After using the XMLmind XML Editor (XXE) V2.10 for a little while now, I
have some initial user-interface feedback. This does not come from a
testing process, but rather from my personal experience.
I like the allowance for two different panes for tools at the same time,
but what was the motivation for placing the tabs to the right of the
panes, instead of along the top or the bottom (I would have preferred
the top)? By placing them along the side, I think XXE creates
unnecessary empty space along the side that could be used for displaying
attribute values or other lengthy horizontal information within the tool
itself. Further, it is not entirely comfortable or natural (in my
locale, at least) to read the labels on these tabs as currently laid out
down the side of the tool display.
In XXE V2.9p1, when editing attributes one could tab directly from the
attribute name field to its value field. In V2.10, pressing tab changes
the focus to the delete attribute button first, which I think is less
useful. I think it would be good to have exactly the same tab order for
this tool as was present in V2.9p1.
Perhaps to save space to allow for the presence of two tools, some
useful labels are notably absent in V2.10. In XXE V2.9p1, there were
labels such as "Attribute:" and "Value:" on the attribute editing tool
that helped identify the various fields. These are no longer present in
V2.10, and I think their absence makes the tool less intuitive.
Further, there were labels on the buttons in the edit tool that are no
longer present. If space is indeed an issue, would it be possible to
include these labels conditionally if the given tool is the only tool
displayed in the tools panel?
I think it is very nice that XXE highlights the first element matching
the given prefix in the edit tool, but I have a suggestion for an
enhancement. It would be useful if a user could visually distinguish
between the case of a fully-identifying prefix and one that remains
ambiguous. For example, I think it would be useful to highlight all of
the elements which match the given prefix; thus, when that list is
reduced to one element, the user knows that a space-completion will give
him or her exactly the highlighted element. Consider the current case
(in V2.10) of typing "p" in the (unmarked) element name field when
working with a DocBook document. The "para" entry will be highlighted,
but other elements are possible depending on a more specific prefix. A
prefix of "pa" would be needed to uniquely obtain a para element. The
user has to examine the prefixes of the elements to see if what he or
she has entered is sufficient to identify a single element type. I
think it would be fairly simple for the XXE user interface to aid the
user in this situation.
Thank you,
John L. Clark
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