GSoC 2016 Project Idea Usability Suggestions

[Arnav Dhamija]

Hi, thank you for the kind words and the feedback! The set of minimum 
deliverables I wish to achieve during the GSoC timeline are:

  * Easy selection modes with the built in Dolphin file view, including
    the standard ctrl+c/v keyboard shortcuts interaction
  * Copy/cut/paste with a directory chosen in a "Folder open" dialog or
    into the currently active Dolphin directory
  * Put search results from a search query into the panel
  * Feature parity with collective file actions already available in
    most file managers - such as Archive, send over Bluetooth, attach
    with email, rename files, etc

Features which I want to add, but may not be possible to achieve during 
the GSoC timeline include:

  * Create a diff output of any two directories/files staged on the panel
  * Explore version history of the file if a compatible VCS (such as
    git) if found
  * Enhanced sharing features - such as upload files to Dropbox or to
    create music playlists if music files are staged on the panel

My question is, how many of these features are likely to benefit the 
user? Should I mention the list of stretch goals of the project in my 
GSoC proposal (such as the three listed above) stating that I might not 
be able to finish it within the timeline?

Finally, how can I conduct user surveys? Are Balsamiq mockups good enough?

Thank you all for your time : )



On Sunday 27 December 2015 02:29 PM, Heiko Tietze wrote:
> On Saturday 26 December 2015 08:59:15 Johan Ouwerkerk wrote:
>> How does this idea improve on hold Ctrl, then click files? I.e.
>> can/does it apply to multiple disjoint folder trees at the same time?
> I'd recommend to keep the UI clean. It has the side-effect of supporting
> multiselection but the first use case is to generate a temporary list of items.
>
> However your reply reminds me on the discussion we had some time ago in the
> context of the HIG about listviews (dig the web to find the old thread). The
> idea was to balance the simplicity of multiselection in classic list views
> with the efficience of checkboxes by offering those when multiple items have
> been selected, maybe optionally. In other words you get the normal listview
> and everything looks familiar. But when you hold down the ctrl or shift key
> the items offer you check boxes that make any selection sticky.
> This enhanchment should be done on a core level, not Dolphin specific. The idea
> was stalled at that time because of the transition to Qt5. Maybe it's the
> right time now...
>
>   On Thu, Dec 24, 2015 at 1:49 PM, Arnav Dhamija <arnav.dhamija at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>>> Trays Panel Extension for the Dolphin File Manager for improving GUI file
>>> selection operations
> Great idea. After having some kind of extra panel in mind it now sounds like
> another history layer, manually controlled. Users can chose whether to show a
> list of the today's files or the manually selected. The good thing is that two
> ideas makes it easy to run a survey with community. Question in this first
> stage should be about scope, and after that how the interaction is done.
>
> Feel free to ask for help. Drawing mockups and running a survey is much fun.
>
> Cheers,
> Heiko

-- 
arnav dhamija
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