Let users specify/go to exact window time range

[christophebedard]

Migrating issue from: https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=582531

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Original description:

This is a feature request to be able to set the start & end timestamps of the window time range OR a start timestamp and window span value. This would be useful when we want to jump to a specific section of the trace, for example when we know through other means (e.g., logs, babeltrace output timestamps) that we want to visualize a specific section. This would also be useful when we want to reliably/consistently set the window time range, e.g., for taking screenshots, etc.

The histogram view allows setting selection start & end timestamps and a window span value [1], but it's not quite the same given that it is the selection range and not the window range. Furthermore, this feature request isn't really about the histogram view specifically. It applies to any view with a typical time axis.

This feature could be implemented as a simple dialog with text boxes for start & end timestamp OR start timestamp and window span that is opened by:

1. A keyboard shortcut
2. Double-clicking on the timestamps shown in the lower left corner
3. Right-clicking on a view's time axis values and clicking on something like "Set window time range"
4. Or some other mechanism

I could probably contribute this feature, but I just need us to agree on the exact mechanism and whether this feature would be welcome.

[1] https://archive.eclipse.org/tracecompass/doc/stable/org.eclipse.tracecompass.doc.user/Trace-Compass-Main-Features.html#Histogram_View

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Comment from Bernd Hufmann:

Hi Christophe

this is a interesting feature suggestion. I agree it would be good to have a way to input a specific time range to navigate to. The histogram view has way to specify the selection range. But, to be honest, it should not have been separate from the Histogram view and it only allows to set the selection range.

The Time Graph views, like the Resources view allow to zoom to a window range that is currently selected by pressing the Z keyboard button. This is good, but it require such a view to be open.

Having an separate window for specifying the window range would be good. Not sure what is the best UX. For sure such a feature needs to be easily discoverable by the user. A dialog or a so called "Fast View" of Eclipse could be a way.

You could decide to allow to specify the selection window and have a button and Keyboard short (e.g. Z) cut to zoom to that selection.

If you could come up with a proposal implementation would be highly appreciated, because currently we don't have the bandwidth to work on it. Maybe let it try by your users to give feedback and then we can review it and give our feedback.

Thanks a lot for your initiative.

Bernd

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Comment from Ivan Grinenko:

Hi,

This is a very nice to have feature. As for me I see it implemented as something global (a key combination, or a button on a toolbar of a supported view). By 'global' I mean it should apply the selected time range to all the views having the 'Align Views' option eneabled.

Thanks!