[etoys-dev] changing the name and value-type of a user-defined variable

[Scott Wallace]

I think Richo's "new variable" dialog, in which name and value-type are specified together in a single dialog, is a good addition.

And it's good that a similar dialog can be brought up to change the name and/or the value-type of a variable later on.

But I feel that *finding* ones way to the change-name/change-type dialog is now harder -- not only does one have to fish in a menu to look for it, but one is likely to miss it, because neither the word "name" nor the word "type" occurs in the menu item.  Instead one must choose an item with wording of the form 'modify "var1"', and it has to register in the user's mind that this the correct path to the change-name/change-value-type dialog.

To my mind the me this buries renaming and type-changing too deeply, so that people will be much less likely to find them and hence even to be aware that they *can* change the name and the type of a variable.

So I wonder if we should consider changing the wording of this menu item to something more like "change name or type".  Or "change name and type".  Or "name and value-type".  Or in any case, *something* that directly catches the eye of a user scanning the menu for the word "name" or "type".

Or perhaps even two menu items, "change name" and "change value-type", as before, but now both leading to the same dialog?  

Does anyone else share this concern?

  -- Scott