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Re: Requirements Doc

Posted by TimP on Tue Nov 17 20:15:34 1998

In Reply to: Requirements Doc posted by TimJ on November 16, 1998 at 09:38:52:

Distribution: paneris@i-way.co.uk

Paneris Interface Design

Suggestions:

1.we stop using the word 'node' and use instead the word 'directory', 'root' and other
common terms for describing a file system

For people trained in dealing with tree structures 'node' makes sense, and so
node is currently used within the code, but I agree that directory is clearer and more commonly understood.

2.the interface is improved to look much like Windows Explorer (or the GUI to the FS
on a more cool OS like BeOS or KDE?).
Certainly the left hand window with the
expanding file tree. By creating a familiar interface we will remove 90% of the
acceptance problems new users currently have. Quote from WilliamC: "It took me
ages to realize that the links on the left were actually directories".

What else would they be? :)

I feel that a 'web style' interface is going to give us many design headaches in the
long term, and that we need to maintain the 'mapping of the FS' interface, but we do
need to make it completely explicit that this is what we are doing.

Strongly agree.

3.an explicit path to the current directory is always displayed.
4.buttons are buttons (they roll-over, and are graphical).
NO, NO, NO......
the beauty of the current site is that it only uses the following graphics:

1. redball.gif - For write operations
2. greenball.gif - For read operations
3. up arrow - To go up the directory tree
4. right arrow - To continue
5. panerislogo.gi - branding

This is why the system is so fast.
Also the logs are easily analysed in terms of where people
actually went, at the moment, whereas loads of graphics will clog them up.

Can't we put more effort into formatting using HTML rather than graphics?
I know I am onto a looser here.


Anyway, the main point I want to add is that we should get away from the idea of
THE paneris interface. It is highly likely that I will continue to
use the current interface, not because I like it, but because I know it.

There is absolutly nothing to say that the current interface should remain the
default interface for casual browsers, but I would not want to lose either the current interface
or the Dos interface, as I find them intuitive and fast and useful.

To enable the multiplicity of views of Paneris is neither difficult nor costly in terms of cpu time,
so lets keep it varied and personalisable.

yours
TimP




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