(sorry Enrico for the double mail, I forgot to reply to all) > I think an OS should provide all of this functions when needed, in a structured and consistent way.
The fallacy here is that you're trying to force these different types of action into separate functions, making some of it optional, then depending on Apps to provide the rest of that fundamental navigation instead of the OS providing it. The OS should provide all of these functions *at all times*, not just 'when needed'. The OS is clearly not smart enough to get the 'when needed' part correct, and relying on Apps to fill in the holes of OS navigation makes a poor OS. > Secondly, the [return to app] functionality in FxOS is provided by the App Manager and the edge-swipe gesture. The fallacy here is that the edge-swipe gesture is not always available to the user. It is by definition always hidden from the user who has to be taught this action, it can be completely disabled in Settings, and hardware accessories or even the hardware itself can make using edge gestures impossible. The global back button is always visible, is always in one location, and always performs the same action: 'go back one step'. The 'go back one step' action is all that is required for the vast majority of Apps and use cases. Browsers are probably the only exception to this as they should probably provide back and forward navigation, which is what we generally expect from browsers. This is why Chrome on Android provides an additional, optional back button next to the forward button, to keep similar navigation UI close together. As far as I can tell, Internet Explorer on Windows Mobile goes one step further and relies solely on the global back button. And BTW it's not just Android that has the global back button, it's also Windows Mobile, Symbian, and pretty much every single feature phone ever built. iOS is the exception to the rule, meaning FxOS has an alien, broken navigation system to anyone who comes to FxOS from anything that isn't iOS. > Long story short, I think that FxOS already implements most forms of "back/undo" in a structured way, provided that the back button inside apps is used consistently with the browser's "back in history" button. This function could be assigned to an Android-style homebar back button, but I see no particular benefit in that. Yes, FxOS does implement some forms of a back button. However it does not do it well. It does not implement all of them. It does not do it in a way that meets a new user's expectations. It does not do it in a way that is always obvious and always available. The overall point here isn't that it may or may not make technical sense for our particular OS. It is all about meeting user expectation. If you do not see the value in providing functionality that 90% of new users will expect then there is something very very wrong. Are we trying to build something amazing for the world to use or just something special for our little group? Think of the real world we live in. In fact I can give a real example. In the country where I live, 90% of smartphones do not run iOS. in fact only 45% of cell phones are even considered smartphones. This means 95.5% of all people who use any kind of cell phone expect there to be a back button. 95.5% of people in my country will likely reject FxOS because of what they perceive as a lack of fundamental navigation. http://www.ceeitandtelecom.com/news/247701/o2-czech-republic-75-of-smartphones-with-android Just look at Microsoft. Windows 8 on the desktop was considered a failure, simply because of it's unusual ,different, and unexpected navigation. However Microsoft listened for Windows 10, changed everything back to user expectations and is considered a comeback success. In fact this is the exact analogy for our system right now. Our methods of navigation do not meet the majority expectation. We should change to meet that majority expectation, regardless of how we feel about it technically. On Fri, Nov 27, 2015 at 12:24 AM, Enrico Ghiorzi <[email protected]> wrote: > Il giorno giovedì 26 novembre 2015 15:11:02 UTC+1, Enrico Ghiorzi ha > scritto: > > I also have something it's puzzling me, but I can't manage to put my > finger on it. Much has been said about an Android-style back button: > there's even even an add-on to add that to the homebar. Let's call this a > 'navigation' back button, as it brings you to the structurally-previous > view inside an app. Then there is the 'history' back button implemented in > the browser. At last, there is the 'Ctrl-z-style' back button, as described > in > https://www.fastcodesign.com/3053406/how-apple-is-giving-design-a-bad-name > as a great feature Apple dismissed. Each OS has to implement (or dismiss) > these three kinds of back functions, which are somewhat similar but still > different. Is there a sensible way to implement this all in a structural > way? How this plays with FxOS and its agenda? I have no answer here, but > maybe some of you have. > > After some thought I may have wrapped my head around this, so I'll try to > articulate. Please bear with me if I say stupid/obvious things! > > I can think of four different kinds of "back/undo" action: > a) Navigation back button, which brings you to the structurally precedent > view inside an app. > a') History back button, as it works in browsers. > b) Return to the app you were using before the current one; or, in a > browser, return to the previous tab. > c) Undo last action, like "Ctrl-z" does on desktop. > I think an OS should provide all of this functions when needed, in a > structured and consistent way. > > First of all, observe that (a) and (a') coincide when the history back > button is the only way to navigate backwards inside an app. This is already > mostly done in FxOS: most apps use a back button on the left of the header > which looks exactly like browser's back button. The single apps are > responsible for using this back button consistently (and at present they > mostly do that, I think). > > Secondly, the (b) functionality in FxOS is provided by the App Manager and > the edge-swipe gesture (which, as others here noticed, has issues on its > own which should be addressed). > > We are left then with the (c) functionality, which seems to be completely > absent in FxOS. These are the use-cases I can think of: > - Restoring deleted objects (such as messages, e-mails, contacts, > pictures, videos, audio files, and apps) > - Restoring default settings > - Restoring deleted text > > I think most, if not all, of these scenarios could be subject to an ad-hoc > solution managed by the involved app: whenever you delete a picture, there > you have a "restore picture" button where the picture was before, and > analogously with messages, e-mails, contacts, videos, audio files, and > apps. Alternatively, a "trash bin" app could be implemented, storing > deleted objects and letting the user restore them. The Settings app could > have "Restore default settings" buttons where most needed, and so each app > in its own settings menu. Finally, a "Ctrl-z" key could be added to the > keyboard to restore deleted text. > > Long story short, I think that FxOS already implements most forms of > "back/undo" in a structured way, provided that the back button inside apps > is used consistently with the browser's "back in history" button. This > function could be assigned to an Android-style homebar back button, but I > see no particular benefit in that. > > App switching is an important form of navigation which should be improved > even further, solving the issues that have been reported. > > What is still missing is an error recovery, "Ctrl-z" style back button. > This can be done in different but equivalently useful ways. A beneficial > effect of that, other than indulgently letting the user recover from > mistakes, would be that "Are you sure you want to delete this" confirmation > screens would no longer be necessary, making interaction faster. > _______________________________________________ > dev-fxos mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/dev-fxos >
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