Lane arrow tool: Alt+click only updates half segment

[originalfoo]

I have this road (just thrown together for testing):

The section of road in middle (highlighted above with Move It mod) is a single segment.

I open lane arrow tool and Alt+Click the segment in middle which gives this:

It's only updated one end of the segment (on the right). I was expecting it to update both ends?

If I Alt+Click a second time, it updates the other end:

[originalfoo]

@kianzarrin is this intended behaviour?

[kianzarrin]

Yes this is intended behavior. what if the user wants to update one end not the other?
Also clicking on the road brings up the the control panel only for half of the road so the UI is consisten.

[originalfoo]

Ok, that makes sense.

Based on the tooltip, as an end-user I was expecting both ends of segment to update:

Alt+Click: Separate turning lanes for segment

Does not convey what actually happens:

Separate turning lanes for nearest end of segment, unless they are already separate in which case do the other end as well.

I'm not sure if there's any way to clarify the situation without making the tooltip excessively long.

As there will always need to be two clicks to do both ends, would it be worth considering an alternative interaction model?

Specifically, what if Alt+Click would toggle separate turning lanes for nearest end of segment? Tool tip would then become:

Alt+Click: Toggle separate turning lane(s) for nearest end of segment

The benefits of this approach would be:

• User now understands that where they click affects the functionality
• To do both ends, user has to click both ends - still same number of clicks, but now there is no chance of wrong end being altered unexpectedly
• If user changes wrong end (eg. on very short roads it might be difficult to click in right place) they can undo simply by repeating the click in same location

What do you think?

[originalfoo]

Note: Changes to interaction model would also impact #547

[kianzarrin]

@aubergine10

As there will always need to be two clicks to do both ends, would it be worth considering an alternative interaction model?

Wow! you have your junctions way too close to each other. that is not good! I never need to separate turning lanes for both ends since there is only one end connected anyway.

Some people do have junctions way too close to each other so I think it does not hurt to provide some clarification. Maybe I can highlight only half of the segment? Or provide more info on tutorial or the "?" button? or let the user to figure it out experimentally?

[originalfoo]

Maybe I can highlight only half of the segment?

Yes, this would help to highlight the incoherence of the interaction model.

Let's map this out:

• User hovers over segment, half of it highlights
  • "Oh, it affects the half I hover the mouse over"
• User clicks to separate the turn lane
• Now the other half of segment becomes highlighted, despite not moving the mouse
  • "Did it alter the wrong end? Hrm, no"
  • "Oh, it affects the end the mouse isn't over..."
• User clicks to separate turning lane at end of segment they are not hovering
• Now nothing highlights because both ends are updated
  • wtf?
• User decides they want to de-separate the turning lane
  • Uhm, I can't - I need to use a completely different interaction model to do that

The interaction model is incoherent.

Now, let's see what would happen if we changed it slightly so it toggles the half being clicked.

• User hovers mouse over segment
• Relevant half of segment is highlighted
• Click toggles separate turning lane(s) for that half of segment

And if they want to do the other half, just move the mouse over it and it works exactly same way as first half. No more guesswork, and no need to switch to completely different interaction model if they make a mistake or later change their mind.

Wow! you have your junctions way too close to each other

My roads have very few junctions, and I avoid cross roads like the plague, preferring staggered junctions instead. ;) And if congestion occurs, I usually simplify my road network rather than making it more complex, I ask myself "What would America do?", and then do the opposite of that.

[kianzarrin]

@aubergine10 how is this?

[originalfoo]

That looks much better! Very clear which end of the road will be updated when user clicks.

[originalfoo]

In fact, that half-road highlight would be useful for normal lane connector arrow tool too. Because that seems to work same way.

For example, with lane connector arrow tool if I click where the 'green blob' is on this image, nothing happens, because it can't work out which end I want to edit. So your 'highlight selected half' approach would be a good improvement for this too: