How should calligra apps start by default? Was: Re: Don't show template selection ui any longer

[Boudewijn Rempt]

On Friday 14 January 2011, Sebastian Sauer wrote:
> Boudewijn Rempt wrote:
> > The current template dialog is said to be the result of usability work,
> > though I've never seen the report nor the interaction design.
> 
> I do believe it's a bad idea to display suich a dialog and seems at least 
> Microsoft Office and OpenOffice.org do not do something like that with there 
> word-processors.
> 
> > We get a lot of negative comments about it -- I remember that Peter
> > Sikking (the gimp interaction design maintainer) couldn't keep from
> > laughing out loud when he first saw it.
> 
> I don't wonder. I still have to find a single person who likes to have that 
> template-dialog between you and the app in the first place. Also adding an 
> "unbreak option" (as in a way to hide it per default) doesn't solve it.
> 
> So, the real question should be; Do you like either to have such a template-
> dialog visible per default XOR not for a) Words, b) Tables and c) Stage. From 
> the feedback I saw so far clear majority prefers to have the blank page there 
> in both, Words and Tables, per default. Note that for Stage OO.org displays a 
> wizard while MSPowerpoint starts with a clean presentation too.

No that's not the real question :P. The real question is

"what do users want to do when they start an application?" 

And it's more complicated since we want to have a modicum of consistenty across the suite and Krita is a very difficult subject for this question.

> > Apple's office suite also starts with a template browser,
> 
> oha, that's interesting. Are you sure they do if you start direct the 
> applications (e.g. Numbers) or maybe they only do if you start the container-
> application (e.g. KoShell)?

If you start the application. And you cannot disable it -- but then, those apps are designed around templates.

-- 
Boudewijn Rempt | http://www.valdyas.org, http://www.krita.org