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List: mozilla-ui
Subject: Suggested multiple-account/multiple-zone UI
From: Matthew Thomas <mpt26 () student ! canterbury ! ac ! nz>
Date: 1999-10-20 9:45:24
[Download RAW message or body]
All righty ...
This is a suggested GUI for the handling of preferences for multiple
mail accounts. This proposal also includes a GUI for preferences for
multiple browser zones (so you can turn off JavaScript for particular
sites, for example). Browser zones do *not* have to be introduced in
order for this UI to make sense, but once they are introduced into a
future release they can be added to this GUI with a minimum of fuss.
This UI allows users to, for example, either specify a particular set of
fonts and colors for each mail account, should they so wish, or
(typically) to tell the mail account to always use the standard settings
for fonts and colors. But this highly-customizable pref setting isn't
essential, and could be left until a later Mozilla release without
disturbing the GUI too much either.
Ok, enough boasting. Here's what I've done. I've separated the prefs
dialog into four tabs (ooh, tabs, the horror!) -- one for `Standard
settings', one for `Mail accounts', one for `News servers', and one for
`Browser zones'. (If browser zones are not implemented in this release,
the last tab can just be left off.)
These tabs have the same basic layout -- the only difference is the
preferences available in each one, and I've tried to keep that
reasonably consistent between the various tabs too.
First, here's a text-shot of the `Standard settings' tab. The little
spiel at the top of the tab is partly an explanation, and partly just to
take up space which is used by other controls in the other three tabs
(for consistency of layout).
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
|[] Mozilla preferences ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
|/Standard settings\/Mail accounts\/News servers\/Browser zones\_____ |
|| `""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""||
|| Standard settings apply unless overridden by settings for a ||
|| particular mail account, news server, or browser zone. ||
|| ||
|| Category General - Appearance :::::::::::::::::::::: ||
|| +-------------------+ ||
|| |= General =========| Toolbars appear as ||
|| | Connection | ( ) pictures ||
|| | Startup | ( ) text ||
|| | > Appearance < | (*) both pictures and text ||
|| | Temporary files | ||
|| |= Display =========| [*] Show tooltips ||
|| |= Navigator =======| [ ] Highlight buttons and other controls ||
|| |= Messenger =======| when the pointer moves over them ||
|| |= Composer ========| ||
|| | | Use the interface (`chrome') specified in ||
|| | | [~/.mozilla/chrome/foo.xul ] (Choose ...) ||
|| | | ||
|| +-------------------+ ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ||
|`-------------------------------------------------------------------'|
|( Help ) ( Cancel ) (( Save )) |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
The first thing you will notice from this picture is that some of the
preferences categories have been reordered and/or renamed. More of this later.
The other thing to note is that I follow the Mac guidelines for the
order and positioning of the bottom dialog buttons -- `Help', `Cancel',
and `Save'. The Powers That Be may choose to have platform-specific
dialog button positions for MacOS, Windows, and X; but as a regular user
of all three platforms, I personally would prefer if the Mac positions
were followed cross-platform. (Go on, call me a Mac bigot. You know you
want to.)
Next, here's the `Mail accounts' tab. Note that the `General' prefs
category is replaced by a `Mail server' category, and the `Navigator'
and `Composer' categories disappear. (For a view of the expanded
`Messenger' category, see the next diagram.)
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
|[] Mozilla preferences ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
|/Standard settings\/Mail accounts\/News servers\/Browser zones\_____ |
||"""""""""""""""""' `"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""||
|| Settings for the mail account: [{} Personal mail (default) ^] ||
|| ( Set as default ) ( New account ... ) ( Remove this account ) ||
|| ||
|| Category Mail server - Connection :::::::::::::::::: ||
|| +-------------------+ ||
|| |= Mail server =====| Incoming mail server [imap.foo.net ] ||
|| | > Connection < | User name [mozUser ] ||
|| | Copies and folde| [*] Remember password ||
|| |= Display =========| Use secure connection [when possible ^] ||
|| |= Messenger =======| Server type [IMAP ^] ( Detect ) ||
|| | | ( IMAP options ... ) ||
|| | | [*] Check mail every [15]% minutes ||
|| | | [*] Automatically download new messages ||
|| | | ||
|| | | Outgoing mail server [smtp.foo.net ] ||
|| | | User name [mozUser ] ||
|| | | Use secure connection [when possible ^] ||
|| +-------------------+ ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ||
|`-------------------------------------------------------------------'|
|( Help ) ( Cancel ) (( Save )) |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
Third, here's the `News servers' tab. This is almost identical to the
`Mail servers' tab, except that we have a `News server' prefs category
instead of the `Mail server' prefs category.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
|[] Mozilla preferences ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
|/Standard settings\/Mail accounts\/News servers\/Browser zones\_____ |
||""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""' `"""""""""""""""""""||
|| Settings for the news server: [", news.mozilla.org (default)^] ||
|| ( Set as default ) ( Add server ... ) ( Remove this server ) ||
|| ||
|| Category Messenger - Formatting :::::::::::::::::::: ||
|| +-------------------+ ||
|| |= News server =====| Compose messages as [plain text ^] ||
|| |= Display =========| (You can override this for any individual ||
|| |= Messenger =======| message in the message composition window.) ||
|| | Identity | ||
|| | Signature/Card | When sending formatted messages to ||
|| | Messages | recipients who are not listed as being able ||
|| | > Formatting < | to receive them: ||
|| | Addressing | (*) send as HTML anyway (may not ... etc) ||
|| | | ( ) convert to plain text (formatting..etc) ||
|| | | ( ) send as HTML and plain text (disk..etc) ||
|| | | ( ) ask me what to do ||
|| | | ||
|| +-------------------+ ::::::::::::::::: [ ] Use standard settings ||
|`-------------------------------------------------------------------'|
|( Help ) ( Cancel ) (( Save )) |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
Note that in this pane, we have a `Use standard settings' checkbox. This
is like the `Set to Standard Views' button in the MacOS Finder's View
Options window: if checked, it resets the settings for this pane to the
generic ones -- the ones specified in the `Standard settings' tab -- for
this category, and disables all other prefs controls in the pane. If
unchecked, the controls in the pane become enabled, ready for the user
to enter custom settings again.
Such a checkbox appears in all `Display' and `Messenger' panes. In the
`Standard settings' tab itself, of course, the checkbox is disabled
because it has no meaning. (I think it's a good idea to still *include*
it in the `Standard settings' tab panes, even though it's always
disabled, as a subtle reminder to the user that changing Standard
settings modifies preferences for those accounts/servers/zones where the
checkbox is checked. But I could be persuaded otherwise.)
And finally, here's the `Browser zones' tab. Shown here is one of the
`Display' prefs subcategories -- note that the `Display' preferences can
be changed generally (in the `Standard settings' tab), for a specific
mail account, for a news server, *or* for a browser zone.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
|[] Mozilla preferences ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
|/Standard settings\/Mail accounts\/News servers\/Browser zones\_____ |
||""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""' `""""||
|| Settings for the browser zone: [<> Nasty sites ^] ||
|| ( Add zone ... ) ( Remove this zone ) ||
|| ||
|| Category Display - JavaScript :::::::::::::::::::::: ||
|| +-------------------+ ||
|| |= Zone ============| [*] Enable JavaScript ||
|| | Zone coverage | ||
|| |= Display =========| You can forbid scripts from carrying out ||
|| | Images | certain actions using the following ||
|| | Fonts & Colors | settings: ||
|| | Style sheets | ||
|| | Cookies | Action Allowed Forbidden Ask me ||
|| | > JavaScript < | Open new window ( ) (*) ( ) ||
|| | Java | Load extra images ( ) ( ) (*) ||
|| | Languages | Change status bar ( ) (*) ( ) ||
|| | | Detect window close(*) ( ) ( ) ||
|| | | ||
|| +-------------------+ ::::::::::::::::: [ ] Use standard settings ||
|`-------------------------------------------------------------------'|
|( Help ) ( Cancel ) (( Save )) |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
Thus endeth the art exhibition.
As you may have gathered, this interface requires some recategorization
of the preferences, so that they can cleanly be made available or
unavailable in a specific tab, while causing a minimum of confusion or
annoyance to the user when changing various preferences.
The new categories are shown below. Main categories bracketed together
are mutually exclusive, with one of each bracket appearing in any given
tab, as shown in the text-shots above. Next to the subcategories, I have
written approximately where the subcategory was in Communicator 4.x --
although some subcategories would have more prefs in them now than 4.x
did. (Sorry I can't compare with the current Mozilla build, it just got
trashed on this university box I'm working on, and each new build costs
me a fair bit to download.)
/ General [in `Standard settings' tab only]
| Connection [was: Advanced > Proxies]
| Startup [was: Appearance]
| Appearance [was: Appearance]
| Temporary files [was: Advanced > Cache]
| Media types [was: Navigator > Applications]
|
| Mail server/News server [in `Mail accounts' and `News servers' tabs]
| Connection [server name/type, biff mode]
| Copies and folders [was: Mail & Newsgroups > Copies & Folders]
|
| Zone [in `Browser zones' tab only]
\ Zone coverage [which sites/files are in the zone]
Display [in all tabs]
Images [was: Advanced]
Fonts & Colors [was: Navigator > Fonts/Colors]
Style sheets [was: Advanced]
Cookies [was: Advanced]
JavaScript [was: Advanced]
Java [was: Advanced > Java]
Languages [was: Navigator > Languages]
/ Navigator [in `Standard settings' tab only]
| Home page/panels [was: Navigator]
| Web search [was: Navigator > Smart Browsing]
| Related links [was: Navigator > Smart Browsing]
|
| Messenger [in `Standard settings', `Mail accounts', and
| `News servers' tabs]
| Identity
| Signature/Card [was: Mail & Newsgroups > Identity; address book]
| Messages [was: Mail & Newsgroups > Messages]
| Formatting [was: Mail & Newsgroups > Formatting]
\ Addressing [was: Mail & Newsgroups > Addressing]
Composer [in `Standard settings' tab only]
New page colors [was: Composer > New page colors]
Template [was: Composer]
Publishing [was: Composer > Publish]
ASCII art mock-ups of any of these categories are available on request,
should you feel inspired to generate a XUL prototype (damn, I must learn
XUL and JavaScript and CSS one day).
And ... I think that's about it. Oh no, one more thing: if you can think
of a better name for the `Display' category, I'm open to suggestions.
Thoughts?
--
Matthew `mpt' Thomas, usability weenie
http://critique.net.nz/
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