Re: [Usability] List View Column Header Sorting

[Thorsten Wilms <t_w_ freenet de>]

On Sun, Feb 25, 2007 at 04:39:28PM +1300, Matthew Paul Thomas wrote:

> > This made me check if you can rearrange columns via drag and drop.
> > You can't. At least not in Nautilus.
> 
> Wow, I'd never noticed that before either. :-) You can in Evolution, 
> though. Reported: <http:/bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=411757>
> 
> Though now that I look at Evolution's implementation, it's pretty nasty.
> <http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=365385>
> <http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=411768>
> <http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=411787>

Oh, wow :)

 
> > I think changing the order of columns would be the best way to
> > communicate the sequence of multiple sorting. All other ways I can
> > think of require more complex graphics.
 
> That's assuming that displaying the secondary sort order is necessary. 
> I don't think it is (none of the software I've seen that supports 
> secondary sort displays it). And tying sort order to column order would 
> be pretty annoying.

The state of things should be communicated in a clear way, always.
Every serious usability checklist will support that.
Current implementations not doing so doesn't make that right.

Why/How would tying sort order to column order be annoying?

I think it is very natural to sort steps in a sequence, priorities, 
processing stages from left to right (well, reading direction for 
western world).


-- 
Thorsten Wilms