Re: [Usability] Suggestion for the actual UI of GTK+'s NewFileSelector

["Eugenia Loli-Queru" <eloli hotmail com>]

> If I am in a very deep tree, say, 64 levels deep, and the PathView has
> the last few folders in view, how do I scroll immediately to the first,
> or thirty-second, or some other random position, in the "list" of
> folders?

You could as easily place some down-looking arrows like on web browsers to
expand to a combo box. Path Navigator is the best solution for "normal"
situations and its advantages exceed those of the plain combo box  IMHO.
Point is though, that we are looking at the wrong problem in which there is
no solution today: hierarchical fses. Until these are changed, neither the
Path Navigator or the combo box will be good enough for all cases.

>Even testing with low-fidelity mock-ups, such as paper
>prototypes or proposed screen shots, produces valid results.

Sure, but if they have never used nothing similar to any OS some people
might be buffled and not understand what it does. Path Navigator is not my
innovation at all, but it is nevertheless an innovation. And it is true that
innovative things don't always getting understood immediately because
familiarity is not always present.

BTW, I never claimed that my Path Navigator's *presentation* in the mockup
is the final thing. Hours after I put my original mockup up I had already
made a different presentation for it so depending how you present it in a
mockup, people will understand it or not. If its visuals are done correctly
so people figure it out immediately, I really don't see anyong going back to
the archaic up/back buttons and the combo boxes. Think "spatial nautilus"
here. Many hated the idea (including myself), however Alex and Seth tried to
convince us that "after you use it, you will never go back". Same here.  ;-)

Eugenia