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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: View modes in konqueror
From:       Benoit Walter <b.walter () free ! fr>
Date:       2004-04-19 18:41:10
Message-ID: 200404192041.10242.b.walter () free ! fr
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On Monday 19 April 2004 18:57, Leo Savernik wrote:
> Am Montag 19 April 2004 16:38 schrieb Benoit Walter:
> > On Monday 19 April 2004 16:07, Leo Savernik wrote:
> > > List View is an own kpart, and Icon View is an own kpart. Afaik it's
> > > impossible for kparts to share toolbar buttons.
> >
> > Why not? [...]
>
> Because nobody has implemented it. Simple as that.

It is not a matter of sharing toolbar buttons for kparts, we have only to list 
all view modes. It does not require anything to be changed, it is already 
there in the menu. Just replace "viewmode_toolbar" in konqueror.rc by 
"viewmode" and voila! (well, setDelay(false) and adding an icon would be 
necessary).
So yes, that is possible and easy to do.

> > It is complicated for a user to handle that kind of buttons. And even for
> > a "power" user, it is not convenient to open the popup menu to choose one
> > of the "fancier" modes.
> >
> > Current solution:
> > + fast switching between icon view and tree view
> > - difficult (or annoying) to choose another view in the popup
> > - many buttons (typically 4-5 depending on applications)
> >
> > Proposal (only 1 view button):
> > + easy to select a view mode
> > + only 1 button (with a simple icon, an "eye" for example)
> > - needs 2 clicks to switch from icon view to tree view
> >
> > I prefer the 2nd solution, it is much easier to use and prevents the
> > toolbar from being full. Another problem with the current approach is
> > that on most configuration, you don't see the description on toolbar
> > buttons.
>
> And how is the second solution easier in terms of usability for the power
> user? He has a much longer list to traverse then. Otherwise, usability is
> exactly the same: click, drag, release above suitable item.

Hiding features does not help usability. Choosing a view mode from a list is 
much easier than click & drag & release...

> > When clicking on the icon view button, you don't really know if it will
> > activate "Icon view" or "Multicolumn view". Same thing for "Info list
> > view" and "Detailed list view", so I don't even thing the 1st solution is
> > faster...
>
> Hover over it. Then you get a tooltip which tells you the mode it is going
> to activate.

Hover over it, wait for 1 sec and decide if it is what you want... A bit slow, 
IMO. I prefer to click on the button and choose an action.
>
> And I repeat, the noob will never get the idea that there is a drop down
> menu, so for him, it's only two view modes that are readily and easily
> available (I remotely remember that even Wind*ws Explorer has two distinct
> buttons).
>
> The power user should have enough brains to remember which mode he selected
> from the drop down a minute ago. If it had been a longer period, hovering
> is the way to go (or risk that the initial load is the wrong mode. But if
> the time savings due to distinct buttons are greater than the loss of
> misloadings, they should be kept).
>
> Additionally, konqueror remembers the selected view mode for directories.
> Therefore, most of the time it is really only a matter between switching
> the Icon View part and the List View part, and both will automagically do
> "the right thing".
>
> The way it currently is, I nearly never (at least I cannot remember when I
> did it last) need the drop down menus at all, but I need switching between
> list view and icon view quite frequently.

OK, that's a matter of taste :-) But let's test it with a few users, they will 
much more easily understand the meaning of a single popup button. For the 
moment, it is difficult to guess that those 3-5 icons without text make it 
possible to change the view mode.

Cheers,
Benoit.
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