MySQL Bugs: #35007: Schema diagram is "busier" (less clear) than that of DBDesigner

Bug #35007	Schema diagram is "busier" (less clear) than that of DBDesigner
Submitted:	3 Mar 2008 17:52	Modified:	25 Feb 2010 18:00
Reporter:	Tony Freixas	Email Updates:
Status:	Closed	Impact on me:	None
Category:	MySQL Workbench	Severity:	S4 (Feature request)
Version:	5.0.14a	OS:	Windows (XP SP2)
Assigned to:	Alfredo Kojima	CPU Architecture:	Any
Tags:	connection lines, diagram, grid, layers, model display, UI

Description:
I've finally made the switch from DBDesigner4 to MySQL Workbench. One thing I noticed was that the diagram seems visually "busier" than that of DBDesigner4. I found it harder to absorb although, as with most things, one gets used to just about anything in time.

I'm going to attach a screen shot to accompany my comments. As with anything visual, some people might love the very things I dislike and objective data can be hard to come by, so I'll understand if you don't agree with my comments.

1. The grid display adds a lot of visual noise. I'm surprised I haven't found a way to turn it off—did I miss something? If the ability to suppress the grid display is not there, I recommend you add this option and make it easy to turn on and off (i.e. don't bury it in the options menu). I would like the snap-to-grid capability to be independent of whether the grid is displayed.

2. The dashed lines for non-identifying relationships may be standard for Crow's Foot notation, but it also adds to the visual noise. Could there be an option for using color instead of dashes?

3. Another solution would be to use a different notation as the default for the OSS edition and make the Crow's Foot part of the Standard Edition. The Crow's Foot notation, with all its little symbols is visually cluttered.

4. The table box header in DBDesigner is a light gray, which is easier to read than the default grayish blue used in Workbench. Also, the icon on the left and the triangle on the right add to the visual noise level.

5. The "Indexes" area takes up space even when I'm not viewing indexes. I'd prefer being able to turn this off completely.

6. The color strip at the bottom of the boxes takes up space and adds visual clutter.

7. The status line contains an old message. After 30 seconds or so, the status line message should be removed.

By the way, I realize some of these things may be fixed by getting the Standard Edition. I don't have it, so I don't know.

How to repeat:
See above + attached screen shot.

Suggested fix:
Reduce excess visual clutter where possible. Remember that these diagrams can get pretty complicated on their own, so too much visual clutter just adds to the noise.

I also work as a graphic designer. There are ways to add more visual interest and also retain clarity. For instance, we often use soft shadows to make text "pop out". Ideally, you'd work with a graphic artist to make the most important parts stand out. Since that may not be practical, just keep it simple and eliminate whatever is unnecessary.

Thank you for the feature requests.

thanks tony for your tips and notes.

actually point 5 is handled in the Standard Edition, there you can switch model-notation to "Workbench simplified" (which hides index/trigger section). 
We will discuss how to incorporate your other ideas - I changed Severity to "feature request".

I noticed that 5.0.15-rc allows the grid to be turned off. This is great!

However, neither the schema file nor the user preferences remember this setting. In other words, whenever I open a file, the grid is displayed. Since I'd like the default to be NOT to display the grid, this is annoying.

The settings for viewing the grid and enabling the grid (two separate items) should be saved either with the schema or with the user preferences. I think the latter makes more sense.

Some of these feature requests can be implemented in 5.1 and some in 5.2

Grid display setting is properly saved with model as of 5.1.16
Other requested things are mostly already implemented through different options.