Re: [Usability] New dialog for handling file conflicts in Nautilus - UI review request

[Jacob Beauregard <jake13jake comcast net>]

Awesome! I remember bringing this up quite a while ago, and I was 
particularly at issue with the Replace option being the default. I've 
certainly been waiting to see expanded functionality for this, and I've 
definitely put a lot of thought into this problem for different cases 
that have already been mentioned.

Given that, there are still a few things that can be addressed:

Regarding the shortcomings of what you have already proposed, applying 
the action to all files for renaming purposes seems as though it would 
be somewhat confusing. Additionally, with "Select a new name for the 
destination," the user could become confused as to which file is going 
to be renamed. It might also be beneficial to allow the user to change 
the names of either or both of the files.

Concerning the thumbnails or icons next to the "original file" and 
"replace with," does the user have the ability to open the files and 
compare them using an application? If not, I believe this would be a 
good idea, as well as being able to view full and or modify file 
properties, such as permissions (not in the actual dialog though, but by 
right clicking on the icon/thumbnail or something similar). Also, when 
you add the rename option, "replace with" loses its context.

Another thought I've had is optionally backloading conflicts to take a 
bulk action when moving multiple files (bulk rename, move to a different 
location such as a subdirectory in the destination folder, etc.). This 
would be especially useful in cases where a lot of conflicts arise and 
esp. when current options don't inherently apply. This backloading 
functionality could possibly be posed as a replacement for the skip 
functionality, which when moving single files can be replaced by an 
option to cancel.

This would be a more optimal case for balancing power users and casual 
users compared to offering bulk options within a conflict dialog for a 
single file. This would also accomplish both of what Thorsten and 
Stanislav brought up in perspective to review and action.

Cosimo Cecchi wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> I wrote a dialog to improve the way Nautilus behaves when there's a
> conflict between two files in a file operation.
> Here you can find some screenshots:
>
> http://www.lilik.it/~anarki/media/my/gnome/file-conflict.png
> http://www.lilik.it/~anarki/media/my/gnome/file-conflict-rename.png
>
> The basic ideas are two:
> - display more information about the conflicting files in the operation
> - offer the choice to rename the destination to avoid the conflict.
> I decided to hide the rename entry under an expander, to keep the UI
> more polished and to avoid potential confusion to the user.
> Also, clicking on the "Apply this action to all files" checkbox makes
> the whole expander insensitive, as the only actions that make sense in
> that case are "Skip" and "Replace/Merge".
>
> What do you think? Any improvements/suggestions are welcomed!
>
> Cheers,
>
>