I am wondering whether there is a need to reorganise the Preferences
settings to make it more user friendly. Currently there are three main
weaknesses of the Preferences UI:
1) Preference settings are in obscure places. For instance "Show unused
cylinder in Equipment tab" is under the Profile settings and "Default
cylinder is under the general settings.
2) The examples above show that related preferences (in this case
cylinder use) are located in different tabs. Other case is the settings
relating to Media thumbnails (Profile tab) and ffmpg settings for video
thumbnails (General settings).
3) Some settings are not clear and actually obscure to the person not
understanding the UI. For instance "Reset dive computers" on the main
tab actually relates to dive downloads from dive computers and the
"Import from dc" main menu item. The two Clear Settings preference item
needs to be split, appearing on different tabs.
The current interface is difficult to operate for those not conversant
with the history of this interface and who has not read the user manual
in detail. We need a Preferences UI that is much more intuitive.
I do not think that the following preferences tabs need change. They are
very specific and currently focus on single topics.
Units, Language, Georeferences, Network.
Although I do not use the Georeferences facility, it is probably very
useful and effort should probably go into making that a more-frequently
used facility by adding some text or other help that facilitates its use.
I see no use for the General Preferences tab as it is unspecific and
actually makes the preferences UI more difficult to work.
My proposal is to create several more tabs on the lefthand of the
Preferences panel, yielding a total of maybe up to 12 or 15 items. Items
that should feature on the tab list on the LH side of the Preferences UI
should probably be:
Dive log (e.g. default divelog location and dive log name)
Display (e.g. font, animation speed)
Equipment (e.g. cylinder-related matters)
Import from dc
Media
The Cloud settings are currently a frequent source of user problems and
maybe that should be locatable by its own tab.
Clear settings to default
The current Profile tab should probably be renamed Tech diving
preferences or something similar. I would remove the section with Misc
settings.
An obvious aspect that needs attention is that, if the number of tabs
increase, several may only have one or two settings as is currently the
case with the Georeferences tab. This may appear to waste the efficiency
of presenting preferences information. An obvious possibility is to keep
preferences for more than one tab on a single page. For instance the
preferences for Cloud and Proxy may remain on a single panel as they
currently are. Selecting the Cloud icon on the lefthand side opens the
appropriate tab (with both Proxy and Cloud preferences), but highlights
the Cloud preferences in some way, maybe using a blue frame. In such a
case more than one icon on the lefthand side may actually open the same
tab, but each highlighting its own particular setting(s).
The overall objective is to make the preferences as easy as possible for
uninitiated users. Upon entering the Preferences UI, the user should be
able to locate the appropriate preference rapidly. I would probably try
to enable a clickable link with each setting that opens the user manual
at the appropriate text.
Any suggestions?
Kind regards,
willem
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