On Thu, May 26, 2011 at 4:53 PM, Phil Jackson <sapi...@clear.net.nz> wrote:
> Hi Scott > > You're right on target about the ineffective vertical space that MS allows > for and I like some of your sample screens. The vertical Word menu is a very > clear way of presenting options without any ambiguity. > > I'd like to work more closely with you on these types of design decisions. > Have a look at Design\Whiteboards\InterfaceImprovement and get back to me > with your thoughts. The more of the design team in favour of a more usable > approach increases the chances of getting changes made. > I agree! I think we should start a wiki (or start working on a wiki already in existence for this purpose) and some PRINCIPALS we can lay out to move forward. I think most can agree that our main principal is a LibreOffice "Facelift" update of some sorts...whether its a ribbon-ish or a vertical supertoolbar or a hybrid of the two could be what we decide on later. So who is in? JL > > Cheers > > Phil Jackson > > > > > On 5/27/2011 2:45 AM, Scott Pledger wrote: > >> Hey all! >> >> Sorry its been so long!! This is a topic that I've put a lot of thought >> into >> and one which I would love to work both the design and implementation >> sides >> of. Personally, I have an extreme dislike of the way that MS Office >> handles >> its ribbon layout. When you combine the Office 2011 ribbon and massive >> taskbar found in Windows 7, the default set-up uses around 3 inches of >> vertical space on my widescreen laptop, which means I have all of 5 (ish) >> inches of viewing space to actually see the document I am working on, >> whereas I still have all 10 or so inches horizontally that is mostly >> wasted >> space. I think that the shift in the way that monitor manufacturers >> design >> new products is something that almost every other office software has >> essentially ignored. I think that this above almost anything else should >> take precedent with any kind of UI redesign because this shift in paradigm >> doesn't seem to be going away, no matter how much I wish it would. >> >> With this in mind, I think that using a context-based toolbar system is >> essential. For instance, when I have an image selected, I see little to >> no >> reason for a font/text-formatting toolbar to be visible nor do I think >> that >> having floating toolbars just pop up is the best solution as the eye is >> attracted to movement and this is a major distraction. Having a static >> area >> on the screen where these context-based toolbars might appear would make a >> lot of sense because we can just fade the toolbars in (or something along >> those lines) based on what the user has selected without drastic screen >> changes. Also, I think that another great feature of a redesign might be >> previews of what effect clicking on a button would have on the document. >> For instance, hovering the cursor over the 'Bold' button would show in >> the >> preview area how clicking this would affect the text in question. >> >> Additionally, I definitely agree with Bernhard that we really need to have >> a >> single place to throw ideas around. >> >> These are just a few of the details that I've been thinking about with the >> posts I sent about a month ago of a design concept (source can be >> downloaded >> at http://pledgecomputers.com/LibreOffice/Redesign/Concept.odg or as a >> pdf >> at http://pledgecomputers.com/LibreOffice/Redesign/Concept.pdf ). Its >> really early on right now and just details the basic idea, but I think it >> could serve as a good starting point for a UX overhaul. Thoughts anyone? >> >> Scott >> >> >> On Thu, May 26, 2011 at 07:13, Bernhard Dippold< >> bernh...@familie-dippold.at >> >>> wrote: >>> Hi all, >>> >>> sorry for stepping in here so late, especially as this topic has been >>> discussed over and over again in OOo UX (Renaissance) and here >>> in LibreOffice too. >>> >>> Irrelevant of the fact that some people understand the word "ribbon" >>> as a red flag they start to rant against, we neither copy any >>> competitor's >>> design decisions without really good reasons nor we drop support to >>> our present users just because we want to establish something "new" >>> and "cool". >>> >>> I'm quite sure that we'll be able to combine a static menu structure with >>> a context sensitive one and provide this to the user in an easy-to-use >>> and eye-pleasing way. And this structure will be at least as configurable >>> as the present UI. >>> >>> You all are right that this needs thorough development and research - >>> it's one of our most important tasks for the next months and years. >>> >>> But please stop discussing the word "ribbon" and what MS created >>> by using this word - this keeps us away from real work on LibreOffice >>> design. >>> >>> Create a wiki page containing our UI goals - for all of our target >>> groups. >>> >>> Start defining the context sensitive areas and find out how they can be >>> accessed via static menus without double effort. >>> >>> Have a look what Renaissance already did on OOo - and use these >>> results as basis for your own work. >>> >>> We have many areas where our presence is really important - this topic >>> is one of them. >>> >>> But we should avoid to discuss details like graphical approach, menu >>> positioning and so on: The first thing to do is defining the >>> functionality >>> - form >>> will follow function when we really know how it should work... >>> >>> Best regards >>> >>> Bernhard >>> >>> PS: And please keep in mind, that we need to convince our developers to >>> work >>> in this area - otherwise none of our ideas will come true... >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to design+h...@libreoffice.org >>> Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette >>> List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/www/design/ >>> All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be >>> deleted >>> >>> > > -- > Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to design+h...@libreoffice.org > Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette > List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/www/design/ > All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be > deleted > > -- Joed Lopez -- Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to design+h...@libreoffice.org Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/www/design/ All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be deleted
