new background capplet concerns

[Anna Marie Dirks <anna ximian com>]

Greetings all: 

I updated all of my gnome2 packages this morning to the most recent
snapshots, and noticed that there is a new design for the background
capplet. As a work in progress, this design is interesting because it
explores a new way of organizing the background options. However, I have
some questions about its usability. 

I am concerned that at this late stage in the game, it is foolhardy to
be making such drastic changes, particularly when they result in a
non-standard design. Which brings me to my first point:

First: 

    This dialog uses standard widgets in an unfamiliar and inconsistent
    way, and doesn't use familiar widgets when it could. Upon starting
    the capplet, you are presented with a dialog filled with what appear
    to be buttons. These buttons server a myriad of purposes: some
    function as file selectors, some as radiobuttons, and many as
    preview panes. 

    We already have perfectly functional, standard widgets to accomplish
    these tasks, and roughly all other gnome apps use them. This allows
    gnome users to transfer their knowledge of how widgets work from one
    app to another, effectively lowering the gnome-fluency barrier.

    What, then, does the heavy, non-standard use of buttons in this
    dialog accomplish, besides making it inconsistent with other apps,
    and even inconsistent within itself? 

    Using standard widgets in your designs benefits your app, other
    apps, and your platform. It makes your users feel safe, and it saves
    them from needing to relearn how widgets behave in order to use your
    app. 

Second: 

    This dialog has no concept of history, and is hence not very
    forgiving. Using the "Picture" button instead of a standard file
    selector means that there is no easy way to change to a previous
    background picture. 
    
    So, if you select a picture that you decide you don't like, the only
    way to revert your change is to remember where your original picture
    lives. This discourages people from playing around with what should
    be one of the most fun and rewarding capplets. Hmm.

Third: 

    This dialog uses inconsistent labelling conventions, and makes some
    potentially confusing assumptions.
	
    The dialog seems to assume that the user wants to use a background
    picture, because it uses phrases like "Picture Options:" and "Border
    the picture with a:" . The dialog has no reason to assume this-- and
    when taken out of context, these labels are confusing. If you are
    using a screenreader or similar assistive technologies, this is a
    real problem. 
    
    Also, some labels have colons after them, some don't. Some adhere to
    HIG capitalization guidelines, and some don't. Inconsistencies like
    this are so painfully easy to fix that allowing them to be made is
    just embarassing.
    
    Lastly, the "You can drag..." label takes up 1/4 of this dialog. I
    wonder if this label needs to be there. Isn't DND assumed to work in
    guis? Wouldn't a Help button which triggered the display of a help
    page be a better place for this label? 
    
    
Fourth: 

    This capplet is instant-apply. So,any change that you make to it
    will be instantaneously reflected on your desktop. As such, what
    does having a mini-preview for each of the picture options (ie
    scaled, wallpaper, etc) accomplish? 
    
    Look at this:
    
        http://primates.ximian.com/~anna/background-capplet.png 
    
    It isn't clear at all from the little wallpaper/centered/scaled
    previews what the difference between them will be. These previews
    are more confusing than useful, at least with my background
    picture. 

    If you want really want to use a picture to show what each of 
    the Picture Options means, how about using a little preview icon 
    (where the options actually look different) for each option?
        
Lastly: 

    This dialog is only somewhat keyboard navigable. Why are "Picture"
    and "Border the picture with a:" lacking accelerators? 

So these are the usability problems I find with this dialog. I propose
the following changes:

        1. Rename the following labels to something less
           Picture-centric: "Picture Options", "Border the picture with
           a:". 
        2. Add accelerators to the "Picture" and "Border the picture
           with a" labels.
        3. Use a standard file selector, or an option menu + browse
           button to set the picture so that the dialog has some
           history.
        4. Add a Help button, remove the "You can drag.." label, and add
           that information to the Help. 
        5. Add colons to Left/Right/Top/Bottom Color so as to comply
           with HIG
        6. Capitalize the renamed version of "Border the picture with a"
           properly, as outlined in the HIG.
        7. Use radiobuttons or an option menu for the "Picture Options"
           settings, and replace the previews with icons.  
        8. Remove the "No Picture" option and add either a "Remove
           Picture" button which is sensitive when there is a picture,
           or a "Use a background picture" checkbutton that toggles the
           sensitivity of the picture options. 
        9. Change the button which displays the picture to be a good
           old-fashioned preview. 
	

I guess that is about it. What do you guys think? If it is decided that
any of these are good directions to follow, I'd be happy to help out
with this capplet, either by testing it in my usability lab at Ximian,
or by doing research for you about how other systems fix this problem.
Just let me know. Thanks for the consideration.

Regards,
Anna.