>From http://youtu.be/yIedljapuz0 (12:17)
This is the part that deals with appearance. 1. Hierarchy QQQ Hierarchy is about the order of buttons and the functionality that is on display. QQQ Obviously, Leo's outlines are about hierarchy, but ironically, they have very little to do with this topic! QQQ The larger the number of people who use a function, the more *visible* the function should be. QQQ Imo, Kent's proposal for <alt-x> ? should be made visible in some way. Here are Leo's key operations: - Executing commands from key bindings. - Executing commands from the minibuffer. - Creating external files from markup. - Doing things from the Find, Nav, Spell and perhaps other panes. - Testing out markup using the Preview/Viewrendered pane. So in many ways, this guideline doesn't apply to Leo as it does in Blender. But read on... QQQ Make functions that many people need highly visible. QQQ The new newbie buttons should get people started. QQQ By contrast, functionality that few people will use, especially when those few people are highly trained, can be hidden (in details panels, right-click menus & key combinations) QQQ This is the vim/emacs way. Kent's suggestion for <alt-x> ? will be an improvement, *provided* people there are breadcrumbs leading to <alt-x> ? (!!) QQQ Minimize the number and complexity of settings. Don't expect people to optimize combinations of many interacting settings or parameters. **People are really bad at that**. QQQ What settings will be in effect for newbies will always be controversial. However, Andrew Price has stimulated another idea. At present, there are a number of settings dealing with keyboards and how they deal with particular characters. In practice, users of European keyboards must tweak a number of obscure settings. A possible solution would be to create a "master" setting, say @string keyboard_type, that would affect these multiple subsidiary settings. Don't expect this to happen any time soon, but it's worth pursuing. QQQ Fitt's law...predicts that the time to move to a target area is a function of the distance to the target and the size of the target. QQQ >From time to time people complain that it's too hard to click a headline. They're right, but I'm not likely to do anything about this, especially since using the mouse is, imo, a really bad idea. 2. Structure. QQQ This relates to how buttons are presented in relationship to each other. QQQ Imo, this is much less important in Leo than in Blender. 3. Design. (Making things clearly visible) QQQ Text readability: Recommended font size for computer viewing is 16 pixels, which sounds ludicrous at first...However, once you've gotten used to it, you will not want to go back to the 'standard' small sizes. QQQ This has relevance for what the *default* settings should be. We can't avoid hard choices here with the dictum that we never debate preferences. So perhaps a slightly larger default size would be appropriate. More importantly, imo, is making sure that all newbies know how to change all settings, and *especially* settings relating to visual properties. 4. Vocabulary. QQQ Don't force your users to learn a whole new vocabulary. Familiar words are easier to understand because they can be recognized automatically. QQQ That's why the viewrendered tab should be called the preview tab. Alas, Leo's fundamental markup requires some new terminology. The terms "sections" and "section references" will be new to most people, but they seem reasonable and they do, in fact, match the literate programming terminology. The only way forward, it seems to me, are proper tutorial text and videos. BTW, I think Prince's criticism of the "translate" and "normal" terms is pretty much rubbish. They are standard terms in the context in which they are used. If you don't know what a normal vector is, you probably shouldn't be using a 3-D modeling program. QQQ Tell users *explicitly and exactly* what they need to know. - *Don't* expect them to deduce information. - *Don't* require them to figure things out by a process of elimination. QQQ This is another aspect of providing scents/breadcrumbs towards their desired goals. It's very important, and at present is lacking in Leo. QQQ Say less: QQQ This is the basis for the new tutorial style. It's also the basis of all of Leo's video tutorials. Edward -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "leo-editor" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/leo-editor. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
