Bug 166622 - Confusing Add Images use
Summary: Confusing Add Images use
Status: RESOLVED NOT A BUG
Alias: None
Product: digikam
Classification: Applications
Component: Import-MainView (show other bugs)
Version: 0.10.0
Platform: unspecified Linux
: NOR normal
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Digikam Developers
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2008-07-15 14:38 UTC by Dotan Cohen
Modified: 2012-06-27 11:18 UTC (History)
0 users

See Also:
Latest Commit:
Version Fixed In: 0.10.0


Attachments
Screenshot illustrating problem (835.49 KB, image/png)
2008-07-15 14:39 UTC, Dotan Cohen
Details
mockup (266.46 KB, image/png)
2008-07-15 14:56 UTC, Dotan Cohen
Details

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Description Dotan Cohen 2008-07-15 14:38:05 UTC
Version:           SVN: Version 0.10.0-beta2 (rev.: 832007) (using KDE 4.0.83)

When the Add Images dialog finishes adding it's images, the counter stays on 90% and there is no indication that the work is done. Reproducible every time.
Comment 1 Dotan Cohen 2008-07-15 14:39:22 UTC
Created attachment 26147 [details]
Screenshot illustrating problem
Comment 2 Andi Clemens 2008-07-15 14:45:19 UTC
This is invalid, please hover over the fields to see what they actually mean. But I will not close it right now, maybe I misunderstood you.
Comment 3 Dotan Cohen 2008-07-15 14:56:49 UTC
Created attachment 26148 [details]
mockup

I see now what they mean. To avoid user confusion, then, a third field should
be added that is a progress meter (much larger than the other two). See mockup.
Comment 4 Andi Clemens 2008-07-15 15:00:49 UTC
There is a progress bar... I will close this now.
Comment 5 Dotan Cohen 2008-07-15 15:54:29 UTC
The progress bar runs from 0% to 100% in the status bar and then disappears. Once the import is completed there is no indication that anything was done, other than the checkmarks near each photo. Adding to the confusion are the two progress bars at the bottom of the window which do not indicate the status of the import.

My proposed fix is to make the progress bar separate from the status bar and to have the progress bar open at all times. Especially after the import is complete.
Comment 6 caulier.gilles 2008-07-16 10:45:48 UTC
>My proposed fix is to make the progress bar separate from the status bar and to >have the progress bar open at all times. Especially after the import is complete. 

No. We don't need a separate window to host a progress bar. this last one is must be hosted to statusbar to be homogenous with all other main window in digiKam (for ex, editor or album gui)

Gilles Caulier
Comment 7 Andi Clemens 2008-07-16 11:14:07 UTC
See it the other way around: If no progress bar is there, you are done :-)

Andi

On Wednesday 16 July 2008 10:45:49 Gilles Caulier wrote:
[bugs.kde.org quoted mail]
Comment 8 Dotan Cohen 2008-07-16 12:23:19 UTC
> No. We don't need a separate window to host a progress bar. this
> last one is must be hosted to statusbar to be homogenous with all
> other main window in digiKam (for ex, editor or album gui)

Those other windows don't have activities that take time to finish. Well, actually, they do: the Rebuild Thumbnails activity (Which has a popup progress bar that stays at 100% when done).



> See it the other way around: If no progress bar is there, you
> are done

That is not very intuitive for users.



I'll now propose a more general solution, and interface change. The way digikam now works is that the main window has two functions:
1) Thumbnails mode
2) View mode

Other modes,such as the Image Editor and Import, are handled in popup windows. How about incorporating these popup windows into the main Digikam window, which would now have four modes:
1) Thumbnails mode
2) View mode
3) Image Editor mode
4) Import mode

In import mode, the progress bar would pop up just like the Rebuild Thumbnails progress bar pops up.
Comment 9 Andi Clemens 2008-07-16 12:34:26 UTC
> Those other windows don't have activities that take time to finish. Well,
> actually, they do: the Rebuild Thumbnails activity (Which has a popup
> progress bar that stays at 100% when done).


Yes, they have. Tagging and rating of images for example use progress bar in 
the main window.
All filters use a progress bar. I think it is not very nice to close a popup 
progress bar window all the time an action was triggered.

>
> > See it the other way around: If no progress bar is there, you
> > are done
>
> That is not very intuitive for users.


Why not? Nearly all apps I use work this way, what is so confusing about this?

> I'll now propose a more general solution, and interface change. The way
> digikam now works is that the main window has two functions: 1) Thumbnails
> mode
> 2) View mode
>
> Other modes,such as the Image Editor and Import, are handled in popup
> windows. How about incorporating these popup windows into the main Digikam
> window, which would now have four modes: 1) Thumbnails mode
> 2) View mode
> 3) Image Editor mode
> 4) Import mode


That has been discussed before and I don't think it will be changed, ever. The 
good thing about these multiple windows is that you can work on multiple 
screens / virtual desktops (like in Gimp). You said before the digiKam 
interface is too overloaded with tabs / functions. But bringing the image 
editor into the main window will expand it even more... the menu bar will 
explode :-)

Andi
Comment 10 caulier.gilles 2008-07-16 13:23:44 UTC
I'm totally agree with Andi,

Another argument is about multithreading: camera interface for ex, download/upload to/from camera/computer using a separate thread. You can continue to use albumgui during transfert operations. If you embed cameragui into main interface, this will be not possible anymore.

Gilles Caulier
Comment 11 Andi Clemens 2008-07-21 15:10:10 UTC
Can this one be closed now...?
Comment 12 caulier.gilles 2008-07-21 15:24:09 UTC
yep, as invalid...

Gilles
Comment 13 Andi Clemens 2008-07-21 15:32:12 UTC
Closing this now...
Comment 14 Dotan Cohen 2008-07-22 08:20:27 UTC
The situation still exists that users have no obvious indication that their images have finished imported. I may not have succeeded in proposing a solution that Andi and Gilles like, however, that does not mean that a solution does not exist. At a bare minimum, keep the progress bar open until the user clicks OK, as with the Rebuild Thumbnails dialog.
Comment 15 Andi Clemens 2008-07-22 10:25:12 UTC
Well I guess this can be done... Gilles? what do you think? 
Comment 16 Andi Clemens 2008-07-22 11:49:10 UTC
I changed the behavior and I must say, I don't like it.
The problem is that the progress bar will be shown all the time now.
I made changes in CameraUI::slotBusy, this is where the progress bar is hidden 
after a job has been done. But now the progress bar stays open when creating 
thumbnails etc, too.
I think the current solution is the best, when downloading you get messages 
like "fetching image xxx" or something like this, when it is ready and the 
progress bar is gone, it will read "Ready".
This works best (at least for me) in KDE3 and KDE4 version.

Andi
Comment 17 Mikolaj Machowski 2008-07-22 15:51:28 UTC
> I think the current solution is the best, when downloading you get
> messages like "fetching image xxx" or something like this, when it is
> ready and the progress bar is gone, it will read "Ready".
> This works best (at least for me) in KDE3 and KDE4 version.

Agree with Andi. Maybe this is not perfect solution but definitely the
best from suggested.
Comment 18 Marcel Wiesweg 2008-07-22 17:58:04 UTC
Dolphin has a similar disk-space progress bar. The text is "90% free". We could take inspiration from this, to make it clear what the permanent progress bar means.
Comment 19 Dotan Cohen 2008-07-22 18:34:06 UTC
Thanks, Andi. I have a calculus exam tomorrow and afterwards I will install KDE 4.1rc1 and build the latest Digikam SVN.

As some people (namely, all four friends that I've shown Digikam 0.10 beta to, plus the wife and myself) prefer having a persistent dialog, and others (namely, everyone else posting here) prefer not too, could this be made optional?

Thanks. The work you guys do on Digikam is nothing short of amazing.