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(Note to admins: I will also email this to Omnigraffle Support, but I post it here in case other users want to chime in.)

My previous feature request compendium was nearly a year ago [OG #297187] I tend to let feature requests pile up until I get time to write to you. At the time I was still using OG4, but have since upgraded to OG5. OG5 fixed some things, but introduced several new annoyances.

I don't mean to sound negative. OmniGraffle is a fabulous application, with generally great usability and some remarkable features, and since adopting it more than a year ago I have regularly evangelised it. But it's marred by some really frustrating user interface problems that bother me every time I use it (which is nearly every day).

1. Canvas numbers in sidebar: please! (Priority: 1)

First reported here. See my rationale here.

2. Please also put the Canvas Name and Number in the status area below the main workspace. (Priority: 2)

There is plenty of room for it there. Bear in mind canvas names are usually truncated in the sidebar, and the title is not always visible in the current view.

3. The new OG5 keyboard zoom shortcuts are unusable. (Priority: 1)

I've reverted to using the Z key with the mouse button, but this requires me to take my hands off the keyboard. I understand you needed to change due to Universal Access, but why can't you just adopt Photoshop's zoom shortcuts? (Cmd-Space / Alt-Space is currently unused.)

Also reported here.

4. Cumbersome and confusing to select colours (Priority: 1)

Why is it necessary to click the swatch in a Style inspector first, before clicking on a colour in the Colors palette? Why not just let a click on a colour take effect on the currently-active Style of the selected object?

5. Allow user to set page zoom across multiple canvases simultaneously. (Priority: 2)

Also reported here.

6. Provide a keyboard shortcut for "Fit in Window" zoom level. (Priority: 2)

Reported in my previous feature request compendium [OG #297187], but I didn't get a response on this one.

7. Back/Forward Canvas (Priority: 1)

Need keyboard shortcuts (or toolbar buttons) for Back/Forward Canvas (the previous/next one viewed). This would save me an enormous amount of scrolling over the sidebar. (Made worse by lack of canvas numbers.)

8. The behaviour of Locked elements is confusing and counter-intuitive (Priority: 3)

They can't be moved or deleted, but they can still be selected and copied and pasted. I don't see the rationale for this.

9. Copy Style (Ctrl-Shift-C) should not clear the normal clipboard buffer. (Priority: 3)

Also reported here.

10. Working with bitmap images has several problems:

10a. It's bizarre that Copy/Paste Style on a bitmap also changes the bitmap itself. (Priority: 2)

I can't imagine when this would ever be the desired behaviour. This means I cannot transfer stroke/shadow styles from one placed bitmap to another.

10b. The system for cropping a bitmap image in OG is unusable. (Priority: 1)

The intuitive way would be a mode where you crop an image by dragging its edges.

11. Working with Guides has several problems (Priority: 2):

11a. Please make Guides work like Photoshop's, where they snap to object edges.

11b. Can't find a "Clear Guides" option

11c. Can't easily hide Guides (annoying to accidentally click on rulers). Needs a keyboard shortcut.

11d. Would like a "generate Guides according to a grid" tool. (It generates guides according to measurement increments you provide.)

12. In the Line Spacing dialog box, let Enter submit. (Priority: 2)

Allow user to accept changes and dismiss dialog using Enter key (not just OK button).

13. Search/Replace doesn't include Canvas titles. (Priority: 2)

This is a huge oversight and has wasted a lot of my time.

14. After a Search & Replace, confirm somewhere how many replacements were made (Priority: 3)

15. Printing has several problems, to the extent that I never print from OG, only from Preview: (Priority: 2)

15a. Lacks "Fit on paper" option
15b. Lacks live print preview (inside the dialog box)
15c. Lacks "current page" option
15d. Lacks ability to print discontiguous pages (e.g. 1, 3, 5-10)

16. Would like a "Regroup" command (Priority: 3)

This is a useful feature found in Powerpoint. An object remembers what's the last group it was part of.

17. Can't duplicate a line using Cmd-Alt-arrow (Priority: 3)

For some reason you can't duplicate lines like you can duplicate every other kind of object.

18. Please copy Photoshop's ability to hide all palettes using Tab (Priority: 2)

And also F to cycle through view modes, from windowed to full-screen

19. Provide a Thumbnails view of all canvases (Priority: 2)

Like Powerpoint's "slide sorter" view, with configurable thumbnail sizes.

I would like to reiterate the following items from my previous feature request compendium 11 months ago [OG #297187]:

> > *Shift-drag constrains. Alt-drag copies. Why can't I combine them?
> > (priority: 1)*
> > This is a baffling omission and very frustrating.

> Indeed, this does work in OmniGraffle 5.


No, it doesn't.

> *Paste in Place makes no sense (priority: 1)*
> > One of the most useful features in Powerpoint is that an element is
> > always pasted in the same location on the page as where it was copied.
> > To do this on OG, I have to copy, paste, undo, copy again, and paste
> > again. This is just weird and a huge time-waster.

> We've got a open Feature Request for this, I’ve added your name to it.


Please fix this!

> > *After an undo operation, the previous selection should still be
> > selected so that you don't have to re-select (priority: 1)*
> > Again, something Powerpoint does right. It's annoying to have to repeat
> > a complicated selection.

> Most of the time, this is the case, although there are some bugs
> related to this, particularly with tables.


No, it's not mostly the case. For example: select multiple items, duplicate them, and undo. The selection is gone.

> > *Home / End with nothing selected should go to first / last canvas
> > (priority: 3)*
> > Powerpoint does this.

> Another feature request I’ll add you to…


*Please* do this one. It's not complicated. At the moment, to get to the title page of my document, it takes a lot of scrolling over the sidebar and a click.


Thanks in advance!

Francois Jordaan