Re: [Usability] I have a problem

[Christian Hergert <chris dronelabs com>]

On May 28, 2011, at 2:01 PM, Benjamin Otte wrote:

> * There's button(s) that say  ( Notes | Edit )
> How are these buttons different from notebooks? Is it just visually
> different or is it a completely different interaction? Because from
> the interaction described it looks like a notebook to me, just with a
> different UI. But I can't really pinpoint what's missing from
> GtkNotebook for this. Also, should we try to get rid of notebooks and
> replace it with buttons like these in other places?

I don't have a lot to say here, so I'll try to keep it brief. I think we need to approach many of these problems on a case by case basis. For example, in the notebook case, I think we can extract what the real problem is. The designer wants a way to switch between content within a particular area of the design. The fact that we attach notebook tabs to a side of this is simply one design metaphor for the act of switching. Perhaps, in this _one_ particular case, we need to extract the navigation of a stack of widgets from the stack of widgets itself, to fulfill the needs of the designers. Because, certainly, tabs can't be the solution to everything. (Breadcrumbs, nautilus navigation buttons, etc, all seem to fit within this metaphor).

I understand that you can just use a radio button group to switch the pages manually while not showing the notebook tabs. I've certainly done that before, and maybe that is enough. I don't know.

Cheers,

-- Christian