[MacLoggerContest] Musings on Contesting with MLDX

[Don Agro]

Hi Rich,

I have not replied to your cross post to the MacLoggerDX list but have replied to the MacLoggerDX contest list where it is appropriate.

On 2010-05-02, at 6:00 PM, Rich Seifert wrote:


> I don't know if it would be easy to do, or it if would go against the architecture of MLDX, but I wish that the Contest Panel preferences were associated with a given *log*, rather than with the program as a whole. That is, when I open a log, I wish the Contest Panel would reflect the parameters as I set them up for that contest: which fields are displayed, whether sequence number fields (or text fields) are to be incremented automatically, the state of the sequence number counter, etc. That way, when I switch from the New England QSO Party to the ARI DX Contest, the Contest Panel would go from showing Send/Receive Text Strings to Send Numeric/Receive Text/Receive Numeric, etc. Currently, each contest "context switch" requires resetting parameters in the Contest Preferences.

> 

> Similarly, I wish that the settings for Dupe matching (Band, Mode, Band/Mode) were similarly associated with the contest log, as some contests allow dupes in different band/modes, and others do not.


I understand and agree with the logic of your argument but at first blush think that an "invisible" or "implied" link between log file and various sets of preferences would be an extremely confusing thing to do to new users (and some experienced ones too).


> I know that MLDX is not designed as contesting software, but I wanted to put these ideas out there for consideration anyway. And if this is the sort of thing we are down to discussing, then must mean that all of the really important functionality in MLDX is already as good as it can be!


The word "good" in reference to software design must also apply to design elegance not just richness of feature set. I would rather MacLoggerDX follow in the steps of Pages than Word. All truly great programs do a few things really really well.


> One additional point: It appears that when I create a new log, it does not show up in the "Open Recent Log..." list unless I exit MLDX and reopen the app. Not a big deal, but I would think that a newly-created log would show up as the most recent log in the menu list.


The management of the recent files menu is an OS X function not under the control of MacLoggerDX.

73 de VE3VRW Don Agro