On 3/30/07, Jesse Ross <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> - Workspace switcher -
> I didn't include it into the environment sketches because it seems to
> duplicate the functionality of Project concept. If you can organize
> things on project that behave exactly like virtual workspace - why
> do we
> need it? Isn't it desirable to keep as few UI concepts as possible?
Yes. Do you feel I've (mostly) solved the Project issue?
Workspace switcher can be project switcher. The problem stays.
Where do you allow people to switch between projects ?
By presenting an icon/preview of each project somewhere on the desktop ?
Then you either use shelf as project switcher or having another UI for that.
> Hmm, Jesse's mockups are almost fully reflecting my thoughts about the
> environment :)
Yeah -- like I said, I think you were pretty close :)
> - No titlebars thing -
> I have to say I originally wanted to make my mockups exactly like you
> did - without window borders. But I couldn't work out how to deal with
> zooming, rulers and this kind of stuff.
Technically, the windows should probably still have resize bars at
the bottom. And if you'll look, there is a border around the chat
window.
From a practical point of view, we have only 3 modifier:
CONTROL, COMMAND and ALTERNATIVE, definied by OpenStep.
There is a limited choices of modifiers when application also want to use it.
For example, user may cilck on an icon in file manager
and here are possible combinations:
1. ALTERNATIVE+click: select more icons
2. ALTERNATIVE+drag: copying all selected icons
3. COMMAND+drag: moving window
4. COMMAND+click: minimize window
5. COMMAND+double-click: maximize window
6. CONTROL+drag: make linking or alias
7. CONTROL+double-click: close window
I have to say it is very complicated for users to remember
since there is no hints about it. The cursor can change according to
the operation, but users still have to try different modifiers
in order to see the right cursor.
How do you present the cursor is another issue.
For example, if the cursor turn into a 'x' while user hold COMMAND key,
does it mean closing this window or deleting this icon ?
Icon is useful when it is clear.
A lot people don't know which icons is for what on their text editor.
Title bar also serves as a hint of focusing.
How do I know a window is not active ? And a semi-transparency ?
Transparency is fancy, but often makes visualization worse.
Yen-Ju
> If you don't use window borders, it means, that rulers would need
> to be
> system-wide on the side of screen.
No -- I think you could still have a scrollbar component that "snaps
on" to the edge of a window. You would zoom within a document, so the
ruler would be stationary.
> Which would lead to quite
> disorganized look. The same thing arises if you try to zoom in a text
> document. If you keep document's window static, it will look like text
> size changes. If a whole window would be automatically resized as you
> zooming, it make it overtake the whole screen. Or there may be a
> system
> wide zoom. It means that even toolbars and other windows would be
> zoomed
> with the document. It would be very intuitive, but maybe not very
> practical :)
Yeah -- system wide zoom would be hard to manage. I've thought about
it a lot too, and it becomes very confusing as to which documents you
have open or closed, and whether you're dragging the document as a
whole or just a part of it when you click and drag. The thing I
posted about "large" vs "small" movements may be a partial solution,
but unless someone can come up with something better, I think I'd
prefer to zoom into individual documents.
> Hopefully, I'll have time to discuss it here so it will reflect the
> shared vision within community - if there is any :-).
Ha! That's what we're figuring out now!
J.
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