More takes on a Zeitgeist based Open File Dialog
So here are more attempts on a open file dialog (NOT A FILE BROWSER)
Thanks for David Siegel for the help… Once we have the design and prototype stable it will be hacked in Vala…
Constructive criticism is always welcome…
UPDATE #1:
Changed themes and some padding. looks much better now
I like the design. The toolbar at the top does not feel cramped and the filter on the side make it feels similar to nautilus, so it should fit in nicely.
Is it going to be possible to have a preview thumbnail of a image when in the list view? Perhaps on hover. I prefer list view when searching for files in general, but if I am about to open an image I want a quick peak to know if it is the correct image.
Is it easy to switch to a folder view ?
why don’t you hack gnome’s open file dialog? that way it will be easier to get into proper gnome
It would be great if there was a button labeled “Stuff related to what I’m doing right now”
@Lucas: yes I will add a switch pane between icon and list view where the list view will have another sidepane that shows a bigger image and info about the item clicked.
@Stu i dont have any plans for that yet.. I might ass a button that opens the normal open_file dialog then…
@anonim I will when we finish the prototyping…
@Matteo patience
Echoing the request for an easy switch to folder view, and a drop-down or something to switch between list/compact/icons/etc. views.
Still: File system access is a mandatory for me.
Nice, go on!
Excellent! But a file system view would make it rock even more!
I try to keep my file system well organized, I usually know exactly where the file I’m looking for, the tedious thing is to write the path. I’d be great to have easy access to the most used directories with that application. When I’m using totem, 90% of the time I’m using a file in one of three or four directories, but I almost only access those folders through totem, so it would make no sense to me to put them in the sidebar for quick access.
GUYS IF YOU LIKE THE FILE SYSTEM VIEW THEN STICK TO THE CURRENT VIEW
@Lucas: there is a program gloobus-preview in progress that may help you preview stuff, not only images, by pressing spacebar.
Assumption is that it will work in this dialog..
@Seif, etc
This file dialog + filesystem access would be loads better than the current dialog.
Good initiative. I have a few comments:
- I’m sure that you already thought about this, but the search should only show the file types that the application expects
- you already know the application that will be launching this, so you could use that information to refine the search results
- I’m not sure that forgetting about folders completely is a good idea; folder hierarchies are often used as a way to structure information, break down a particular problem or make a plan for action about a project
- maybe it’s just me, but I’m not sure that the word “popular” is the right one there (maybe “more used”?)
- how well would this escalate to a realistic case of a system with hundreds of files that span across a couple of years?
What happens if I need to select something older than 1 month?
integration in existing apps will be easier to use, instead of new and new and new applications and tools.. is super hard for new users, and not so good for old users
The type of view could depend automatically on the type of content to display (for Images, Video and maybe Documents, use big icons, otherwise use a list view), and the number of files to display (few files, use big icons; dozens of files, use a list).
The sidebar should be removed in the many cases where you already know the type of files to search for.
Related to Matteo’s comment: There should be a “directories” item on the left.
It’s a very common use case for me to open files that are in recently-used directories.
E.g. editing files in geany, then opening Nemiver to debug an executable in the same directory.
I hope this would be implemented as a complete alternative view to the current filesystem view (with a way to switch between the two and remembering the previous state), rather than just replacing the Recent view.
Also, the search box can use tracker too, right? Also, if there is more metadata available, it should be displayed. e.g. in the audio view perhaps include artist/album if its there? MAYBE even album art if it was possible.
for going between the list and icon views, perhaps a button like in nautilus-elementary?
My mind is having a little trouble thinking about the complete paradigm shift but I can imagine when you get used to it it’ll be awesome.
Given it’s an open dialogue, the program will usually specify file type restriction, somewhat removing the need for the bar on the left.
Something important that is missing is advanced search… Use cases like ‘I know I worked on it about 4 months ago’ would mean at the moment you would have to set the history to 6 months and wade through all files accessed up to the present day.
Maybe it is too much feeling.. But i think it will be more tidy to align the search box with the area that contains the icons? Now it ‘jumps’ to the left. So maybe the space left of the search box can contain some handy buttons.
Elementary Nautilus uses this idea also, it’s quite neat.
I’ll throw in my 75c worth with the rest of the interwebs.
1)One thing I hate is a small “Open Document” dialog box. Make it big when it first opens so you can spatially click on the file you know is there.
2) The dialog should initially display the last files you worked with, and trail off the latest ones relevant to the application.
3)Less buttons is more. The majority of people will only work with recent files and cluttering the open box will degrade the user experience. Only show what is necessary and let the user add more refinements if they want.
4) Make it pink
Keep up the great work.
I like this version better.
I think that buttons/options should usually be placed horizontally, since the majority of screens today are wide screen. This leaves as much vertical room as possible for the content (in this case, search results).
Great idea only I would switch the searchfield and the buttons, so that the searchfield is right above the list of documents. So the entire left side is for specifying restrictions on the search.
And maybe some more differentiation between documents. A spreadsheet isn’t the same as a text document, but that would require for example some Apple like menu structure on the left
Main:
All
Documents
Videos
Audo
Images
When clicked on documents:
< Back
All
Text
Spreadsheet
Presentation
where back would show the main menu again.
Or display a Software Center type bar above instead of a back.
Just a quick not, there are two use cases to consider, both equally common:
(1) You’ve never opened the file before — in which case a file dialog box is what you need
(2) You’ve opened the file before in the not too distant past. In which case this view is necessary.
Neither use case can be forgotten.
The current the GNOME 2.30 dialog box makes (1) easy and (2) possible with proper use of “Places” short cuts and a user’s memory.
Your dialog box gets (2) right but forgets about (1).
But even (2) needs a bit of polish. If you structure your directories into “template documents”, you’ll have several documents that have the same name but are different. How do you distinguish between them. To bring a coding example, you have 12 C projects, each in their own directory. The “template” for a project is to contain:
a readme.txt, a configure, a make file, a license.txt, an install.txt. If you’ve been working on all 12 of these projects, you may have 12 copies of “readme.txt” in your open dialog box. How do you distinguish between them quickly? With the “Places” short cuts, it’s easy since you can quickly go to your “projects” folder and browse each folder.
So please consider that there are many use cases.
Just a thought, a bridging concept between the folder and the Zeitgeist view is the concept of “group by”.
Suppose you add “Group by: Folder, Person, Time, etc” to the menu. When you switch to Group by: Folder, you’d get a file browsing view. Group by the others does the obvious things.
In any case, a Places shortcut menu is still important even in your use case to limit the search if you’re in a shared environment at work with thousands of computers.
How will this handle the situation where I have accessed the following files recently:
1. ~/project-1/INSTALL
2. ~/project-2/INSTALL
It would seem that this view would display two files named INSTALL with no information on how to distinguish the two.