From looking through the forum, I got the impression that due to the way PhotoLab is written, it is not possible to simply add underlined letters to menu item as shortcuts and make them customizable.
I can only do HTML and CSS without looking so I’m actually clueless as to what was being discussed. I do however often look into relevant scripting for automation of things and can do copy/paste and customize – imho anyone who can use a computer can do this - if they are lazy enough or seek minimal effort.
Is this already possible in some manner that is undocumented? Are there any programmers here who can say if that would be a more feasible solution from a software developer perspective compared to customizable keyboard shortcuts, i.e. provide users with a set of commands to use in scripts rather than menu shortcuts?
Underlining letters in Windows menus is done by adding a “&” character before the letter to be underlined in the menu label definition. This is done at the development level and cannot be changed unless the application provide a way to dynamically change the menu label. This is not the case in DxO software.
In older Windows programs this could be done by altering the program resources by using a resource editor. With Microsoft .Net programs (Photolab uses this technology), you can’t modify the application resources. Any alteration of the program resources or code modules will prevent the whole app from loading. In Photolab, these resources are hard-coded in the various DLLs that you’ll find in the C:\Program Files\DxO\DxO PhotoLab 7\xx folder, xx being de, fr or ja. For English, it’s hard-coded elsewhere (bad practice). This means that English is the default language of Photolab.
This discussion leads us again back to the UI topic. In most Windows apps, underlined characters are used to ease access to menu commands. They are available in Lightroom. In Photoshop they appear or disappear by depressing the Alt key (which acts as a toggle in that case). In DxO software, the use of underlined characters is not consistent :
In Photolab and Filmpack, they don’t even exist. How could this be forgotten ?
In PureRAW, they are used only in the main menu, not in sub menus.
In ViewPoint, they are used in the main menu and in the sub menus.
Lack of consistency again.
As for scripting in general, don’t hold your breath. Given the lack of development resources at DxO, we’ll not see a Photolab SDK before long, if ever. Ditto for a keyboard shortcut editor.
