I always forget what link I need to follow from my home node, to edit the data on my scratchpad. Is it under "change your user settings" or under "edit your user information"? The kernel of this problem (if it isn't exaggerated to call it that) is that editing your scratchpad actually doesn't belong under either. It isn't a user setting, like changing the CSS to use for the site, is. But it isn't personal information either, because the scratchpad doesn't appear on your personal nodelet: it is a separate page. But most of all: while your personal nodelet doesn't change that often — it often remains unchanged for weeks, or longer; the scratchpad may change several times a day. So, in my view, it's on a whole different level.

So, my point is simply this: why isn't editing your scratchpad a separate page as well, with its own link on your own homenode? It would then look like this:

Change your user settings.
Edit your user information.
Edit your scratchpad.

which removes, at least, my confusion.

The page to "edit your scratchpad" need only to contain the textarea to edit it, the checkbox to make it public, plus, in addition, preferably a preview option — just like the preview mode when editing any other node — as well. Because editing your scratchpad, and checking out what the result looks like, is harder than it could be: it requires two browser windows, one for the edit and one for the view, which both need to be submitted/reloaded for each change. Having both in one page would make editing your scratchpad easier, perhaps lowering the threashold to make more use of it.

  • Comment on Edit your scratchpad... should be easier to reach

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Re: Edit your scratchpad... should be easier to reach
by PodMaster (Abbot) on Jan 26, 2003 at 14:21 UTC
    See the thing is, it is a user setting. It's a Column in the User table (nodeid 891 if you have permission).

    Now I don't think anyone will have a problem with conceptually separating the editing bit out,as far as I can see, and there were a few stabs at writing this, so it really comes down to somebody writing a scratch pad viewer - (patch) so that a user can edit his own scratch pad from scratch pad viewer.

    I hate to sound like a broken record, but making changes takes persuasion, and ain't no greater persuasion than code to do the job.

    update: Additionally, simply adding the feature to scratch pad viewer is not the only issue, at few other nodes have to be edited, including faq, user display page ...

    MJD says you can't just make shit up and expect the computer to know what you mean, retardo!
    ** The Third rule of perl club is a statement of fact: pod is sexy.

[reply]

      The planned solution is to make the scratchpad a separate node. This work was started long ago. It will reduce database load and simplify lots of aspects of scratchpads like adding a "d/l code" link.

                      - tye
[reply]
Re: Edit your scratchpad... should be easier to reach
by castaway (Parson) on Jan 26, 2003 at 13:49 UTC
    Sounds like a great idea to me, I know this problem. (I do remember where I can edit my scratchpad, but getting to it and viewing the results is more complicated than it should be.)

    I would even go one further, and add a 'edit/view my scratchpad' to the links at the top of the page next to 'log XXX out' and the home node link. Which makes it easier to edit my scratchpad, and also quickly view others without needing a link in the CB or going through find user, view scratchpad etc.

    C.

[reply]
(jeffa) Re: Edit your scratchpad... should be easier to reach
by jeffa (Bishop) on Jan 26, 2003 at 15:42 UTC
    Yep, i too became tired of the time it took to add new content and wrote the Scratchpad Poster. (Of course, if i had searched around a bit first i would have found out that ar0n had already done so with hup - home node updater.) Now i don't have to worry about where to find the link to edit my scratchpad, i just upload my content via a terminal window.

    jeffa

    L-LL-L--L-LL-L--L-LL-L--
-R--R-RR-R--R-RR-R--R-RR
B--B--B--B--B--B--B--B--
H---H---H---H---H---H---
(the triplet paradiddle with high-hat)
[reply]
      Similarly, my PerlMonksTickers module (available via my perlmonk webpage) includes methods to both get and post your scratchpad as well as your homenode content (aka your "bio").

      jdporter
      The 6th Rule of Perl Club is -- There is no Rule #6.

[reply]
[d/l]
        I have wanted to look at your code for a while, but it's not very clear what should be downloaded on that page.. any chance you can clean that up sometime soon? Shouldn't take all that much time to repackage the scripts.

        Makeshifts last the longest.

[reply]

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