Kind of confused - navigation

[BlancNoir]

I am new to Storyist, and I must say that I too am very confused by the software's interface and navigation. One of the main complain I have is that buttons react differently depending on the view one is using. For example, the button "Script" in the toolbar does not always display your manuscript. When "view as storyboard" is pressed, the script button displays the corkboard instead. Although I understand the logic behind it, I find this kind of navigation very hard to remember and quite frustrating.

 

Buttons in the toolbar should always display the same thing, forcing the other elements to change, like the "notebook" button does.

 

What do you think?

[Joolissa]

Welcome to the forum, BlancNoir!

 

I am confused by what you mean.

 

My tool bar (the bar across the top of the window with the icons for the different elements) always splits the view and displays what you pressed as a storyboard view in the split view, no matter what type of view you currently have chosen.

 

Changing the view in the project pane (the side bar on the left with your collections) displays what ever you've selected in what ever view you're currently in. Notebook included. If I have the storyboard view selected, everything displays as index cards.

 

I would find it annoying to have to reset my view every time I changed what I was looking at.

 

Perhaps this isn't what you're referring to though?

 

- Jools

[BlancNoir]

I guess I am starting to learn that I have been fooled by the big buttons on the toolbar, and it is the View buttons that dictate everything else, not the other way around. The size of these three little buttons should definitely match their importance in the navigation, which is not the case now. Well, I am just a new member here. I wouldn't dare asking for a re-design of the software's interface.

[Steve]

Well, I am just a new member here. I wouldn't dare asking for a re-design of the software's interface.

 

Hi BlancNoir,

 

I'm enjoying your posts. Opinions and feedback are most welcome. Storyist thrives on it.

 

In this case, the Manuscript button does not override your view choice (text, outline, storyboard) by design. It shows you your manuscript in your current view preference. I understand that you would like it to always revert to the text view.

 

Note that you can always remove the button from the toolbar and use the Project view for navigation.

 

-Steve

[Joolissa]

I think BlancNoir has a good point though, Steve. I think the size of the view buttons should be bigger and more noticeable. Since you can already customize the toolbar (which I hadn't realized until right now), why not add the option to add a View button or view buttons? You could have the option to add a drop down type button or the individual button for a specific view the user uses the most. You wouldn't have to remove the other three buttons and it wouldn't have to be in the default set up, but it would be a nice option for those of use who don't pay much attention to smaller buttons.

- Jules

[Steve]

Since you can already customize the toolbar (which I hadn't realized until right now), why not add the option to add a View button or view buttons?

 

Because you wouldn't know which split view the view mode button would operate on.

 

-Steve

[Steve E]

Because you wouldn't know which split view the view mode button would operate on.

Why not? Doesn't the view mode button always operate on the active view?

[Steve]

Why not? Doesn't the view mode button always operate on the active view?

 

The view mode button operates on the view it is attached to.

 

Moving it to the toolbar would add level of indirection and make you consider which view the command would operate on.

 

-Steve

[Steve E]

The view mode button operates on the view it is attached to.

Moving it to the toolbar would add level of indirection and make you consider which view the command would operate on.

If there is one view then it will operate on that.

If there are two are more split views then the buttons will act on the active one.

We know the active one because the title line at the top of it is highlighted. That's enough for me but others might want, say, green and red spots to emphasize the point.

 

Honestly, I have no strong feelings about this but I am curious about your reasoning.

- Thoth.

[Joolissa]

If there is one view then it will operate on that.

If there are two are more split views then the buttons will act on the active one.

We know the active one because the title line at the top of it is highlighted. That's enough for me but others might want, say, green and red spots to emphasize the point.

 

I agree. This is exactly what I would want. I don't want you to and am not asking you to remove the smaller buttons from each view though. They should stay. I just want the option to add a big drop down type button (similar to workspaces) to the toolbar that would work on whichever view is active because I happen to use and understand the big shiny buttons more than the tiny buttons. I can understand not wanting to take away the little buttons, but I don't see the harm in adding something like that to the options in Customize toolbar, when it wouldn't have to take away anything and wouldn't have to be used by those who don't want it. The green and red dot idea would be very handy as well as I tend not to realize which view is active. I am still feeling my way through navigation and views, but this is one thing I've wished for since starting to use it.

 

Just my thoughts..

- Jules

[Steve]

The green and red dot idea would be very handy as well as I tend not to realize which view is active.

 

Hi Julia,

 

Thanks for answering Thoth's question.

 

Others (e.g. Steakpirate and Orren) have commented that this happens to them as well.

 

If I add an icon to the toolbar, you'd need to remember which view is active. If you forgot to check, you wouldn't get the results you expected. Having the buttons in the view they act on (where they are now) make the "active view" question moot.

 

I realize that I could bury such an icon in the toolbar config as optional, but it seems like doing so would be asking for more "kind of confused" posts.

 

-Steve

[Steve E]

Thanks for answering Thoth's question.

So the green and red dot idea, to help people realize which view is active and thusly reduce confusion, would be a reasonable feature request? Or is it already on the list?

- Thoth

[Steve]

So the green and red dot idea, to help people realize which view is active and thusly reduce confusion, would be a reasonable feature request? Or is it already on the list?

- Thoth

 

There is already a color coding for active view, so I don't think this will solve the issue of people not remembering what view is active.

 

-Steve

[Joolissa]

There is actually very little difference between the views, especially on a laptop in bad light. Blue Text vs Black Text on a very small part of the bar is very difficult to notice when looking for it, not to mention on a glance. I've actually never noticed it before, which is why I never got the results I wanted when fooling around with views. If you don't want to add a some other sort of indicator to which view is active, I suggest changing the text of the Active view tool bar to something other than blue. There are a lot of people who probably have trouble seeing the difference. It is especially not easy to tell at a glance. I would very much appreciate something quickly visible and blue text in one bar and black in another is not it.

 

It also isn't a matter of remembering what view is active.. if one could remember what view is active you wouldn't need any indicator. It's a matter of not knowing which is active because you're clicking around in things and therefore you need something highly visible to tell you which is the active view. I do believe requests for more visible active view indicators have come up before as well.

 

Just a thought

- Jools

[BlancNoir]

... I just want the option to add a big drop down type button (similar to workspaces) to the toolbar that would work on whichever view is active because I happen to use and understand the big shiny buttons more than the tiny buttons...

Yes, big shiny buttons for our tired eyes! But I wouldn't do a drop down type button for this because it is going to be used much more often than the workspaces button. We need to be able to easily switch from one view to another, so I would like personally to see all three buttons side by side in the toolbar.