#1-3 are good usability improvements. Can we use Dojo for #4-6? Seems hover help would be the best option, as adding an example beside/below every field could require a lot of screen area and doesn't cover the cases for links (like Start/Stop/Restart/Delete....). Also, the portlet help page should include the same text as the hoover help (which should be the same resource strings), plus additional help text if needed.
#7 requires us to stop reorganizing the User Docs and would mean we couldn't rename pages. If we go this route, we should include a hidden comment on each doc page with a reference back to the portlet that has a link to it, so we know not to rename the page unless the portlet link is updated too. -Donald On 6/13/10 4:53 AM, chi runhua wrote: > Hi devs, > > I noticed that there are 2 different styles to display help information > on the Admin Console: > a. Using help.jsp when coding and you can only see it after > clicking the question mark on the top-right corner of the portlet, > meanwhile, you lose the focus but can come back after another click <-; > for example EJB Server portlet > b. Put the help message on the portlet together with those fields, > users can refer to the description and input the correct value at the > same time, which is more clear and efficient, such as database pool > wizard. But if there are lots of fields on the panel, the UI could be > a mess and overwhelming. > > What about we try to unify the style of help infos and improving it in > the coming CE 3.0? > > Here are a few of thoughts for discussion: > > 1. For the fields requires user selection, they should have a > default value ready; > 2. Labels must be consistent across the console; > 3. For each portlet, we should have a description directly on > the top to summarize its major features; > 4. For the fields requires user input, an example should be > provided right below instead of its detailed description; > 5. For checkboxes, we should use hover help to introduce its usage; > 6. For the description of each field, use help.jsp when coding, > but we should use pop-up panel; > 7. Document should be connected with the console more closely, > for example, users can refer to document about tasks related to the > current portlet instantly instead of googling by themselves. > > Any comments? > > Jeff C
