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[johnnyboy]

I LOVE the tabs that you guys have introduced in the recent builds and they just inspired me and gave me some thoughts.

• First one being that I dont think tabs should be an either/or with split view - I think tabs should be a standard feature that you get and if you have split view you still have the tabs.
• Second is the overall current problem with split view/tabs/etc is that you set them up how you want them which is great but there is then no way to save different layouts etc. I'm not sure if the best way to solve this would be to create a 'layouts' menu that could you could use to save the current layout (ala TopStyle Pro and other types of apps like that) or if it might be, that View Schemes could be expanded to also allow you to save layouts with it so you could have an item in the tree you click and it gives you the below setup with the items shown in it and that layout, you could then also just use the split panes as they are now and view other VS's in each section.
• Bring the split pane features to the front so they're obvious to users and easy to bring up and get rid of. A couple of buttons to make them appear or disappear would make them a far more useable feature
• Ability to make the split view 'auto hide' or to 'pin it' so that if you wanted the screen space you could set it to auto hide then as you drag something to the edge of the screen or move your mouse there, it appears so you could drop it or drag from it or whatever
• Ability to do the same (auto hide) with the tree so you can set it to only appear when you go to the side of the screen, choose your VS that you want and then 'voom' - its no longer wasting your screen space (tons of apps these days have auto hide things - even things as basic as MSN messenger, IE7 etc so its something everyone is familiar with these days)
• Tabs can be dragged seperate from the stack to the side or bottom of the screen to automatically create a split view showing the contents of that tab. This would make opening a split view on a specific item ALOT easier and faster.
• Tabs can also be dragged totally out of the frame of MC to be stand alone so they could easily be dragged onto a second monitor as two monitors are becoming increasingly common - especially I'd imagine between the MC crowd.

Click the thumbnail above to see a quick mock up of how this could look - it'd give the MC GUI tons of power for all the power users and yet wouldn't make it any more complex for the new users.


One other small point - I find the menu appear when hovering over tabs to be really counter productive and just confusing and awkward. It'd make alot more sense to me and be alot easier to use if the menu only appeared if I either right click on the tab or if I click the little arrow on the tab that is meant to open the list.

[benn600]

Way to create a complete thread about tab ideas.  Various individuals have wanted these features so now there's a good resource for understanding what people want.

I still have other feature requests ahead of these types (extras, GUI), though.

[datdude]

I like all of those ideas, particularly the ability to have tabs by default and multiple tabs inside split views.  I don't think it would make sense the other way around though (splits in tabs).

[sdgrizdan]

Also, see Tab View Discussion thread:

http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=39226.0

[johnnyboy]

Also, see Tab View Discussion thread:

http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=39226.0

Yeah, read that thread which is what made me think of several of these.

Tabs are great, tabs are god, all bow before the tabs

[InflatableMouse]

I really dig these ideas too but what I really miss is the ability to display different zones on tabs/split views.

[datdude]

I really dig these ideas too but what I really miss is the ability to display different zones on tabs/split views.

You missed this?  I don't think it ever existed.

[Listener]

What I'd really like to see is the ability to display different libraries on tabs/split views.

Bill

[InflatableMouse]

You missed this?  I don't think it ever existed.

yeah, that's what I said. I miss it, not missed. 

[datdude]

yeah, that's what I said. I miss it, not missed. 

I guess the point I was making is that it never existed so how could you miss it? 

[InflatableMouse]

I guess the point I was making is that it never existed so how could you miss it? 

Hehe ... because I have very vivid dreams of how good MC would be with it 

I see your point though ... 

[datdude]

I think drag and dropping of GUI items should be fully integrated into MC.  You sould be able to re-order pane items, split views, tabs, and maybe even tree items!!!

[benn600]

Pane items can be re-ordered.  Edit the view scheme and re-order them.  Split views (lol), now we're just going crazy...and tree items.  Give me a break!  lol.  The top three are locked in and I always disable podcasts so I hardly have any.  They are in the correct order!  Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if a theme modification "might" be able to move them...but probably not.

[datdude]

Pane items can be re-ordered.  Edit the view scheme and re-order them.  Split views (lol), now we're just going crazy...and tree items.  Give me a break!  lol.  The top three are locked in and I always disable podcasts so I hardly have any.  They are in the correct order!  Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if a theme modification "might" be able to move them...but probably not.

Ease of use and eliminating unecessary steps to have to do things, is usually better.

[benn600]

But with lots of products today, they always have to get the checkbox (for feature lists) and in the end, products can become overly feature packed with burdensome consequences.

Luckily, MC doesn't seem to have features thrown on (too much).  New features are usually well integrated by the developers.

[datdude]

That's just it.  If you added a feature that requires an options box, or hidden menu item then it has to be really great to add, and even then it may still be annoying to use.

Which is why being able to use the mouse without right clicking to re-arrange MC would be awesome.  If you had a touch screen and no mouse this would make it even easier to do.

[johnnyboy]

Pane items can be re-ordered.  Edit the view scheme and re-order them.  Split views (lol), now we're just going crazy...

Whats so crazy about it?

Being able to re-arrange panes by dragging and dropping them is hardly a ground breaking futuristic concept - the most basic windows explorer even lets you do this and no one considers it revolutionary there. We can do it in the file view and no one considers it crazy there?

And as for splitting out tabs - yes it would be a new highly powerful feature, crazy? ground breaking? confusing? I dont think so, again I know a ton of apps that I use regularly that allow this type of thing and its just considered standard in them. The ONLY difference suggested here over the other apps is that they allow me to drag any section to anywhere INSIDE the app I want, in this instance I'm suggesting being able to drag it out of the app window (as in Photoshop toolbar type setup).


Examples of apps that let you drag panes around:
JRiver Media Center
Windows Explorer
Excel

Examples of apps that let you customize the interface to how you want it by dragging and dropping various parts of the GUI to wherever you want:
Microsoft Office (can drag any toolbar to any part of the page to dock it to the sides or make it just float, can open multiple documents and place them side by side, above each other, a mix of this, etc)
Visual Studio
Topstyle Pro
Macromedia Dreamweaver


I agree that too many options all over the place just make a product seem extremely confusing and overwhelm new users but this is IF they are not thought through and done properly.
No one complains that IE has too many options, it configures the most basic ones of these with prompts that ask the user as they're going along what they want to do and gives them an option to save this as the default setting, it also hides a TON of options into 'advanced' or 'customize' under security settings.

I dont hear people complaining that IE is just too option overloaded at all.


Its not about options, but about how they are given to the user - a page with 5000 check boxes on it is overwhelming, a page with 15 check boxes on it, some of which say 'more options/advanced' and then open up a page of options specifically related to that item with another 30 very specific options on it doesn't confuse anyone. The only people seeing those other 30 options are people wanting to highly tweak that specific aspect of the program.
Perfect example of this inside of MC is ripping options - you can set these in two seconds in MC, yet if you want to customise them to exactly how you want it to behave, MC gives you the power to do this.


This type of philosophy can easily be applied for all aspects of the program and not hurt anyone - beginners dont click 'advanced options' - they wait until they're not beginners any more and suddenly want to do XY & Z more and realise that MC already lets them do that.


Datdude's point is also right - if you dislike options so much, allowing MC to be changed as much as possible without having to go into an 'options' or 'customize this view' screen makes even more sense - want to change what the pane shows? just right click it and choose from the drop down menu. Want to change the order of them - no option needed, just drag and re-order them. Want to add another tab - dont go digging around trying to find an option or customise box somewhere to add another tab, just click the blank 'new tab' icon to the right of the other tabs. Want to view the app in 'split view' - dont go through 3 menus to try and find 'split view' just click the little icons that instantly split your view.


Lots of options and ability to customise a program doesn't hurt anyone, how these are presented is what determins whether they are overwhelming or easy and also determins how frequently these features are used. Anything hidden away in menu's is used less than things presented directly in the GUI. Anything in a sub menu is then used even less and wont be used by the average user if they even discover it (which alot of new users will take a long time to do)