One of the most important issues enhancing the user interface of StarOffice / OpenOffice.org is to create a more polished window view handling.
E.G: If in StarOffice Writer a toolbar is disabled or moved to an other location than the default one, a new created StarOffice Calc spreadsheet will appear with the same disabled or moved toolbar. This could be very nice, but Calc is a totally different working environment. With its special needs.
In my opinion it is very important that we are getting more expatiation conform user interface.
has its own working environment. We should try to keep a this message as clear as possible, and should not blur this due states set by the user which takes effect in Calc also. Of coarse the exception proves the rule.
The View menu should provide mostly items which are mostly important for the document the user is working on. This could be for example Rulers ON/OFF or Text Boundaries ON/OFF.
Permanent settings should be only set in Tools/Options.
The configuration of toolbars should be absolutely module independent. The configuration includes the following items.
Rulers are currently (StarOffice 6.0/ OpenOffice.org) module independent. This means if the user switches the ruler in Impress on or off, they will appear in Draw or vice versa. To refine this feature all modules should provide in Tools Option an option to set the metric the user wants to work with permanently. And the current defaults should be checked, for usefulness e. g. (HTML Document with cm measuring, instead of pixel).
Currently StarOffice heritability of status bar states is absolutely OK. If a status bar is switched off, in a document the next opened document will start initially with the status bar enabled. But the states listed below should be checked, on usefulness of passing on its states.
The default Zoom heritability should be reassess, due to the fact that's not very useful to start with a new document in a absolutely unusable zoom level.
For Example the user take a look at his document at a zoom of 50%. He saves the document and closes StarOffice / OpenOffice.org. The next day he starts with an empty text document which appears by default with a 50% view level.
My proposal is to start a new document or spreadsheet every time with 100% zoom.
If users want to start the module with a zoom level whatever, they shell have the possibility to set these settings in Tools-Options.
The content looks more like a real tool.
The window could easily positioned on the desktop wherever the user wants to.
A own window does not destroy the users current view on his document.
The floater configuration ( toggle ON/OFF, position, size, docked/undocked) should be set in every module of StarOffice / OpenOffice.org independently. In addition the floaters must be positionable on the desktop, where ever the user wants to.
States toggled via toolbar, menus etc. shell only be set for one StarOffice / OpenOffice.org session and only per module. Permanent settings should take place only in Tools/Options.