I would like to try to salvage this idea from the original topic—which has, quite properly, been locked. Those who wish to discuss the unrelated matters of installation wizards and a global configuration library are free to start their own topics. For those of you who made relevant comments in the other thread, please don't think I'm dismissing them by re-posting only my own. I just think it more appropriate for you to re-post your own comments if you so choose.
As I attempted to make clear in the original post, this is just an idea which happens to include aspects that resolve or alleviate many of the most troublesome deficiencies of the current system. I'm not trying to suggest the best solution would necessarily look like this, only that this does offer many improvements within a consistent model. I'm sure there are some important aspects of configuration that are not addressed by this, and perhaps would be difficult to address in this way. If it's only purpose is to illustrate that significant improvement is possible, that's fine with me. The point is, there is a pressing need, and any comprehensive approach to improving the current system is worthy of discussion.
Original Post:I'm not sure what the answer is, but a big part of the problem with the current system is that it hides most of the settings—making it difficult to tell what a menu does without opening a number of different dialogs to see what the settings are. And, of course, to the inexperienced user, looking at those settings one-at-time doesn't mean much.
The simple consistent structure of Theatre View lends itself to a tree-like presentation of it's configuration. Maybe something like...
Main menu item
Rules for file display
Expression
Sorting
File caption (expression) override for this view
Direct links to applicable File Info Panel templates
Sub-menu name
Rules for file display
Expression
Sorting
Options
Direct links to applicable File Info Panel templates
Roller item
Category name
Field, path, expression, etc.
Category name
Field, path, expression, etc.
Etc.
Etc...
The idea is to show, to the extent possible, what each menu item does by displaying it's actual settings. Any sort of overview could be displayed by expanding and collapsing branches. Some of them—particularly expressions—might mean little to a new user, but double-clicking such a branch would show them in the usual dialog where they are less cryptic (and where, of course, they can be modified). Nesting and menu order would be supported by drag-and-drop, and any branch could be copied and pasted to another applicable parent (a great help for building similar but different menus). There would be the option to 'disable' (and hide) any branch—to support a number of purposes: Backing up an existing branch while modifications are made to a copy; hiding alternate views while deciding which one is preferred; archiving superseded or rarely used branches; etc. An import/export function could be included for archiving, backing up and exchanging any branch with other libraries. All these functions could be provided on a branch context menu, along with commands for adding any applicable child items.
I don't think there's any question something like this would be much more effective for experienced users. It might seen it could be even more overwhelming for new users, but I don't think so. It's ability to show an overview of the entire configuration while exposing the settings would remove much of the mystery of the current UI. Although there would still be a learning curve to ascend, this would be greatly assisted by clearly showing the relationship between behaviours observed in Theatre View and the settings that drive them (as in, "ah, that's why the TV Shows view does that and the Movies view does not.") Some things that remain a mystery when examined in detail make perfect sense when easily compared to other similar things. Also, the combination of the copy, paste and hide branch functions (together with easy switching between the configuration UI and the resulting Theatre View) would make it easy to learn by trial & error.
Such a UI would also open the door to other ways of supporting new users. For example, disabled alternative stock views that might be preferred due to user circumstances or preferences. For many reasons, it would be helpful to provides a 'menu comment' for documenting the configuration and display in a tooltip. Here, that could be used to indicate what such an alternate view is intended to be (e.g., "An XBMC-like menu for TV Series" or "Movies safe for family viewing by Decade and Genre"). Doing so might motivate users to exchange their favourite views, further increasing understanding and the willingness to use the configuration system.
Author
Topic: Improving the Theatre View configuration UI (Read 1640 times)