Embedded LifeViewer discussion thread

For discussion directly related to ConwayLife.com, such as requesting changes to how the forums or home page function.
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muzik
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Joined: January 28th, 2016, 2:47 pm
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Embedded LifeViewer discussion thread

Post by muzik » January 16th, 2022, 6:35 pm

This thread is intended for discussion regarding the following LifeViewer web page (the other LifeViewer thread is intended for commentary on the viewer itself), as well as the ConwayLife main page once it's finally reworked to feature a LifeViewer embed:
rowett wrote:
August 5th, 2020, 1:51 am
New resizeable LifeViewer is here. Would much appreciate any feedback!

I'm aware there's an issue with menu controls overlapping if the window is made too narrow and the Settings button not appearing if the initial window height is too small. I'll fix in due course.
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For starters, here are some things about this page that could be improved:
-A major annoyance arises when trying to use the viewer on mobile devices. Very commonly, the keyboard will be open when a pattern is inserted into the text box below it. When the "View" keyboard is pressed while the keyboard itself is present, the viewer assumes that the gap between the top of the keyboard and the bottom of the address bar/tabs is the size of the screen itself, and creates an incredibly long and thin viewer. While exiting and re-entering the browser often resizes the viewer back to something reasonable, such a long and thin viewer window will always have the Settings button disabled, and it doesn't return even after being resized back. The only way to get a normal-sized viewer is to press View again when there is no keyboard, which isn't fun.
-One feature missing from this page is the ability to run the pattern in a pop-up viewer. The older viewer page had this as an option, but it can't be done here.
-Another feature missing from this page is a region in which saved images can be output: the older viewer page also had a place for this (see this post), although it seems that on desktop a new tab is always opened for this rather than being saved to a dedicated image slot, and the feature is completely broken on mobile devices.

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