15.11.2010, 17:39, "Jef van Schendel" <jefvanschendel(a)gmail.com>:
2010/11/9 Misha Shnurapet <shnurapet(a)fedoraproject.org>
> Hi, Design Team!
>
> I got a little issue with the new filter panel introduced in Transmission 2.11. I
desided to ask here because it's part of Fedora and there are people experienced in UI
design.
>
> The GUI client used to have nice buttons [1] that allowed to jump quickly between the
lists of active / paused / seeding torrents, etc. Now that there are options added, the
control has been converted into combo boxes [2].
>
> The issue is pretty simple: I dont' like the extra-click-and-choice it takes to
use the combo boxes.
>
> I have posted a ticket [3] to the trac trying to explain my concern. Being
disappointed I made myself sound offensive, which I regret and feel very sorry for.
However, the developer agreed to see a new solution that wouldn't narrow back the
current functionality. Tabs wouldn't work. I'd like to consult with designers if
this can be improved any further. Maybe Máirín or Jakub would have an idea?
Hi Misha,
Sorry this response took a while - I meant to reply earlier but the mail got lost.
Here's my opinion on the matter:
It's a hard decision to make. Adding functionality can be good but you also want to
keep your software simple. In this case, it's up for the developers/designers of
Transmission to decide which one of these provides more value to their users. They should
consider their target audience and what they would want: do they value the added power
over the expense of increased complexity?
I do think it's very good that you've taken notice of this change though... The
difference between one and two mouse clicks will not sound shocking on its own, but these
changes can quickly add up. Transmission is known for its simplicity and I personally
think that's very valuable. I can only tell them to be careful, but I'm sure the
developers know this. :)
By the way, the submenus inside the drop-downs shouldn't be there according to the
HIG [1]. On the other hand. the HIG is about guidelines, not rules, and Transmission
isn't part of GNOME. Again, it's up to the developers to decide if the tradeoff is
worth it.
What I *would* do however is give the default selection in the drop-down list a better
label. In your screenshot they both say "All 3", which doesn't make clear
what they do. Maybe something like "All torrents", "All states" or
"All trackers" would be clearer here? Just an idea.
Hi.
I thought much about possible ways to improve the UI, and here's what I came up with
[1]:
Transmission could use buttons in place of one of the filter boxes like the old-style
version and show the info in tips. The other element possibly placed in the toolbar would
remain unchanged.
[1]
http://shnurapet.fedorapeople.org/bt.png
--
Best regards,
Misha Shnurapet, Fedora Project Contributor
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User:Shnurapet
shnurapet AT
fedoraproject.org, GPG: 00217306