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List:       koffice
Subject:    [Bug 121233] New: Suggestions for the new koffice startup dialog -
From:       Marco Menardi <mmenaz () mail ! com>
Date:       2006-02-02 15:04:39
Message-ID: 20060202160434.121233.mmenaz () mail ! com
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http://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=121233                    Summary: \
Suggestions for the new koffice startup dialog - more                    \
usable           Product: koffice           Version: unspecified          \
Platform: Compiled Sources        OS/Version: Linux            Status: \
UNCONFIRMED          Severity: wishlist          Priority: NOR         \
Component: general        AssignedTo: koffice kde org        ReportedBy: \
mmenaz mail com

Version:           recent svn code (using KDE KDE 3.5.1)Installed from:    \
                Compiled From SourcesOS:                Linux
** Startup dialog goals **It has to provide a fast way for the user to \
achieve the most common tasks when the program is launched. With \
traditional behaviour, the program creates and empty document and the user \
                has to use the File menu to start the real work
** User needs **Based upon my home and office (=work) experience, I think \
that the most common tasks an user has to achieve when fires up a koffice \
program are:a) open a recent document. Even if there is a preview menu, \
very often after I've printed a document, I notice some issues and I've to \
retrieve it to edit. Or I have to complete a document I have abandoned the \
morning/day before. Or just want to remember which document I edited in the \
near past.b) create a new document based upon a template. With template I \
don't intend a collection of 100 or more, but a restrict number of \
customized ones. For instance, in my office I've just 3 templates, one for \
commercial letter, one for envelope of DL size, and one for fax. When I \
create a document, I want to be able to easily and fast choose among those \
3 templates.c) open an existing document. It has to open a file open dialog \
in a directory I've defined as a default one (in my office, I've a \
directory with all the subdirs related to my documents, shared with my \
secretary). Would be great having a sort of bookmarks to be able to set \
                more than one directory.
** Problems with the current design (svn code of 1.4.99) **To switch from \
tasks a,b,c, the current dialog has 2 kind of gizmos: a kListView for \
"Recent documents" and templates, and one button for "Open existing \
document...", and this is not good. In addition, sure for space reasons, \
that button does not have a icon the user can recognize. More, in the File \
menu the usual order is "New, Open, Open recent", while in this dialog is a \
sort of "Open recent, New, Open".In this kListView it presents multiple \
groups of templates, while common user needs is to have a very restrict \
number to choose from.If you select a template, on the right you have the \
option to "Always use this template", that has not to be put in this \
dialog, since is not something is needed very frequently (so against the \
goal of this dialog) and, in addition, if you check it, this beginning \
dialog is skipped and you will have an hard time to find out how to make it \
come back again (btw, as general rule, I think that this kind of settings \
have to be put where you can switch them on/off in the same place, so you \
immediately know where to revert them).Also this dialog makes items be \
"double click" activated, against the default "single click" of kde. I \
mean, if I want to open a recent document, or create a document from a \
template, I have to double click on the document filename or the template \
name. Don't know how to avoid this, and to be sincere I do hate the single \
                click paradigm, but with a mixture of singe and double \
                click is sure bad.
** Proposal **The proposal is based upon 2 main modifications: a) rearrange \
the templates stuff b) polish the visual interface.For a), koffice should \
provide (not in the startup dialog, of course, I mean through ordinary \
menu) a fast way to not only manage templates, letting the user to create / \
edit / delete / rearrange them, but also a special directory or template \
flag where to put user's default templates, the ones that have to be shown \
in the startup dialog (this at user and also global level, if possible, so \
you can easily accommodate an entire office needs with good defaults, \
letting each user the possibility to add special templates for his own \
use).Widgets of the same kind (buttons, as in my sample image, or a tab \
widget) should be provided to switch from Default templates – Open – \
Open recent. I've put them in the same order of the File menu,but the \
default one should be "Open recent".Krita or other applications where this \
makes sense, could have an additional button on the left, under "Open \
recent" (but with double space) for the creation of a custom document. A \
very primitive screenshot of an alternative: \
http://www.ammdomus.it/download/KDE/koffice_startup_dialog.jpg____________________________________koffice \
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