UI: Extensions Repository Popup Changes #118876

Harley Acheson · 2024-02-29T01:06:42+01:00

Harley Acheson commented

2024-02-29 01:06:42 +01:00

Preferences / Extensions / Repositories. Popup gets a title, changes to
icons, and a separation between Check and Update buttons.

The popup currently looks like the following. Looks like it needs a title. The icon for remote repository is for "network drive", while local is "hard drive". The buttons looking like "Refresh" and "Download" are too tight together.

This PR just adds a "Repositories" title, changes the icons to URL and FILE_FOLDER, and adds some space between the buttons:

Preferences / Extensions / Repositories. Popup gets a title, changes to icons, and a separation between Check and Update buttons. --- The popup currently looks like the following. Looks like it needs a title. The icon for remote repository is for "network drive", while local is "hard drive". The buttons looking like "Refresh" and "Download" are too tight together. ![image](/attachments/86a011c4-9553-47d1-8c33-58f11dafe10a) This PR just adds a "Repositories" title, changes the icons to URL and FILE_FOLDER, and adds some space between the buttons: ![image](/attachments/545a3990-ced4-4cc4-9400-05cebb4f48ab)

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Harley Acheson added 1 commit 2024-02-29 01:06:52 +01:00

bb28d5118e UI: Extensions Repository Popup Changes

Preferences / Extensions / Repositories. Popup gets a title, changes to
icons, and a separation between Check and Update buttons.

Harley Acheson added this to the User Interface project 2024-02-29 01:15:29 +01:00

Harley Acheson requested review from Dalai Felinto 2024-02-29 01:25:53 +01:00

Raul Fernandez Hernandez approved these changes 2024-02-29 06:20:40 +01:00

Dalai Felinto commented

2024-02-29 17:14:36 +01:00

I'm fine with adding the title in the popup if the UI team finds that this makes things more clear - of if it follows some UI guideline.
The icon change is a no go imho:

The LINK icon is for links, while this is not a link (I did consider using this icon too, and as tempting as it is, what we have is fine - short of having new icons specially for that).

Re: spacing - the lack of spacing was intentional since both actions are closely related (one checks for updates, while the other updates).

1. I'm fine with adding the title in the popup if the UI team finds that this makes things more clear - of if it follows some UI guideline. 2. The icon change is a no go imho: * The LINK icon is for links, while this is not a link (I did consider using this icon too, and as tempting as it is, what we have is fine - short of having new icons specially for that). 3. Re: spacing - the lack of spacing was intentional since both actions are closely related (one checks for updates, while the other updates).

Harley Acheson commented

2024-02-29 22:04:03 +01:00

@dfelinto

I'm fine with adding the title in the popup if the UI team finds that this makes things more clear - of if it follows some UI guideline.

Adding a title here just explains to users what the items in the list are. With it, you know immediately that "Blender Official" is a repository, and that you could guess that the "+" will add a new repository, etc. Without the title it is all mysterious.

The LINK icon is for links, while this is not a link

This isn't the LINK icon, but the URL icon. The URL icon specifically represents a Uniform Resource Locator, generally considered as "an address on the internet." This meaning works well for web links, but it can be used anywhere else where we are needing to differentiate between something local versus remotely hosted. This is because an URL does not have to point at just an HTML document, but any type of resource that is accessed via the internet. We also use this icon for internet-hosted storage (like OneDrive, iDrive, Dropbox) and to indicate when files are temporarily offline on such a service.

This is why the "remote repository" in this popup has an input marked "URL", while the local repository does not. It uses an URL to represent the resource versus a local folder, so using the URL icon makes sense.

what we have is fine

One represents a storage device internal to your computer and the other a storage device that is on your same network, and these don't really have use outside of the file browser. Here we are needing to differentiate between something that is local versus remote and needing a connection to the internet.

Re: spacing - the lack of spacing was intentional since both actions are closely related (one checks for updates, while the other updates).

They aren't related enough. They are not like up/down left/right, different modes, variations of the same function. They are two quite distinct operations and should be shown as such. They are also both very busy icons that look like a single jumble when connected like this. Although possibly made worse because that "refresh" icon is so large. I have a smaller version proposed - #118734 - but would prefer a separation regardless.

@dfelinto > 1. I'm fine with adding the title in the popup if the UI team finds that this makes things more clear - of if it follows some UI guideline. Adding a title here just explains to users what the items in the list are. With it, you know immediately that "Blender Official" is a repository, and that you could guess that the "+" will add a new repository, etc. Without the title it is all mysterious. > The LINK icon is for links, while this is not a link This isn't the LINK icon, but the URL icon. The URL icon specifically represents a Uniform Resource Locator, generally considered as "an address on the internet." This meaning works well for web links, but it can be used anywhere else where we are needing to differentiate between something local versus remotely hosted. This is because an URL does not have to point at just an HTML document, but any type of resource that is accessed via the internet. We also use this icon for internet-hosted storage (like OneDrive, iDrive, Dropbox) and to indicate when files are temporarily offline on such a service. This is why the "remote repository" in this popup has an input marked "URL", while the local repository does not. It uses an URL to represent the resource versus a local folder, so using the URL icon makes sense. > what we have is fine One represents a storage device internal to your computer and the other a storage device that is on your same network, and these don't really have use outside of the file browser. Here we are needing to differentiate between something that is local versus remote and needing a connection to the internet. > 3. Re: spacing - the lack of spacing was intentional since both actions are closely related (one checks for updates, while the other updates). They aren't related enough. They are not like up/down left/right, different modes, variations of the same function. They are two quite distinct operations and should be shown as such. They are also both very busy icons that look like a single jumble when connected like this. Although possibly made worse because that "refresh" icon is so large. I have a smaller version proposed - #118734 - but would prefer a separation regardless.

Dalai Felinto commented

2024-03-01 09:32:42 +01:00

This icon literally has a mouse pointer on it indicating that it is to be clicked.

If someone from the UI team can reach out to Jendrzych to come up with new icons just for that it would be great. Other than that I think we are not gaining anything with the proposed change (quite opposite).

Re: title, you get a clue of what it is upon mouse over of the cog. But anyway, why to keep arguing about the one thing I agreed with? Just go for it ;)

Re: proximity, I still believe they are super related. In fact there is even a dependency between them. That said my choice to make them close by was also aesthetic since it looks better to have little clusters of related buttons .

Re: icons size: why change that? There are so many things that need fixing, for me this is hardly one of them. I would much rather we spend our collective energy on topics like:

Support non-hacky layout for the Install add-on popup (so we can have the Install as pre selected and blue.
Support sub-panels for the Addons preferences (I would have the main information in the main panel, while preferences in another, and file size, path and the uninstall button in another panel).
Figure out why there is no notification showing up after the add-on is installed via dragging.

Other more global topics:

UI not to flicker when mousing over in a UI size != 1.
Better notification system.

This icon literally has a mouse pointer on it indicating that it is to be clicked. If someone from the UI team can reach out to Jendrzych to come up with new icons just for that it would be great. Other than that I think we are not gaining anything with the proposed change (quite opposite). Re: title, you get a clue of what it is upon mouse over of the cog. But anyway, why to keep arguing about the one thing I agreed with? Just go for it ;) Re: proximity, I still believe they are super related. In fact there is even a dependency between them. That said my choice to make them close by was also aesthetic since it looks better to have little clusters of related buttons . Re: icons size: why change that? There are so many things that need fixing, for me this is hardly one of them. I would much rather we spend our collective energy on topics like: * Support non-hacky layout for the Install add-on popup (so we can have the Install as pre selected and blue. * Support sub-panels for the Addons preferences (I would have the main information in the main panel, while preferences in another, and file size, path and the uninstall button in another panel). * Figure out why there is no notification showing up after the add-on is installed via dragging. Other more global topics: * UI not to flicker when mousing over in a UI size != 1. * Better notification system.

Harley Acheson commented

2024-03-02 18:49:26 +01:00

yikes.

Harley Acheson closed this pull request

2024-03-02 18:49:28 +01:00

Julian Eisel commented

2024-03-04 12:21:46 +01:00

The NETWORK_DRIVE icon is misleading since it displays a drive, when in fact the icon is supposed to indicate exactly that this resource is not on some locally accessible drive but accessed via internet. IMO we should have clear visual language whenever internet access is represented.

It seems like a version of the URL icon can be created that simply doesn't contain the mouse pointer, to differentiate between clickable links and general online resources.

I think the buttons do belong together since they are indeed closely related. However I would prefer not to use icon only buttons. That should only be done for commonly known icons (like 'x' for closing) or other good reasons (e.g. to avoid heavy clutter), it shouldn't be a default solution to exposing actions. For me it's not entirely clear what they do, so I would have to read the tooltip first. The refresh icon feels a bit abused, it's just that "refresh" is vague enough so that you can argue it covers "check for updates". But the download icon to convey "update" or more precisely "download and install updates" feels like a stretch.

All this is reason enough for me to say that these buttons shouldn't be icon only. How important are these per repository update actions anyway? I guess for the most part you'd just want to update all add-ons. So the two buttons could be turned into a pulldown menu, like how we usually bundle actions next to UI lists. This isn't all too discoverable though, so alternatively they can be buttons under the list, like "Assign", "Select" and "Deselect" are placed under the material slots list.

The `NETWORK_DRIVE` icon is misleading since it displays a drive, when in fact the icon is supposed to indicate exactly that this resource is not on some locally accessible drive but accessed via internet. IMO we should have clear visual language whenever internet access is represented. It seems like a version of the URL icon can be created that simply doesn't contain the mouse pointer, to differentiate between clickable links and general online resources. --- I think the buttons do belong together since they are indeed closely related. However I would prefer not to use icon only buttons. That should only be done for commonly known icons (like 'x' for closing) or other good reasons (e.g. to avoid heavy clutter), it shouldn't be a default solution to exposing actions. For me it's not entirely clear what they do, so I would have to read the tooltip first. The refresh icon feels a bit abused, it's just that "refresh" is vague enough so that you can argue it covers "check for updates". But the download icon to convey "update" or more precisely "download and install updates" feels like a stretch. All this is reason enough for me to say that these buttons shouldn't be icon only. How important are these per repository update actions anyway? I guess for the most part you'd just want to update all add-ons. So the two buttons could be turned into a pulldown menu, like how we usually bundle actions next to UI lists. This isn't all too discoverable though, so alternatively they can be buttons under the list, like "Assign", "Select" and "Deselect" are placed under the material slots list.

Julian Eisel referenced this pull request

2024-03-04 12:53:29 +01:00

Extensions Platform UI #118733

Pull request closed

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UI: Extensions Repository Popup Changes #118876

Pull request closed