Re: Downloader UI Rationales

[Marco Pesenti Gritti <marco gnome org>]

> PDFs open straight away -- this is GREAT.
> 
> But sometimes I click on a small file and... nothing happens.

This one could be easily solved showing a dialog when there is no
handler.

> And when I realize I've clicked on a link by accident... I kind of tense 
> up, like, "uh-oh... did I click on Stop im time? What has the browser 
> gone and done now?" Then I've got to open a terminal (or Nautilus 
> window) and look through my download directory, making sure I haven't 
> downloaded something I don't want.
> 
> And that's all beside the problem of downloading files which are awfully 
> named on the server (which probably happens on over 25% of all 
> downloads). With conventional downloading, even if I leave the name the 
> same, at least I've seen it: if I click on a nice-looking link and it 
> downloads a file with an ambiguous or meaningless name (let's take some 
> real-world examples lying on my hard drive: 261a96.ps, R64838.EXE, 
> Setup.exe, README), at least through clicking on the "Ok" button in the 
> file selector I'd see the filename and confirm that yes, I actually 
> don't mind adding a file called R64838.EXE to my home directory. The way 
> Epiphany is now, I may know I've downloaded the file but not know what 
> the file *is*.

I'm a bit surprised about the 25%. I think most people click Ok Ok on
the dialogs anyway, so this sort of file naming is a problem also with
IE.

> This is a shame, because I strongly agree that the conventional "save 
> download" dialog box is both counterintuitive and annoying. But at least 
> I'd know what to expect when I click on a link. Right now, I click 
> around less than I would otherwise. I'm more cautious. And I'd consider 
> myself a power user... what about normal people?

Yeah, as I said the click by mistake thing is my main concern.

> This is an evil rant. I apologize. I'll try and top it off with some 
> possible suggestions... brainstorming, really, because I think that's 
> necessary.
> 
> - Maybe a single dialog when you click on a link: "Open", "Save" (to 
> download folder), "Cancel".

If we go for this then I think we should probably just put back the two
dialogs. This doesnt really solve the naming and organizing problem.

> - Maybe oblige the download manager to pop up for at least a second or 
> two, even for tiny downloads which finish in under a second.

That's planned but it's a very partial solution.

> - Maybe make download behavior a preference: "Let Epiphany determine 
> what you want to do" vs. "Ask what you want to do"

What this would solve ? If we need a pref then it means we designed
something semi-borked.

Marco