[GPlates-discuss] button to refresh the rotation file

[Florian Wobbe]

Hi,

> Our layers dialog is a bit like this in that it's been designed to pop-up next to the main GPlates window (so that it doesn't overlap - unless you've full-screened GPlates).

I always feel my screen is too small, so I'm running GPlates full-screened. I prefer switching between windows over having a panel which wastes space. It would be nice to keep that option in the future or make the Panel auto-retracting.

> I think merging Manage Feature Collections window into the Layers window somehow is a good idea and is ultimately the way to go.

I agree.

> Regarding the rotation file synchronisation in GPlates, I just wanted to mention that things like manual/auto file reload are temporary solutions since we'd ultimately like to phase out the PLATES rotation format since it's limitations are becoming more apparent when things like hellinger statistics and bibliography references are considered (these sorts of things are much better handled by the GPML format).
> Of course temporary solutions are still useful since it will be some time before you can edit rotations in GPlates as you would in a text editor (thus removing the need to use an external editor).

I'm really looking forward to this GPlates-editor feature, especially if bundled with tools for crossover and stage-pole calculation.

The file synchronisation request was actually a very general one. Since I often edit shapefiles in Arc while displaying them at the same time in GPlates I would benefit from that.

Cheers,
Florian