12 hours later (on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:50:05)
The Toolbar.
- Given the changes detailed in my previous post, the two pop up menus (hidden by default) that allow to select Game and Category are redundant, however a couple of buttons that allow to hide the sidebar and the bottom one could be beneficial.
- The remove button should be a stand alone one, possibly called "Delete" and, if my suggestion about the smart searches is found to be interesting, it should read "Undelete" when a deleted project is selected.
- The Update/Update all buttons fits naturally together.
- The Actions (or "Additional Actions" as is called in the Customize Toolbar… dialog) at the moment is grayed out, but frankly I cannot think of what else to use it for, is it a left over from the previous version?
- A second "double button" to switch views of the list panel (see the next point)
The List area
- As I said in my previous post, it definitely need some additional columns: one for the game icon, should be the very first column, followed by the category icon. Then few other columns, in addition to the one already existing: the version of the project (not under the name anymore), the compatibility with the current version of the game (a simple checkbox). The date of last update of the project should also be added.
- The current way the list view is organized is nice, but I think it could be improved by make it simpler (using a single line and smaller icons on the left side) but still adding a second view, with 2-3 lines thickness per project, but adding the "short description" of the project in the additional space. Probably a single line using the same type and space of the current second line should be enough. On the right side of the name a round i button should link to the full description for the add-on.
This are all my thoughts on the GUI for the moment. I do not know how much of it is locked but I hope that at leas some of the suggested improvement make it trough. I really think this version as opposed to the previous, has really great potential and I really like to offer all the suggestion I can to improv it further.
Feel free to ask for clarification if you think something is not clear.
- #1
amosconi Regular ShmoeI Agree with Pyddel that at the moment the sidebar is a waste of space. In addition certain element of the GUI are redundant and should be moved/eliminated.
1. Integrate the categories in the game listed on the left. the structure should be like:
> GAMES
...@ World of Warcraft
…....@ Category with no sub entries
….….> Category with multiple entries
…....….. @ sub entry of above category
@ represent the category icon while > represent a clickable triangle to disclose the sub content.
2. The gray bar beneath the toolbar should be removed. If a user has multiple games installed on the computer that are supported by the client, the games should just be listed on the left column.
3. Add a switch type button (on the lower left bar, where now you have the bug/forum buttons, would make sense) to change between the "install" (replacing the "get more addons") and the "list" mode. The bug/forum buttons should just live along with the other buttons on the toolbar.
4. In the sidebar should take place this other elements:
Note that the smart searches would list project for all games, and for this the list pane should have at least one additional column with the icon game
The List of project is in dire need of a "View Options…" command to customize it. There are some additional columns missing. I'll do another post for those and a few other enhancements.