New feature request: Deploy changeable Workspaces

[anjalip222]

Hi, I've mentioned the below-mentioned feature in the Issue Tracker. However, I'm also enclosing it here so that the general folks can read it too. The issue no. is 89948. Here is what I wrote:

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This concerns with adding a UI feature in OOo which would aid users in a more streamlined and more productive way to do things.

Some users like myself handle different kinds of files in the same app. For example, while using Writer, I can work on an e-book or a colour-catalog with rich textures. Both jobs require different tools to work with - but unfortunately, one has the same set of toolbars on OOo. The result: either you have to open lots of toolbars which may not be needed in a particular job, or, you have juggle toolbars to open them whenever a job requires it. This is a very tedious business.

The same happens for Calc. Sometimes I do accounting stuff that requires a specialized set of tool-bar I had complied with great pains. While at other times, I need to scientific jobs that require diiferent toolbar sets.

I feel there should be a provision to switch the UI on-the-fly. Let me point out that AutoCAD 2006 (and above) has this feature called "Workspaces" (I liked the feature very much and I feel there is plenty of scope to use it in OOo as well for increasing its productivity). It is an impressive feature that lets people change the combination of open toolbars and their positions on-the-fly. After setting your combination on the screen, you can save your "Workspace" under a name. You can save more than one "Workspace". Later, when you want to switch to another screen combination, you can just select the appropriate "Workspace" name from a pulldown menu (there is a separate "Workspaces" toolbar to do this, which can be kept on the screen) and there you go! The whole UI gets changed - newer toolbars, different positions, different tools and a whole new Workspace.

Additionally, there is also something called a Home Workspace, just like a Homepage in your browser. Once a Home Workspace is set, you can click on its button to go to Home settings. (AutoCAD actually saves these settings in XML files.)

The feature of switching workspaces should be a power tool that can separate OOo from its competitors.

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[TheGurkha]

Sounds good.