Re: RFP: File chooser user interface

[Matthew Berg <galt gothpoodle com>]

On Thu, 2003-09-18 at 12:26, Thomas Leonard wrote:

> - Users will want to open a file using the fastest, most convenient
>   method.

I'd suspect Magnus is right in saying that most users will go with what
they know to work

> - GTK's file chooser is unlikely to make a better file finder than a
>   dedicated filer.

The scope of a file dialog is much smaller than a file manager.  At
least for me having a simple goal-oriented interface for a simple goal
(i.e. a file dialog for opening a file) is a big win.

The trick here is not loading down the FOSA dialog with a lot of cruft
that distracts from this.

> Using an Open box seems slow, because you've got to indicate the program
> AND the file to load, whereas with clicking in a file manager, you only
> specify the file.

... unless you work with the same files in different ways.  For example,
a single person might open an image on its own to look at it, or to edit
it, or might open it as part of a gallery.

This treads the water of the "task-oriented" versus "document-oriented"
debate, which I honestly don't feel qualified to get into.

> However, to pick a figure, Archive (file compressor/extracter and the most
> popular program I've written that loads files) has 4600 downloads for the
> latest stable release, and noone's complained/noticed that it doesn't have
> an Open dialog yet...

There's no reason to believe that's a representative sample of computer
users.  Given that the freshmeat entry makes a point of it being a "drag
and drop" filer, it stands to reason that the people who would download
it would want that kind of interface.

> Someone did ask about an Open box in our text editor, but that's still
> only one request in five years, and I'd expect more if 'most' people
> opened files that way (although the editor itself is not very widely used).
> 
> Perhaps someone has figures from a larger sample?

The problem isn't the size of your sample group, it's the fact that it's
entirely self selected.  Basically what you've demonstrated is that
people who specifically seek out an interface like Rox like interfaces
like Rox.  No offense, but that's hardly useful information.

-- 
Matthew Berg <galt gothpoodle com>