Replace "Allow diagonal" by "Allow slope" or the contrary "Force horizontal"
Reported version
3.5
Type
Functional
Frequency
Once
Severity
S5 - Suggestion
Reproducibility
Always
Status
active
Regression
No
Workaround
No
Project
"Allow diagonal" is a property of lines that, if unchecked, forces them to be horizontal.
As "diagonal", formally speaking, is a line that connects two non-adjacent vertices of a polygon, I propose that string to be changed to "Allow slope". Changing it to "Force horizontal" might be even more straightforward (?), but that would suppose to make more changes to the code, as the checkbox would have to work in the opposite way as it does now.
Benefits would include a higher clarity, as well as a reduced chance for translations to be wrong in the languages where "diagonal" isn't used informally to refer to any sloping line.
Comments
I didn't see this before the Tuplet bracket issue so I'll repeat it here. Us native English speakers have no problem with "Allow horizontal." We understand what it means. In the other post you mentioned it connecting corners of a polygon or something. That's a definition but there is no need for a diagonal line to be connected to anything. As for translations, the translators are expected to understand the English sufficiently to translate it so people speaking their language will understand it. We have both a forum and telegram chat page dedicated to allowing translators to discuss what different terms mean so a good translation can be made, not just for this, but for many other terms to don't translate literally into other languages.
In reply to I didn't see this before the… by mike320
In the Spanish translation of the program, a literal approach is used (Permitir diagonal). I'm a native Spanish speaker and I had never encountered that meaning of the word before. That is what I was talking about when I said "a reduced chance for translations being wrong".
Anyway, as I recently posted in the Tuplet bracked issue, I think that the unified term should be "Force horizontal" rather than "Allow diagonal", because checkboxes tend to constrain behaviors more than allow them.
Translations can be changed by translators. I suggest that you discuss it in the translations forum since it probably been translated that way for 10 years or more.
In reply to Translations can be changed… by mike320
As it's marked as reviewed in Transifex (I suppose they must have reviewed it without looking at the context), I've done what you said and posted an entry in the translations forum :)
But what do you think about "Force horizontal"?. Isn't it a better alternative to "Allow diagonal", and even more if this checkbox is added as an option to tuplet brackets? (and yes, tuplet brackets are also lines, because they are elements that span across several notes).
I don't like the change. The current English is fine.
"Force horizontal" is fine by me, but in addition to a plain text change also requires a code change to invert the checkbox.
In reply to "Force horizontal" os fine… by Jojo-Schmitz
Yes. Would that be very complicated?
I don't think so.
Edit: Ignore this post! (I can't figure out how to delete it.) I posted in haste because I have been so frustrated by this issue, but I now remember that "Allow diagonal" is on by default. Mea culpa . . .
Please make this change! I would prefer "Force horizontal" if that's possible (not overly complex to program). I've been using vertical lines to make double bars in Baroque music. I place them correctly (see screenshot 'line2') and save the file. When I reopen, they revert to horizontal (screenshot 'line1'). I was aware of the "allow diagonal" option but did not check it because the lines are vertical, not diagonal. This has been driving me crazy, and if the checkbox said "Force horizontal" I would have figured this out much sooner.