Re: Non-heteropteran Irritants

[DougH]

Problem: Page refresh skips start at globe

Description: The initial view is of the globe until a new view is
specified by code. Very occasionally, a page refresh will skip the
globe and go directly to the view specified by code.

Repeatable: No

Probable Cause: Unknown

Solution: Unknown

Workaround: Unknown

[DougH]

Problem: delay in setBalloon(null) execution

Description: A balloon closed by setBalloon(null) may remain open
while code following it executes. This is easily demonstrated by
putting an alert after setBalloon(null), though that makes it seem
like the alert is the cause. However, the balloon can be seen to
remain open while other code executes, though that condition is
difficult to reproduce.

Repeatable: Yes

Probable Cause: Unknown

Solution: Unknown

Workaround: Excute the code after setBalloon(null) with a timeout

[DougH]

Problem: createHTMLStringBalloon stops code execution in Firefox

Description: Use of createHTMLStringBalloon will stop code execution
in Firefox without errors, but everything works normally in Internet
Explorer.

Repeatable: Yes

Probable Cause: Incorrect usage of API

Solution: Use createHtmlStringBalloon

Workaround: N/A

[Roman N]

Hi Doug,

Feel free to file these as bug reports. Even if they're not actually
'bugs' in the literal sense, but just irritants, they're best filed in
the tracker, so other people can vote.

Thanks for pointing these out, by the way.

- Roman

On Feb 20, 10:07 am, DougH wrote:
> Problem: View response to window size changes
>
> Description: Views automatically change scale when the window changes
> width, but not when it changes height, both in the Google Earth
> application and plugin. If the height of the window is changed, more
> or less of the view is revealed, whereas if the width of the window is
> changed, the view changes scale so that nothing is added or
> subtracted.
>
> Repeatable: Yes

[DougH]

Roman -

I posted these for the greater good of mankind - so others won't have
to spend days trying figure out why something won't work, like I did.
Some of them are bugs, some are unexpected behaviors, and some are
just irritants, but you should be the one who decides which ones are
bugs. When the API first came out, I posted a lot of feature requests
in your Bug Tracking/Feature Request section, and then lost interest
because the sections was becoming cluttered and cumbersome. Based on
the number of duplicates, and the number of votes compared to the
number of users, I might not be alone in that view.

I would like to see a bug section, that you post to, after you
determine that something is a bug, that can easily be viewed without a
lot of filtering and reading of irrelevant information. Then, the non-
bugs can be posted as Feature Requests, or left alone if they are just
self inflicted irritants.

Doug

[DougH]

Problem: API and Application display LookAts differently

Description: If you set up a view in the application, and save it it a
KML file, it will not look the same when opened using the API.

Repeatable: Yes

Probable Cause: Toolbars, sidebars, scaling, and possibly other things
affect the view

Solution: A view mode that is unaffected by configuration

Workaround: Trial and error set up of the application to ensure views
match in the API

[Roman N]

That's a good point, I've been meaning to clean up the issue tracker.
I'll work on it in the next few months.

- Roman

[DougH]

Problem: Hidden placemarks acquire height on zoom

Description: A placemark that is clamped to the ground may become
detached if it is hidden during a zoom and then displayed again at a
certain height. The placemark will suddenly jump down to the ground
upon further zooming.

Repeatable: Yes

Probable Cause: Altitude errors during the transition between data
layers

Solution: Unknown

Workaround: Use getIconStyle().setScale(0) instead of setVisibility
(false)

[DougH]

Problem: Alerts may cause the browser to hang and the plugin to reset

Description: In both Internet Explorer and Firefox, placing an alert
in a function called by an event listener may either cause the browser
to hang and then reset, or the code to stop running with no errors.
There are other problems with alerts, but this one is very easily
demonstrated.

Repeatable: Yes

Probable Cause: Unknown

Solution: Unknown

Workaround: Execute the alert with a timeout

[DougH]

Problem: Preventing default balloons with displayMode style

Description: While the plugin allows the styling of default balloons,
the KML style displayMode that is used to hide them is not available,
except as loaded from a KML file. This style also hides labels on
placemark mouseovers in the application, but the plugin only hides
balloons.

Repeatable: Yes

Probable Cause: displayMode is not a valid style

Solution: Make displayMode a valid style and change its behavior to
coincide with the application

Workaround: Assign an event handler with event.preventDefault() to
hide default balloons and create styles to hide labels

Feature Request: http://code.google.com/p/earth-api-samples/issues/detail?id=171

[DougH]

Problem: View response to window size changes

Description: Views automatically change scale when the window changes

width, but not when it changes height, both in the application and

plugin. If the height of the window is changed, more or less of the
view is revealed, whereas if the width of the window is changed, the
view changes scale so that nothing is added or subtracted.

Repeatable: Yes

Probable Cause: Unknown

Solution: Unknown

Workaround: Unknown

Feature Request: http://code.google.com/p/earth-api-samples/issues/detail?id=36

[DougH]

Problem: No global control of mouseovers

Description: By default, mouseovers cause changes in placemark icons
and labels, mouse cursors, as well as initiate the placemark expansion
feature. All of these effects, except for the placemark expansion
feature and cursors, can be intercepted with event listeners or
modified with styles on an individual basis. Since it is not
unreasonable to want mouseover events to be temporarily disabled, a
global option needs to be available.

Repeatable: Yes

Probable Cause: Unknown

Solution: A global option to disable mouseover effects

Workaround: Styles and event listeners for some effects

Feature Request: http://code.google.com/p/earth-api-samples/issues/detail?id=216

[DougH]

Problem: Undesireable effects of placemark expansion feature

Description: When two or more placemarks are in close proximity, a
cross icon will appear on a mouseover which allows a click to separate
the placemarks for easy selection. This feature still operates even
when all of the affected placemarks have styles and event listeners
that prevent changes during mouseovers, with the effect of overriding
them.

Repeatable: Yes

Probable Cause: Unknown

Solution: A global option to disable the placemark expansion feature,
and a placemark expand event, that will allow additional or modified
results, or allow it to be disabled.

Workaround: Unknown

Feature Request: http://code.google.com/p/earth-api-samples/issues/detail?id=220

[DougH]

Problem: Speed adjustments not allowed during a FlyTo

Description: With the addition of getStreamingPercent, it is now
possible to detect slow rendering and make any necessary adjustments,
but it is not possible to adjust the speed of a FlyTo once it has been
initiated. The FlyTo can be restarted with a different speed, but
acceleration and deceleration effects cause undesired visual
consequences.

Repeatable: Yes

Probable Cause: Unknown

Solution: Allow speed changes during a FlyTo

Workaround: Restart the FlyTo with a different speed or use animation
techniques.

Feature Request: http://code.google.com/p/earth-api-samples/issues/detail?id=222

[DougH]

Problem: Undesireable FlyTo acceleration/deceleration effects

Description: The acceleration and deceleration of a FlyTo is a great
feature that makes motion smooth and elegant, but it can have
undesireable consequences. For example, when the two points are close
together, the move may take a long time during which motion is not
visible, or when two points are far apart, motion continues to
accelerate to unrealistic levels. Also, it is not possible to smoothly
restart the FlyTo or initiate a new one while motion is in progress.

Repeatable: Yes

Probable Cause: Unknown

Solution: An option to disable FlyTo acceleration and deceleration
effects

Workaround: Detect short distances and use teleport to prevent long
periods with no apparent motion, restart the FlyTo to prevent high
speeds, or reinvent the FlyTo using animation techniques

Feature Request: http://code.google.com/p/earth-api-samples/issues/detail?id=223

[DougH]

Problem: Undesireable effects of automatic label and icon scaling

Description: Labels and icons are automatically scaled, so that they
are visible from great distances, and not enormous close up. However,
steep terrain can cause this feature to perform erratically. Also, it
is not unreasonable to want the ability to have labels and icons
disappear at a distance.

Repeatable: Yes

Probable Cause: Unknown

Solution: A global option to disable automatic scaling and a style for
relative and absolute scaling

Workaround: Unknown

Feature Request: http://code.google.com/p/earth-api-samples/issues/detail?id=224

[DougH]

Problem: No global removeEventListener function

Description: Once any event listener is added to a particular object,
an event listener that never existed can be removed from that object,
and any event listener can be removed repeatedly from that object, but
to remove one successfully requires that it be removed exactly as it
was added. This requires event listeners that are added dynamically to
be accumulated in a list, both to enable removing them accurately, and
to prevent the error that results from removing any event listener
from an object before any event listener is added to that object.
Since this is extremely complicated, and there are a lot of
circumstances when all event listeners might need to be removed at
once, and managing a list requires a lot of effort, it should not be
necessary to remove them one at a time.

Repeatable: Yes

Probable Cause: Unknown

Solution: A global remove event listener function

Workaround: Unknown

Feature Request: http://code.google.com/p/earth-api-samples/issues/detail?id=225

[bFlood]

hi doug -just a quick thanks for keeping this list going. nice summary
descriptions plus a link to issue tracker, well done

cheers
brian

[Roman N]

+1 Thanks Doug, this is a good list, and thanks for filing them in the
issue tracker.

[DougH]

Brian, Roman -

Thanks for noticing. I'm mostly hoping to find someone else besides me
having some of the problems, like finally seems to be the case with
the very first one. Also, maybe more people will take an interest in
some of the suggested improvements, so that the most popular ones will
have more than 30 stars out of 4000 users. And if some of them get
added, I can start including the really picky irritants that I'm
currently working around.

Doug

[DougH]

Problem: Vista displays balloons with internal border

Description: Vista with Internet Explorer 7 displays balloons with an
additional internal border. This creates an unsightly sunken frame
containing the balloon content. Windows XP with Internet Explorer 7
does not have this problem.

Repeatable: Yes

Probable Cause: Unknown

Solution: Unknown

Workaround: Unknown

[DougH]

Problem: setMouseNavigationEnabled() may have no effect

Description: The setMouseNavigationEnabled() function has no effect if
executed while a button is being clicked or the mouse wheel is in
motion. This means if its important that the function be successful,
it has to be checked and repeated until it is successful.

Repeatable: Yes

Probable Cause: Unknown

Solution: Unknown

Workaround: Check and repeat if necessary

[DougH]

Problem: setScrollWheelZoomSpeed(0) disables zoom but not mouse event

Description: setScrollWheelZoomSpeed(0) prevents zooming with the
scroll wheel while still allowing mouse navigation, however it still
generates a mouseup event that cannot be captured with preventDefault.
Because the mouseup event will stop a FlyTo, for example, the effect
of the scroll wheel cannot be disabled without disabling all mouse
navigation. Since the mouseup event generated by the scroll wheel,
along with setScrollWheelZoomSpeed(0), allows the scroll wheel to be
used for something besides zooming, there should be a way to capture
the event or disable the scroll wheel separately.

Repeatable: Yes

Probable Cause: Unknown

Solution: Ability to capture scroll wheel event or disable scroll
wheel separately

Workaround: Unknown