[kdepim-usability] Folder Properties

[Jan Muehlig]

Reinhold Kainhofer wrote:
> What I found "interesting" in your report is that you seem to be inclined to 
> spread the options out over several dialogs, where all folder options are 
> currently in one place (the folder properties dialog). 
The Tabs structure of the current dialog is rather difficult. If you 
consider the data on tab 2 and 3 "not so important", then putting 
something on tab 2 or 3 can be learned as "ignore it". This is in 
contradiction to how tabs are used e.g. in the config-dialogs. Therefore 
tabs should be used when all information are equally important, but can 
be structured in sub categories (tab titles).
In the folder properties, expiry and mailing lists are in fact things 
that perhaps 1% use and only in 1% of cases need to be checked or changed.
The expiry settings were first placed (in our suggestions) in the 
extented properties (more-) dialog. But then the dialog became very 
long, and till said too long. OK.
So the decision was to change in the rmb menu "expire" to "expiry ..." 
and make an own dialog. Also, we put Mailing List to the rmb menu, 
because it is much more a collection of actions than something to 
configure. Still difficult.
So I think that "Expiry" can remain as an own dialog, or put on the main 
dialog, whatever you prefer. If "Expire" in the current version in the 
rmb should stay (which is a very tricky action, because you cannot see 
or foresee what it will do because you can't see the settings), then it 
just makes sense to make it an own dialog.

> Don't you think that this will make kmail's folder settings seem more bloated, 
> or confusing (e.g. If you want to change this aspect of the folder, go to the 
> folder properties dialog, but if you want to edit that other aspect, that's 
> somewhere else.)? 
Well, would you ever expect that something like "Mailings Lists" can be 
found in the properties dialog? As a normal user? Probably not. So 
putting it to the rmb menu at list makes it visible, without cluttering 
the properties dialog.
Same with "Expire".
Also, there are simply some functions or rather actions that are 
expected in a rmb menu, because they appear in most other mail programs. 
Like Rename or Move. It is rather an action than a setting. Therefore, 
one paradigm we followed was: If it is rather an action, and it is 
connected to a folder, it must be in the rmb menu. If it is a setting, 
then it belongs to the properties dialog.

> Also, what's the rationale behind putting the Expiration settings into such a 
> prominent spot as its own menu item in the RMB menu? In my eyes, the expiry 
> settings are so seldomly used that they certainly don't need such a visible 
> place, where it distracts from the other, more important actions for a 
> folder.
See above; and: it's an action that needs settings.


Jan
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