Layers, Locked Effects, and User Feedback
ImagePlay 0.1.1 includes something new for each layer; “locked effects.” Each layer automatically gets a rotate and a reflection effect. Some people may find this anoying and wonder what the point is exactly.
Well, these two effects are a basic implementation of a new feature in ImagePlay; The ability to apply an effect to both the surface and mask of a layer.
The ability to manipulate these “full layer” effects as easily as we can manipulate surface/mask effects will come in a future version. The major thing that is holding that up right now is the question; How do I implement the actual interface for this?
There are two ways I can go about it:
A) implement a focus selector that lets the user toggle between mask/surface/both (currently we toggle between mask/surface via the “mask” button on each layer)
B) show all of these effects in the effects list at once, sepperating them by headers within the listbox
The focus selector would make for a cleaner interface, but the listbox would make for an easier interface.
Ease of use should always come first. As ImagePlay gets more complex in its functionality I fear that the learning curve for new users will increase. Right now I’m leaning towards B.
Leave a comment and let me know what you think. If you’ve got a better idea for how to implement this, definitely let me know!