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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Some Different File Viewers for Konqueror
From:       "Jamethiel Knorth" <jamethknorth () hotmail ! com>
Date:       2004-03-20 18:00:46
Message-ID: BAY7-F28CDycF9Dn16b00079d90 () hotmail ! com
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These are a few ideas I had for how to make the system more usable. I'll go 
through the four of them separately, but just so you know in advance what 
this massive post contains:

1) Clumped Files
2) FTP Viewer
3) Image Previewer (similar to XP's)
4) Music Player
5) Video Player

Okay, then:


1) Clumped Files
Mockup: http://www2.gvsu.edu/~abreschm/clumped_file_view.png

This is somewhat based off of the 'My Computer' screen in WindowsXP. There 
is explanation on the mockup image.

The idea is that users will have an easier time sorting through files if 
they are clumped according to the type of file they are, rather than just 
their name. Also, that the files should be displayed differently according 
to what types of files they are.

The largest downside to this is that it may be very slow, as it will have 
several viewers embedded (I think, I'm not much of a programmer)

It works by having each file group get its own section of the page, rather 
than being intermixed. The only restrictions are that none of the file 
groups can scroll horizontally, or have any internal scrolling. The entire 
set scrolls vertically.

Each group has its own way to display. One could be showing details, another 
a multi-column view, another previews, and yet another filespace. Whatever 
is desired.

Also, groups can be collapsed down to just a title-bar. This is available 
through a menu button (at the end of each groups title) or by 
double-clicking the title-bar.

Another drawback is that the groups would by default be clumped according to 
settings in the file-associations editor, so that might need some cleanup 
for this to work right.

My big question here is: Does this actually make the system more usable? 
It's too big of a project to do entirely, just to see if it works well. In 
theory, I like it. But I am uncertain. Opinions? Positions? Rants?


2) FTP Viewer
Mockup: http://www2.gvsu.edu/~abreschm/ftp_viewer.png

This mockup is fairly self-explanatory. Have a file-viewer which includes 
'User Name', 'Password', 'Anonymous/Non-Anonymous', and 'Advanced Options' 
at the top of the FTP file view pane. If Konqueror bookmarks can also record 
the settings for an FTP location, Konqueror becomes a full-fledged FTP 
interface.


3) Image Previewer
Mockup: 
http://www.csis.gvsu.edu/~abreschm/designs/images/konqueror-split_kpart-image_viewer.png

This is basically like the XP image previewer. On the bottom, you have the 
files with previews in a horizontal scroll. On the top, you have the 
currently selected file in large-format. Also, have a row of control buttons 
between the two (that is the right place for them, not the toolbar; it 
minimizes mouse motion, is obvious, and displays what they relate to) which 
can do zoom in/out, maxpect, and rotation.


4) Music Player
Mockup: 
http://www.csis.gvsu.edu/~abreschm/designs/images/konqueror-split_kpart-music_player.png

Let people play music from Konqueror, if they open a folder of music files. 
I think this one might be overkill, but I'm tossing it in to see what people 
think.

At the top is a simple player (title, progress bar, time, volume control, 
previous/rewind/stop/play/pause/fastforward/next). Below that are the files 
themselves in an info-list view. It would be even better if info-list views 
allowed direct editing of meta-data, inline.

This would need a backend music player, of course.


5) Video Player
Mockup: 
http://www.csis.gvsu.edu/~abreschm/designs/images/konqueror-split_kpart-video_player.png

Like the music player + the image previewer. On the left, there is the 
movie, the controls for the movie, and the playback progress stuff. On the 
right is the listing of files in the directory in an info-list. Obviously, a 
lot like WMP, although not a full media player, just a way to watch files 
when you get into their directories.



Anyway, I was hoping for comments on what I stuck together here helps with 
usability. I'm tending to think the last two (music & video) should just 
flat-out be another program and stay the hell outta konqy, bt the first 
three (clumps & FTP & images) should be available. If people seem to like 
them, and once I've gotten some suggestions, I'll clean up the mockups and 
try suggesting them on a devel list somewhere.

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