Re: First UI component needing replacement.

[thristian atdot org]

On Tue, Aug 15, 2000 at 02:10:14PM +0100, colin z robertson wrote:
> On Mon, Aug 14, 2000 at 03:45:34PM -0600, Dylan Griffiths wrote:
> > Yes, but I would not have the select single file dialog and the select
> > multiple file dialog work in the same way.  The select single file dialog is
> > very much oriented towards one file, as is.
> 
> No, I don't like this. Does it not imply having seperate "open one"
> and "open multiple" commands? That's very ugly. Since opening multiple
> files is such a common occurence and opening a single file should be
> possible with a multiple file opener I say keep them together.
> 
> If the open dialog is oriented towards opening only one file then
> that's a flaw in the dialog rather than an indication that there need
> to be two dialogs. The Windows open dialog handles selecting multiple
> files in the same directory fairly gracefully. The Mozilla-style view
> expands that to work well with files from multiple directories.
> 
> Btw, the app should be able to say whether the dialog should be
> multiply or singly selecting, and save dialogs will always be singly
> selecting.

Yes, but from the user's POV, how do you know if a given dialog
supports multiple-opens? If you make a multi-open dialog look slightly
different from a single-open dialog (say, with the addition of a lable
reading "Ctrl-click to select multiple files") then the functionality
becomes obvious, even in brand-new applications the user has never
seen before.

I know the GIMP can have more than one open file, but I have no idea
if the Open dialog will let me choose many files. I know XMMS will,
because it adds a bunch of buttons for Just That Purpose.

> > XMMS has a very nicely modified dialog that seems perfect for this.  I use
> > it when I add files to my playlist in XMMS.  It has a selection of buttons:
> > 
> > [Add Selected] [Add All] [Close]

Personally, I hate the XMMS multi-open dialog because if I just type
and tab-complete a file name and then hit enter, then the dialog
closes and nothing is added to the playlist, because I didn't
highlight the (one) file in the list first. So normally I type and
tab-complete to the directory I want, then mouse around to choose the
files I want.

XMMS also has "Add selected files" and "Add all files in directory" -
I'd suggest "Add Selected" and "Add Shown" - I have a directory that
contains more than just MP3 files, and I don't want to add, say,
.tar.gz to XMMS. Moreso, if I've tab-completed or set a filter like
"Pink\ Floyd*.mp3", I want to add all of *those* files - not all the
files in the directory.

> Oh. So it has. I'd been messing around with the dialog you get from
> the eject button until I gave up and used the command line. Now that's
> bad UI.

Heh. I got confused by the eject button on the original WinAMP - I
never have touched it in XMMS. That's a symptom of pushing the
metaphor (i.e. home-audio-device controls) too far, since the playlist
is a much more obvious, powerful, and general mechanism than a simple
"eject one file, insert another" system. The eject button simply
shouldn't be there at all.

<mega-snip>

> Single-clicking on a directory name:
> The directory becomes selected, all else unselected. Its name does not
> appear in the text field. This is to allow for operations such as
> renaming to be performed on the directory.
>
> Single-clicking on a directory icon:
> Toggles expansion of the directory's contents.

I would suggest that each folder should have a widget for
expansion/contraction. On MacOS & Mozilla, this is the little triangle
thing. On Windows, this is the little box containing a "+" or "-" (the
Mac way is better - incidentally: it's easier to tell a "v" from a ">"
than it is to tell a "[+]" from a "[-]" at high resolution..).

Single-clicking on the widget should toggle expansion, single-clicking
on a directory icon/name should select. Double-clicking on a directory
icon/name should toggle expansion.

> Shift + single-clicking on any file or directory name or icon:
<snip>
> In a single selection context, equivalent to single-clicking.
> 
> Ctrl + single-clicking on any file or directory name or icon:
<snip>
> In a single selection context, equivalent to single-clicking.

If I take your meaning correctly, in a single-selection context,
multi-select actions work like a single-select action on the target
file? I like that.

<snip>

Screwtape,
...my two cents.

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