4 May 2009 15:32
usability regressions
Henry Gomersall <whg21 <at> cam.ac.uk>
2009-05-04 13:32:22 GMT
2009-05-04 13:32:22 GMT
Having used Referencer for some time now, I have noticed a couple of usability regressions appear in recent versions. The first is the default edit mode, where one can edit metadata in the list view. This disallows, what I would argue, is the more common usage of using Referencer as a means of organising commonly accessed papers. Ie, edit once, view many. For this reason the emphasis should be placed on easy opening, not on easy editing. Triple click is not a discoverable way of opening documents (i stumbled upon it accidentally!). Allowing editing in list view is also inconsistent with disallowing it in icon view. Further to this, the open action should follow the desktop default if possible; e.g. look up the /apps/nautilus/preferences/click_policy key to get whether single click opening is required. This is a good example of where single click is simply unused at the moment (which is crazy, as its the most basic mouse entry method!). The second regression is the loss of the tag check-box pane. Now adding tags to an entry in list view requires 2 extra clicks per tag (and discoverability is broken). The power of Referencer is in its tags and so hiding the tag attachment is a loss. Perhaps this could be somehow combined with the visible tag list (in F-Spot, tags can be dragged onto the item to be tagged). The little mouse-over icons in icon view are neat (but I think should not disappear after selecting a tag - allowing multiple tagging at once). Finally, instant apply would be a very useful feature. I have often added papers and exited only to open Referencer again and realised they are no longer present in my list. I would be happy to get involved in development efforts.(Continue reading)
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