Re: [gnome-db] HIG issues

[Rodrigo Moya <rodrigo gnome-db org>]

On Fri, 2003-05-02 at 17:57, Axel Krauth wrote:
> Hi!
> 
> I'm using mergeant as found in Debian's unstable (0.11.0). While using it I
> encountered inconsistencies of mergeant with the HIG. This is list is
> definitely not complete I wrote just the most prominent ones. 
> The .html-Files mentioned in parentheses are the HIG-files that explain/
> recommend the specific issue. 
> 
> 1) Desktop Integration (that's mergeant.desktop)
> The HIG suggests using a functional description of your application in
> addition to the proper name of the application. The current name is
> "Mergeant". I suggest using "Mergeant Database Administration" instead. The 
> tooltip on the other hand should describe the most important tasks the users 
> can accomplish with the applications and also phrase it using an imperative 
> verb. So "DBMS admin tool" isn't sufficient and according to the foreword in 
> the manual I'd say that "Maintain and query a sql database" would be a better 
> tooltip.
>  
this is now fixed in CVS.

> 2) Some nitpicking (windows.html#preference-windows)
> Gnome's default title of a setting dialog is "ApplicationName Preferences" and
> not "ApplicationName Settings"
> 
fixed also

> 3) Authentication window for connecting (windows.html#alerts-authentication)
> - There is a stock item for authentication windows
> - An authentication window is an alert window. This implies that is has no
>   title and the default keyboard navigation is as follows:
>   - Okay/Connect not enabled until all fields have been filled by the user.
>   - When the user presses Return, move focus to the next field instead of
>     activating the default button, unless the field is the last one. In that
>     case, activate the default button.
> - The window that pops up while connecting and which tells what it's doing
>   has a stop button (good) which is not enabled (bad). Don't provide a
>   cancel button if it's never enabled.
> 
could you please add a bug to bugzilla about this one? It's for not
forgetting it. I can't do it right now, but it's important to keep track
of it.

> 4) Main window
> Some issues, but the most disturbing one is changing of the toolbar and the
> menu after connecting/disconnecting to a DB.
> Users expect (and the HIG recommends) that the toolbar and the menu structure
> don't change! If an item isn't available (like disconnect when not connected) 
> items ought to be disabled instead of being invisible.
>
done also. Now, we have all items disable/enable instead of hide/show.

> - Several menu items open a window stating "not implemented, see in .....".
>   Their existence maybe is a good reminder for you but for the user it's plain
>   unusable.
>
yes, right. I'll go over all those and disable the menu items.

> - Please rename the "View" menu. It's a standard menu
>   (menus.html#menu-standard-view)
>
rename? We can't use it? (sorry for asking but can't read the document
right now)

> - On my machine not every toolbaritem is visible, the "R" of "Rollback
>   transaction" is the last visible letter.
>
hmm, you've got 'Text with icons' setting for toolbars? That's a global
problem, which we can't solve. I personally have 'Icons only'.

> - The toolbar item "_Contents" should not be included in the toolbar since:
>   "A toolbar is a strip of controls that allows convenient access to
>   commonly-used functions". And also:
>   "Don't add buttons for Help, Close or Quit to your toolbar by default, ..."
> 
also done

> 5) Quit
> Quiting mergeant before connecting raises the following dialog
> 
> Do you really want to quit ?
>  <no> <yes>

> First, this is a confirmation alert so it shouldn't have a title. There is
> also a stock item for this, the stock warning icon (but I'm not quite sure 
> whether - when you see it - you'll like it. Remember why Gnome recommends
> stock items). The recommended button combination for Quit is "Cancel&Quit" 
> not "Yes/No". You have an appropriate quit dialog when connected to a DB
> (well, besides the fact that it has a title).
> 
right. Also please add a bug for this to bugzilla, and I'll take care of
it ASAP.

> 
> Hope this helps :)
> 
yes, a lot. Please continue giving this kind of feedback. Thanks very
much.

Will commit in a minute the changes I've done so far.

cheers