metier-velo@gmai
Salt Lake City, UT United States
The setup windows (for example, "Primary dimensions") always float above the bicycle design window. This window behavior makes it very difficult change dimensions and then visualize them in the design. Is there any way to change to standard OS X window behavior?
-jamie
Métier Vélo
Dialog boxes
I generally recommend arranging some of the most commonly used dialog boxes so they do not overlap the main window. This is demonstrated below.
If you do ever find that a dialog box is blocking the view of your design and it isn't so convenient to move the dialog box out of the way, you could always close it. Although, it may be a hassle to move the mouse back up to the appropriate icon to re-open the dialog box, there were some ease of use enhancements introduced in BikeCAD version 10 which make it more convenient to access the needed dialog box with a right click of the mouse.
There are some other tips on managing dialog boxes at: bikecad.ca/managing_dialog_boxes.
The behaviour of the dialog boxes is consistent on all operating systems. Therefore, it is not unique to the Mac OS.
On an unrelated note about the Mac user interface: While I like the look of the Mac UI, I don't like the way tabs are rendered in the Mac version of BikeCAD. If you prefer, you can change the look and feel of your interface as described at: bikecad.ca/look_and_feel. I like to use the Metal look and feel.
Window behavior in 11.72
Thanks for the tips. My screen isn't that big (I do a lot of work on a MacBook Air). In previous versions of BikeCAD Pro I could use a window switcher (Witch) to quickly switch between dialog boxes and the design view. Now I have to constantly open and close dialog boxes. There isn't even the possibility to minimize them. It is really inconvenient. What is the rationale for the different window behavior in version 11? Are there advantages that I am missing?
A hotkey combination for the 3 different views would accomplish what I need. Would this be possible? Cmd-1, Cmd-2, and Cmd-3, perhaps?
-jamie
Métier Vélo
SLC UT
Windows behaviour in 11.72
From a programming perspective, I haven't changed anything about the way dialog boxes appear and are managed since this basic layout was introduced in version 6. I can think of three possible explanations for why things might seem different to you.
It may be worth downloading and trying the Linux version of BikeCAD. It will still run on your Mac, although you may need to disable Gatekeeper in order to run it. If the reason for this difference in dialog boxes is attributed to the last two possible scenarios, trying the Linux version may reveal different behaviour.
Windows behaviour in 11.72
Aha! You are right. I installed the latest version of BikeCAD Pro after I upgraded to Yosemite. I tried downgrading to BikeCAD 10 today and got the same window behavior. I am sure I would have noticed the behavior in v10. I'll poke around and see if there are java settings that could be changed. If I find something I'll post it here.
-jamie
Métier Vélo
Windows behaviour in 11.72
The version of java that is packaged with v11.72 (1.8 Java Runtime Environment) is indeed the cause. Downgrading Java would cause other problems, so it looks like I'll have to live with it for now. Is there a way to assign a hotkey to the different view spaces in BCP?
Thanks for the help
Dialog box behaviour in Java 1.8
If you have found an earlier version of Java that you are comfortable using, you can run that in conjunction with the Mac version of BikeCAD created for older Macs. As for hot keys to control dialog box display, I have not implemented such a feature but will investigate possibilities for a future update of BikeCAD.