[Digikam-devel] [Bug 225471] Change Digikam to follow usability guidelines

[Fri Duh]

https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=225471





--- Comment #5 from Fri Duh <friiduh gmail com>  2010-02-05 19:42:41 ---
"That's why I added the show/hide “sidebar” buttons to the toolbars on the left
and right sides (Same as how Firefox's Bookmark button works). This actually
saves the user a lot of horizontal space. In the current setup its impossible
to get rid of the half-inch on each side that displays the vertical tabs"

The horizontal space is not the problem. The vertical space is the problem. And
the functionality what we get whit current setup is better than what can be
achived by adding a "Hide sidepanel" button on toolbar.

a) User can hide the toolbar and is not forced to have it.
b) Single click show/hide functionality with wanted sidepanel without need to
first show the panel.
c) Two buttons less in the toolbar (there is space problem on smaller screens
when toolbars having a text side).
d) Possibility to have a tabs on top of current tools (tabs like Exif, XMP
etc).

"I will be experimenting with tabs at the top of the panel though, as that is
how
its “supposed” to be according to usability guidelines."

That is one thing what I am suggesting for current setup, that we move as much
possible some functions in showFoto to up. Like now there is great job done to
get the preview buttons and view tools to one collected place away from the
image view area. Here is now very old mockup
http://saukonpaa.com/projects/mockups/digikam_sidepanel_firstdraft.jpeg
That is from showFoto for tools moved from menu (still visible) to sidepanel
where tools are located (it was not polished at all). The idea is to use more
and more the sidepanels so the user can even hide the menubar (what is now
possible with Ctrl+M) because tools could be moved away from there. But that is
one (big) usability suggestion what I am making and I have problems with it
because digiKam developers are too fast to follow while they fix bugs etc. Like
think that you have the filter panel at bottom of the tools sidepanel. From
there you can just type "curves" or "black" and you would get to right panel
the tools what would do something to that. And buttons would be even at
different sizes for different size screens. Idea is that user can if wanted to
hide all bars and have only photo + sidepanel open. But that is other subject. 

And the current sidepanel implentation is not liked by some people because one
small problem, the text is sideway and while trying to find out a way to get
rid of that, we end up to have bigger problems. Sometimes it is wiser to have a
small problem to gain bigger features somewhere else.

"The same thing can be done by entering the tag's name into the search bar and
then searching through the results. This is better than scrolling through a
long list of tag names, and that list should already be included in the Tags
sidebar on the right-hand side anyways."

It is not same thing. That is a blind-filtering. User is trying to remember
tags and actually is searching tags and not filtering them. The tag tree is
powerfull because you can see the available tags. The filtering is to help when
you already remember/know what you are looking for. Thats why the one single
"superbar" to search tags, metadata, locations etc does not work because it is
like Googling trought your own database without knowing what data there is
possible to be.

And both tags bars on left and right have different functions on them. The left
side is like selecting single information. A one tag, one album, one map
location or one date. On the right side you get the information but the tag is
cloned there to allow you manage the filtered data what you got from left
search. They are not duplicate work but they completes each other.
And this way we can solve one big problem what comes when starting to have lots
of data, user can search just the specific data from wanted place without
getting wrong results. Example you have tags of every person by their name.
Then you have renamed files to have names of the persons. Then there is map
places and albums with same kind names. Now if you search in one "superbar"
search a wanted tag or person. You get everything in front of you. We should
make a somekind drop down list or selection that allows user to choose what
data it will be searched. Like on Google page has Images, Maps, Books, News,
Internet etc. So now when we have simple filter/search functions on every
wanted place (tags, map, albums, dates) user does the filtering in the first
place by using the wanted tool.

This is one problem what caused that we need to have a normal search and a
advanced search separated.

"You're showing multiple views of the
same list of tags, whereas you can combine it to make the tags selectable as a
group as well as editable in the same Tab view. Also, you should not need to
show two Marble globes in the sidepanel in order to do map searches and
geolocation."

They are not about duplicating the same search. Again example. You do a
location search on left by dragging a box around wanted area. Now you get all
that area photos in front of you. How do you filter just one person from the
massive amount of photos? Example I could want only to be seen photos where
this one person is but no one else. Now I can do it from right sidepanel. The
idea is to give the user simple but powerfull tools what the user itself can
mixture to get wanted photos in front of them. We can not build a "black box"
full of photos in front of user what she/he then needs to search with quessing
and remembering all what he wants. He needs to have possiblity to see the
choises and it makes the management lots easier.

"but I want to get rid of the layout design
clutter, duplication, and unstructured menu and view organization."

I see your point. But where you see duplication and unstructured menu (there is
always polishing on the menus) I see simple and powerfull tools what I can mix
together. That is the one feature what many other photographers who use
Lightroom in daily use just amaze when I can pull wanted photos in matter of
seconds without wrong results. It is like having two hands and not just one ;-)

"Im working on coming up with
solutions to how to fix things."

That is good thing what you are doing. And discussing about them is good so
that we can find new ideas and solutions what to think.

"The biggest problem at this point is that it
just takes too long to make the mockups and then explaining how each thing
works."

So it usually does. But mockups can be for developers a good "frame" where they
can build their own ideas later.

"BTW, the changes Im proposing are NOT drastic changes to Digikam. It'll
still be toolbar, right and left sidepanels, and main middle view and keeps all
the same features it has now."

Yes it still would be but as I tried to explain, the functionality to use the
features would change, even thet the UI itself would not be changed (like the
Amarok 2 got the context-view middle of the collection and playlist what many
disliked).

"But it has to
start by putting tools/options in the right places and having a clear idea of
how Digikam should look and work."

That is one current big problem. We have two sidepanels with both having great
functionality and supporting each other (as I explained) and just having one
tool (like tags) to do everything in one place (only one tag panel/tab with
mixed functuons) is not always the best choise.

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