"Rob Oakes" <lyx-de...@oak-tree.us> wrote in message
news:0a5aac7a-2fd2-4e25-9834-39e61557c...@oak-tree.us...
If we're going to give LyX a fresh coat of paint, why don't we deal with
some of the other UI concerns as well. For example, in addition to
improving the visual consistency of the icons, why not simplify the
toolbars. (The menus are already very well organized and laid out.)
There's definitely a lot of room for improvement in the toolbar and UI
design.
When I first started using LyX, the sheer number of these options was
overwhelming. Now, I've adapted and they don't overwhelm me as much. But
the designers I talked to all had a single question on first encountering
the UI, "What do all the buttons do?" Moreover, it's not always clear what
related icons do, for example, the people I introduce to LyX don't seem to
understand which option inserts a float versus an actual image. A second
weakness is that there are multiple ways to do the same things. For
example, all of the insets can also be added from the "Insert" menu (for
which there are usually convenient shortcuts that can speed things up).
I had the same problems when I first started using LyX. After a while, you
kind of get used to the UI but it remains too complicated.
In most traditional toolbar/menu UIs, there will be some features which can
be accessed using both menus and toolbars. However in this design, toolbars
should only contain commonly used features.
The float icons are an example of bad icons in the current UI. I often click
the wrong icon because they are too similar to the table/figure icons. This
is one of the things we tried to improve with the new icons
I can never remember which is supposed to be a cross reference versus a
citation (they're both forms f books), so I just choose the option from
the menu. For Linux and Windows users, it's just Alt-I and then choose the
desired entry.
That I totally recognize! Even after years, I'm always clicking the wrong
icons for citation / cross-reference. Again something we considered in the
new icon design. Other suggestions are of course welcome.
If there is interest, I'd be happy to put together a mockup. If we
"modernize" our icons, and reduce our reliance on them, I think it would
go a long way to improving the impression LyX has on new users.
I agree!
Joost
