if you do the above, then perhaps consider having a "Save Current Layout" option that would save the current state to the 'Last Layout Restored"?

Thanks for considering.
-ceej

[user0]

I would suggest to merge two 'Layout' menus:

• remove 'Layout' button from Toolbar completely
  I really see no reason for this functionality to have a separate button as (i guess) it is possible to assign a shortcut for a few layouts user need the most.

• add Custom layout items to View→Layout menu

• OPTIONAL add functionality to rename Custom layout.
  Limit custom name to 40 characters to avoid menu UI horizontal stretching.

Also it will automatially solve the problem of understanding which layout is currently selected (see 'Default 1' on screenshot).