Fwd: [Design] [Sum] Preview area

[Dennis Lynch]

I never got any feedback about this comment and wondered why.
I think it creates a UI that has "the best of both worlds"- one screen
layout that the user can load (as default if he wishes) is exactly the
same as the current design in Chandler, BUT ALSO, the user has the
chance to rearrange the screen to suit his/her working style, and to
see more or less mini-windows based on what works best for him/her.

I don't doubt that this is too late for 0.7, but isn't it worthy of
some discussion
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dennis Lynch <dmlynch1 at gmail.com>
Date: Apr 19, 2006 11:53 AM
Subject: [Design] [Sum] Preview area
To: Chandler Design list <design at osafoundation.org>

I am wondering whether the current design paradigm is perhaps too
limiting??!!??!! And that it actually causes some of the confusion
which Mimi and other's suggestions are trying to9 fix.

Mimi Yin wrote:
>Proposals
>
>   * Current design: In the Calendar app, the preview pane is stuck showing Today's
> events. In the other App areas, it shows events for whatever day is selected in the
> mini-cal.
>
>   * Alternate design 1: Make the Calendar app consistent with the other App areas.
>Add extra visual feedback in the mini-cal so the user can select a
day within a
>week...when they're in the week view, so the user can control which
day of the week
>they want to see in the Preview pane.
>
>   * Alternate design 2: In the Calendar app, we add a label: Today's events at the top
>of the Preview pane.
>
>   * Alternate design 3: In all Apps areas, the Preview pane is stuck on Today's events.
>However, the user can mouseover different days to preview events for
those days.
>(Might be too much interaction feedback. More disorienting than useful.)
>

It seems to me that the rigid layout of Chandler causes these
confusions.  A more flexible handling of these panes could solve the
problem.

Chandler (just like many other apps) has a main working area, and
numerous other working/reference/tool areas- sidebar, mini-cal,
preview, "Selected day's Events", and Today's Events, to-dos, etc.
Each one of these areas should be a separate "pane", which could
either be floating or docked, rolled-up, expanded, resized, or closed.
 See Corel PaintShopPro 9 as an example (I'm not familiar with the
newer version X).

Chandler could/should have a few "standard workspace layouts" based on
the current function being performed, but should also allow the user
to create and save their own workspace layouts.  See PSP-9
"File-Workspace-Save".

I think this type of application workspace would totally eliminate the
confusion/concern about what info the preview window should show.

Just my 2 cents.

Dennis Lynch


-- 
Dennis Lynch
dmlynch [at] alum.mit [dot] edu
dmlynch1 [at] gmail [dot] com
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