Hello, on Freitag, 7. Dezember 2007, Pascal Bleser wrote:
Lukas Ocilka wrote:
I've just (partly) finished a Pattern-Selector proposal for new installation/software management.
See: http://en.opensuse.org/YaST/Development/Pattern_Selector_Proposal
It looks pretty sweet but from an usability point of view (even though I'm no usability expert, just gut feeling), wouldn't it be a better idea to have a 2-staged selection ? I mean having a first list (e.g. icons in a first scrollable column on the left) for the categories ("Base technologies", "Desktop functions", ...) and then the detail on the right ?
Sounds like a good idea and is an alternative to the expandable pattern-groups (see below)
Drawback would be that you can't see everything at once, but you can't do that anyway because the list of options is extremely long.
I think we have two usecases: a) users going through all patterns without knowing in advance what they need exactly. Let's call it "window shopping" ;-) In this case the long list as seen on the screenshots (maybe combined with [+] / [-] expand switches) is the best solution. b) users who know exactly what they want to install. In this case a category list would be better. Questions are: - is there a need to see patterns from different groups at once? - do more users fit into a) or b)? Maybe we can have a solution for both usecases by using a category list with links like <a href='#desktop_functions> which is always visible (speaking in CSS: position:fixed). I don't know if this is possible in YaST, but you were asking for ideas, not working solutions ;-)
Even if $this one is finished, it's still work in progress: * We'd like not to use RichText
What's the reason for this?
* Expandable pattern-groups
You mean that there should be a [+] / [-] at "Base Technologies", "Desktop Functions" etc.? Good idea. (Default should be expanded.)
* Pattern names printed in bold (?)
No. The left margin is enough. BTW: I'm not sure if italic for the pattern descriptions is a good idea.
* Possibility to hide the pattern description (?)
With the long list, this would be a very good idea. Minor issue: Is it possible to sort the patterns in each group? A better sort order for base system would IMHO be: - Base System - Enhanced Base System - YaST Installation Packages - Software Management - YaST System Administration - Laptop - Console Tools - AppArmor (compare with the screenshot for current sort oder) Basic ideas when sorting: - Things that are always required first (examples: base system vs. Software Management, Fonts vs. X environment) - Group related things (example: YaST Installation Packages, Software management, YaST System administration) - Sort KDE and Gnome alphabetically to avoid flamewars ;-)) Another idea - not sure if it is a good one ;-) What about integrating all levels into one dialog? first level: pattern groups second level: patterns third level: packages in this pattern The package level should be hidden by default, but easy to open with a [+] or a [Details] link. Advantage would be that you know (and can change) what packages will be installed with a specific pattern. ("I basically want a normal system including Console Tools, but with Emacs instead of vi." - no, this example is not what I would do ;-)) Another question: Will there be changes in the detailed view (aka sw_single in pattern view)? At the moment, there's no way to see the pattern description... (bug 216553 / feature #302961) Hmm, maybe we should discuss pattern view and sw_single (+ inst_source, YOU etc.) as _one_ module (using tabs), since this is what I would see as target. Possible tabs would be: .----------------------. .----------. .----------. .---------. | Installation Sources | | Patterns | | Packages | | Updates | Usage example besides clicking a tab directly: Clicking the "Details" link for a pattern could then switch to the packages tab, in pattern view, with the chosen pattern preselected. Comments welcome ;-) Regards, Christian Boltz -- - New scheduler deployed on friday was buggy, we learn not to deploy larger changes on fridays anymore ;) [Adrian Schröter in opensuse-buildservice] -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-softwaremgmt+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-softwaremgmt+help@opensuse.org