Templot Club Archive 2007-2020                             

topic: 3048Templot on Android tablet computers
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posted: 20 Jul 2017 14:16

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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As you know, Templot is a Windows program. Lots of folks are also running it successfully on Mac and Linux systems via CrossOver/Wine, but as yet there is no way to run it on a tablet computer (other than full Windows tablets such as the Microsoft Surface Pro range).

But now Codeweavers are working on a version of CrossOver for Android tablets, Chromebooks, etc., see:

 http://www.codeweavers.com/products/crossover-android

and there is a preview version available.

Unfortunately this applies only to tablets which have Intel processors, which unfortunately mine (Huawei) doesn't, so I haven't been able to try this. But many (most?) tablets do, so I'm wondering if anyone has tried this?

This raises the question of whether anyone really wants to run Templot on a tablet computer, but it seems evident that they are now very popular and the days of a home desk-based computer are probably  numbered.

I do test and try Templot on CrossOver/Wine to make sure as far as possible that it runs well and is usable, so if Templot will now run on tablets using CrossOver I will try to make sure Templot works well on there.

A full release of CrossOver Android is expected next month.

regards,

Martin.

posted: 20 Jul 2017 16:00

from:

davelong
 
 

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Hi Martin I use templot on a 10" tablet. It runs both windows and android, via an Intel chip. I don't have any real issues other than the size of the menu and shortcut icons, but just get on with it as it's my choice using such a small screen. Nothing seems to be compromised at all, if I get annoyed with trying to tap the screen I use a small mouse. [size=
]Edit.
Dragging a box for screen zoom or to group several templates etc isn't possible with the touch screen, but if need to I use the mouse. Probably something you can't do anything about anyway as it's the hardware. 


Last edited on 20 Jul 2017 16:36 by davelong
posted: 20 Jul 2017 18:20

from:

d827kelly
 
Coventry - United Kingdom

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An interesting development. Fewer and fewer android tablets are using Intel chips however as Intel has canned most of its low power Atom chips and similar as it has struggled to compete with the sheer popularity of ARM based chips.

Perhaps a Templot Viewer application would be more useful for use on a tablet though? I'm not sure how well editing track plans would work using the touch interface without changes to make that work properly as onscreen keyboards tend to be clunky.

posted: 20 Jul 2017 18:46

from:

davelong
 
 

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Intel are working Apollo lake processors aimed at mid range tablets. They'll probably move away from the android market and into their own market of windows tablets. They may end up in mid to high end android tablets such as Samsung's but the budget end will suffer.

posted: 20 Jul 2017 20:19

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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davelong wrote:
Dragging a box for screen zoom or to group several templates etc isn't possible with the touch screen, but if need to I use the mouse. Probably something you can't do anything about anyway as it's the hardware.
Hi Dave,

Thanks for the response. I have also tried using the touch screen on my 12" Windows tablet.

Generally I agree that a bluetooth mouse is far easier, but some things are possible by touch. For example you can use a mouse action to zoom (the CTRL+F1 action).

What's more, you can set it as the double-click option:

2_201440_240000002.png2_201440_240000002.png

This means you can start zooming with a double tap, and then use the touch screen mouse action to zoom (north-south moves).

I don't have any real issues other than the size of the menu
The size of the menus is a Windows setting, beyond the control of Templot. You can make them as large as you wish via the Advanced Display Properties in Windows. I hope CrossOver will address this in Wine for Android.

Dragging a fence rectangle for the groups and output boundary could be done by tapping opposite corners, I will look at that. I have already made some changes for tablets and touchscreens in the next program version.

There are a dozen ways to finish a mouse action, but none of them seem very convenient on a touch screen. So I have added a large FINISH button to the mouse action panel to replace the smaller top STOP button. The mouse action panel can be resized to make this new button as large or small as desired:

2_201440_240000003.png2_201440_240000003.png

What I can't make up my mind about is whether it should be labelled FINISH or STOP.  :?

I have also been experimenting with a new function to resize the entire program. It's working quite well. Initially there is a small vertical slider hiding at bottom-right corner of the trackpad:

2_201440_230000000.png2_201440_230000000.png

Messing with it produces this:

2_201440_230000001.png2_201440_230000001.png

This will replace the present dpi-aware functions which I introduced a couple of versions ago, to provide more control for individual systems and user preferences.

regards,

Martin.

posted: 21 Jul 2017 00:54

from:

davelong
 
 

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Martin
Thanks for the info about the zoom.
I welcome the finish button too as those X's are very small on a 10" tablet. Finish or close or end maybe.
I'll actually revise my comment on the boundary box it actually works well in templot, as opposed to inside windows where it's terrible.

Thanks.

posted: 21 Jul 2017 02:12

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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davelong wrote:
I'll actually revise my comment on the boundary box it actually works well in Templot, as opposed to inside windows where it's terrible.
Hi Dave,

Thanks for that -- I was a bit puzzled because dragging a rectangle by touchscreen works quite well in Templot on my Windows tablet.

I thought you might like to see some screen grabs of the new program size function:

smallest - medium - largest:

2_202054_280000000.png2_202054_280000000.png

2_202054_290000001.png2_202054_290000001.png

2_202054_290000002.png2_202054_290000002.png

The actual sizes on your screen are likely to be different, according to your Windows screen settings.

You can see that the window title bars and menus don't change -- those can be set in the Windows display properties, not in Templot.

There is still some tweaking to do, most obviously on the toolbutton icon bitmaps. Also the Windows tickboxes and radio buttons are a fixed size in the standard controls set, and can't be scaled.

The selected size option will be preserved across Templot sessions.

Individual dialogs can still be scaled up or down using the up-down buttons (usually top left), but those changes are not preserved across Templot sessions.

regards,

Martin.

posted: 21 Jul 2017 02:54

from:

davelong
 
 

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Martin, thanks that will certainly improve the experience on smaller screens. The menu text size I can live with. But the small icons have been my main trouble spot which this will change.
I look forward to the update.

posted: 21 Jul 2017 03:17

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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davelong wrote:
The menu text size I can live with.
Hi Dave,

You can change the menu text size in Windows (this will be for all programs, not just Templot):

2_202214_340000000.png2_202214_340000000.png

(Notice that even Windows can't manage consistent text sizes across different dialogs.)

Martin.

posted: 21 Jul 2017 05:26

from:

davelong
 
 

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Thanks, that's the reason I haven't changed the size as it's universal across windows.



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