[Design] Expando Date/Time fields

[Bryan Stearns]

This could work like the edit-in-place fields do now: clicking on the 
static text presentation (depicted below) switches to the four-field UI 
(plus timezone popup) we're using today. (Actually, the AllDay flag 
should probably be part of this too.) When the focus leaves the 
date/time fields, the batch of edit fields are replaced by the single 
static-text thing again.

[This idea doesn't trigger any scary internationalization issue... the 
internationalization issues come up when you start talking about 
free-form input into a single text field: something has to figure out 
what in the typed text is "start date", "start time", "end date" , "end 
time", and  "timezone" (or whatever combination of things you decide are 
supposed to be entered in a single field). Something has to parse the 
pieces (as well as shortcuts or alternative names for the pieces that 
have been suggested, like "tomorrow",  "noon", "next Tuesday", or 
whatever), and ICU doesn't provide this; as a result, (a) we'd have to 
do a lot of parsing work that I haven't imagined a good strategy for, 
(b) I worry that it'd only be 80% successful, even just in English, 
which'd look pretty stupid (and I came from Newton, so I know what 
parsing-looking-stupid feels like).]

...Bryan

Mimi Yin wrote:

> Here's another proposal for expanding/contracting fields, this time  
> in the date/time area. (I believe Daniel brought this up on the list  
> as well a month ago.)
>
> In a nutshell, can we summarize date/time information into 2 lines or  
> less. Protect the user from all of the edit widgets for date/time.  
> Only reveal them if they click into the date/time description and/or  
> some special edit button next to it. (not depicted below)
>
> I'm thinking there are internationalization issues here? Are there  
> ways we can experiment with this idea just in English first before  
> worrying about internationalizing it? (special English-only,  
> experimental modules?)
>
> http://wiki.osafoundation.org/bin/view/Journal/ExpandoDateTimeFields
>
>
>
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