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Topic: «Priority , Priority » on forum: Beta Testing   Views: 7329
 
chgoguy7
Advanced user
 
 Posts: 90
Joined: 02/28/2006
Posted: 12/30/2007 20:29:35
 
 
 I think that the "start-up" priority setting is a bit unclear. Is this the start-up priority at an application's start-up period only, for those apps that we need to start quickly, and that it will return to normal priority after the application's initial start-up period? I know the answer to this is that the start-up priority is the prior that the application will take on and keep for the duration of the run (unless otherwise changed), but maybe that could be made more clear in the wording of the option and/or in the tooltip for that option.

Or perhaps the start-up priority could be just that; the priority of an app during initial start-up (until the process drops below a certain CPU usage), and then an additional option could be provided for priority level during "normal" operation of the app after the initial start-up period. Just some thoughts...
 
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Michael Rezvanov
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Joined: 01/31/2007
Posted: 01/04/2008 05:34:08
 
 
 Well,

Actually, we cannot understand where the problem with  Startup priority setting is and how it can be understood in another way. The popup tip says: "Assign this priority upon target window's startup" without any conditions. For comparison, you can have a look at the "While inactive to" popup tip, where it is said: "Assign this priority upon target window's deactivation, and then restore the previous priority upon target window's reactivation" - the tip with condition. IMHO these popups don't have any variant reading. Perhaps you can suggest us more relevant wording because we don't understand where the problem is.

BTW please clarify why this question emerged just about the Priority startup? I mean that we have a big number of actions where this automatic trigger (Startup) is applied.  
 
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chgoguy7
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 Posts: 90
Joined: 02/28/2006
Posted: 01/04/2008 18:20:38
 
 
 Sorry guys. I hope I'm not making a bigger issue of a small thing. I just thought the priority option could be improved, either programmatically or grammatically.

Here's my thinking in more detail:
The label of the first option on the priority screen is "At startup to". This to me could be interpreted by the user to mean the priority of the process while it is in its initial starting phase, only to return to "normal" priority after the process has fully started (perhaps measured by the process falling below a given CPU usage or for the first XX number of seconds of the process initiation). Even the current tooltip does not entirely clarify that this priority will be for the duration of the program's run (unless the inactive and/or minimized options are used).

The simplest option would be to make a change to the title of the option and to the wording of the tooltip. The name of the option could be changed to  "While active to", which is in keeping with your wording on the other options. The tooltip of the option could explain in a little more detail that this would be the priority of the process while the process window is active. The wording could be something like "Assign this priority to the target window while active". I would leave out all reference to "startup" as this makes it more confusing in my opinion.

A second option could be to follow my suggestion in my prior post to create another priority option, which would essentially break the "startup" option in two. The first of the two options could be a startup priority (again measured perhaps by the process falling below a given CPU usage or for the first XX number of seconds of the process initiation), after which it would then fall to either normal priority or to the "active" option priority, which would be the second option. This second option would be the priority that the process would take on after the startup priority just described and would apply to the "active" window as described above. I know that the creation of another priority might not be in the cards right now given that we are in the 5th beta and almost ready for release of v5 but its perhaps something to consider.

The quickest and easiest thing would simply be to change the option title and clarify in the tooltip what the option's function is as described above.

Hope this helps and I hope that I didn't confuse the issue further.  
 
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Scott
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 Posts: 141
Joined: 04/11/2005
Posted: 01/16/2008 08:36:20
 
 
 The wording is correct and unambiguous as it stands currently.  The sentence Assign this priority upon target window's startup means exactly what it says--when the target window is initially detected, its process will be assigned the priority set here.

Using the word "startup" does not imply that the priority will later be changed to something else; it merely explains when the priority is changed.  If I told you "I'll drop by with coffee in the morning", does it imply that I'll come by again in the afternoon and take the coffee away from you?

Saying Assign this priority while the target window is active would be wrong and misleading, because that's not how the option works.  The priority for this setting is applied when the window is first detected (i.e. at startup), not when the window is active, per se.
 
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Michael Rezvanov
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Posted: 01/25/2008 02:34:43
 
 
 Thanks you Scott for explaning the shades of the meaning.  :D

Do you agree with it, Nick?    
 
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