Lock models

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christinapoth
Posts: 4
Joined: 23 May 2021

Lock models

Post by christinapoth »

First of all, it seems to be a great tool and a very smart idea and I am happy to have the opportunity to test it.
May I ask a question? I spent some time today testing and I was wondering how to lock model pairs? Can I protect/lock my starting model pairs somehow?
Thank you! Christina
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Tim Ahrens
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Posts: 404
Joined: 11 Jul 2019

Re: Lock models

Post by Tim Ahrens »

Hi Christina, thanks for your feedback!

You mean, “locking” models would prevent them from being removed if they contradict another model? In other words, you are saying, “I am really sure about this model. If it contradicts another models then please remove the other.” Some sort of high-priority model. Is that right? What would happen if two “locked” models contradict each other?

Currently, KO tries to guess which model you find more important than the other like this:
  • If you set a model for the very first time, and it contradicts another then the new one is removed. Newcomers are rejected at the door if they don’t fit in, so to speak.
  • If you set a model that has previously been removed then KO assumes you really want that model. If the user is persistent they should get what they want. In that case, the newly set model is given the higher priority. Btw, this is what the “Try again” button does: It is identical to clicking OK and then setting the model again. I just gave it a button of its own because users would probably not guess that trying again manually (i.e. setting the model again, after it was removed) makes a difference.
Hope this system makes sense. Including a system of manually set priorities for the models seems somewhat complex in terms of UI (although it would make the code that chooses which model to remove much simpler).
christinapoth
Posts: 4
Joined: 23 May 2021

Re: Lock models

Post by christinapoth »

Good morning Tim,

“Some sort of high-priority model” Yes, totally.

Ok, it is much clearer now. By clicking the “Try again” button, I kind of give priority to the new model, even though KO needs to remove older ones. You did explain it in your video I guess, but your answer helped me a lot.

In terms of use/comprehension, maybe more explicit than “Try again” would be something like “Override/replace existing models” (ok, that’s too long). But maybe it is just me, and for other users it is perfectly clear :)

I have another idea from a user perspective: an undo-button to go back one step?

Thanks Tim!
Christina
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Tim Ahrens
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Re: Lock models

Post by Tim Ahrens »

Yes, undo is a good idea. I’ve had that in mind for a while.
Gini
Posts: 18
Joined: 23 Apr 2021

Re: Lock models

Post by Gini »

The "Undo" button idea has been coming to my mind a lot lately too.

I'm also experiencing a strange behavior of the plugin: if I hit "Kern On" button, test the fonts, and realize I need a new model or exception, I'd go to the file, and open KO again (same master, same models, nothing changed beside the own KO work defining groups and auto kerning), and immediately KO finds conflicts and removes models, some without even showing the "Try Again" option. I'm not getting the reason behind it, am I missing something?
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Tim Ahrens
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Re: Lock models

Post by Tim Ahrens »

Model removals on start-up should not happen under normal circumstances.

Maybe you opened a font you had worked on with Kern On version older than 0.9b17? That was the version where some parts deep in the engine got changed (fixed, I would say). I hope the modes that were removed as you opened the font again were real mismatches that deserved to be removed, so to speak, mismatches that had not been detected by the older version.

If you manage to reproduce the issue with the current version of Kern On (i.e. closing and re-opening with the same version) then please let me know again and I need to have a closer look.
Gini
Posts: 18
Joined: 23 Apr 2021

Re: Lock models

Post by Gini »

"Maybe you opened a font you had worked on with Kern On version older than 0.9b17?"

I didn't think I had a file saved with such an older version of KO's models, but it probably was the case.
I tried doing it with the most recent version of the plugin, and had no problems.
:)
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