View cube is great
Ribbon is not. They're seperate issues
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View cube is great
Ribbon is not. They're seperate issues
Check out this survey and give your input.
http://insidethefactory.typepad.com/...ng-the-ui.html
Kevin
http://insidethefactory.typepad.com/...ng-the-ui.html
My 2 bits....
Figure I
- Make all the flyout arrows the same and larger. Flyout arrows all in same place. (Right now tiny arrows are all over and hard to see).
- Flyout arrows are grey when inactive.
- Flyout arrows turn black on mouse over.
- Mouse over with mouse moving in upward direction only highlights flyout arrow.
- Mouse movement downward over the flyout arrow opens flyout. No click required.
- Last tool used moves to home position for faster repeat access.
- Right justify ribbon panel text and any arrow/icons.
- Larger flyout arrows for the ribbon panels (tiny arrows hard on eyes.).
- Text can be turned off leaving only icon and flyout arrows.
- Replace silly little down corner arrow with a dialog icon and arrow. Make this larger. Lots of users never even see the little corner arrow.
- Move the ribbon minimize arrow to the far right and always in the same place under the program application window controls.
- Plan for QAT under ribbon as default. The above position limits the number of tools which cane be placed there.
Figure 2
Same comments as above apply.
- Move tab to align with ribbon panel.
- Eliminate 16x16 px flyouts. It only takes 8 more px to add the extra icon. Note edit icons on Fig. C.
- Remove scroll from draw tools. Tool set would automatically expand on mouse over to expose all available tools.
- Clean up justification on Modify options.
- Ribbon panel labels can be turned off.
- Modify panels stay open while task is active. Even if user navigates aways to another panel like view or manage. Task must be finished before panel is dismissed.
I also think that 24x24 px icons are a better size than the 32x32 icons. Large enough to be see and get more tools in a limited space. (Haven't done mock-up to verify.)
Aaron-
I totally agree. The huge buttons are a waste. Also, fly outs shouldnt happen PERIOD unless there is 3 or more options. 2 options = when you move to smaller buttons use two!
Some other comments that i didnt put on the blog but that i put in the survey:
1. What you said, justification of icons. Some rows are two buttons tall, some are three. This means stopping to look at what youre doing = slowing down = not what we want.
2. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to see this concept theyve created, in SKETCH mode. Would be great if Modify could stay, and Finish and Cancel could also be consistant (justified right? or in the OPTION BAR...)
3. Edit Family. Edit Sketch. If they all stay in the context tab, theyre still going to move like whack a mole. OPTION BAR. OPTION BAR. OPTION BAR.
4. The color coding is a good step, but make it more bold, not just an outline. In CURRENT RELEASE, i look for green for finish sketch, or red for cancel sketch. Dont be afraid of a little color. We dont want pretty, we want fast. Color = i dont have to focus on it = i haul *** as fast as revit goes.
5. The one thing not addressed here is ribbon TRANSITIONS. The one that comes to mind is finishing the sketch of a profile in a sweep. The ribbon collapses, and the finish/cancel buttons run to the left. I chase them with the mouse, and RIGHT before i get there, the ribbon re-expands and goes right back to full width. Transitions need work. Hopefully the more consistant layout addresses that.
All in all, id like to give you guys a GOOD JOB. You asked for feedback, and have found a way to give us consistantly located tools based on CUSTOMER FEEDBACK. This is how development should always go. Even with the huge playschool buttons that i cant stand, if that were released tomorrow im confident everyone would love the ribbons twice as much as what we have now.
Last edited by Twiceroadsfool; 2009-08-18 at 03:22 PM. Reason: TYPO
I especially like how i managed to put it in all capitals, but couldnt manage to spell it correctly. LOL.
No worries, I can't even add numbers to 100 =/
I gave Autodesk my reply to their survey this morning. I commend them for the interaction with us and looking into alternatives. But, the way those panels are setup in the referenced images tell me that they just don't get it. And that is basically what I told them. Then I got out the Revit Architecture (in this case 2008 ) Essentials training book to try to explain it to them. Hopefully, someone in the masses can help them see the light.
Actually, what they showed there doesnt look half bad to me at all...