I'm totally new with Umbraco and i just gotta say that so far it has been a pleasure working with the Runway template.
That being said, I've got some suggestions for the Umbraco UI.
· When installing Umbraco 4.0.3 through the wep installer, for local development using the vistaDB option, you'll get an error because the vistaDB folder isn't in the structure. For a first time user that was annoying. If you want to convince people that Umbraco CMS is the "user friendly CMS" atleast the installer should work? :)
· There should be more menu options when setting up the runway template: Dropdown with subs, menu tabs, topmenu with left placed submenu etc.
· Why are the main controllers in the bottom left of the window? I've used Umbraco for ~6 hours now, and it already annoys me that i have to navigate to the bottom of my window everytime i want to roam through the system. (res: 1600x1058). There's plenty of space in the top section next to the search field. Why not put it there, or above the Settings field? Can i restructure it myself? How about some drag and drop perhaps (like iGoogle rss feeds).
· In some part of the system i can save using CTRL+S, other places i can't. Shortcuts are such timesavers ^^
· Some events are not refreshed instantly, like adding a subpage to an existing page. I have to refresh the whole window and when i do that Umbraco can't remember my position.
· Although your videoes are a great support feature, the sound is horrible and it seems someone had to go to the hospital twice ;-)
· Why not add your free videoes to the login dashboard. Blank pages are just... meh...
Great system none the less. Looking forward getting to know it better.
Thanks for the feedback, we do appreciate constructive criticism :).
Here's some responses to the things you raised though:
RE: Application icon placement
Keep in mind that Umbraco started 5 years ago, when screen resolutions were no where near what they are today on the standard computer. Also, I think you'd find that most content editors are not running screen resolutions the size you are. Also, Windows is a by-default bottom-left orientated system. That's where the Start button is on a default install, so "non-techies" (ie - content managers) have the expectation that everything starts there (yes, that's a bit of a generalization, but it is some-what valid).
RE: Tree refreshing
Yes, this is a known but of 4.0.x, but the good news is that this has been fixed in the upcoming 4.1 release.
RE: Shortcuts
What places did you go to use shortcuts but find them not working? I personally don't use CTRL + S in any web space because it's not a standard practice. It also depends on how the browser is handling that keyboard shortcut (whether you can catch and override it).
Thanks for your reply. Here are some of my thoughts on the subjects:
Regarding icon placement: Although a non-techie might expect it to be at the bottom, or to the left, the same person might also be very familiar with general top navigation on ordinary websites, which could translate into the same structure in the management system. But for those select few of us (me, anyway) who run medium to large sized resolutions the navigation setup generates a lot of movement back and forth, hence wasting time.
Tree refreshing sounds good! That one really bugs me, plus the updating speed of my local installation is pretty slow. That might due to some settings somewhere. I've seen a couple of posts about it and i'll look into to it further down the road.
Actually i adopted the ctrl+s behaviour from another CMS, so i just tried it out and it worked some places, and not others. I mainly use Firefox where i can ctrl+s in the macro and xslt section, but not when i'm editing content on a page in the richtext editor.
Again, if i have to move the mouse up on the save or publish icon everytime i want to save something, i have to let go of the keyboard and move my arm+hand to the mouse and navigate the cursor onto the icons and click. That's not really the biggest issue in the world, but when you have to do it many times a day, you'd wish someone made a shortcut for these events.
Some might not grasp using general shortcuts, but for us who do, its a big timesaver, in my humble opinion anyway :-)
Feedback from a firstime user
I'm totally new with Umbraco and i just gotta say that so far it has been a pleasure working with the Runway template.
That being said, I've got some suggestions for the Umbraco UI.
· When installing Umbraco 4.0.3 through the wep installer, for local development using the vistaDB option, you'll get an error because the vistaDB folder isn't in the structure. For a first time user that was annoying. If you want to convince people that Umbraco CMS is the "user friendly CMS" atleast the installer should work? :)
· There should be more menu options when setting up the runway template: Dropdown with subs, menu tabs, topmenu with left placed submenu etc.
· Why are the main controllers in the bottom left of the window? I've used Umbraco for ~6 hours now, and it already annoys me that i have to navigate to the bottom of my window everytime i want to roam through the system. (res: 1600x1058). There's plenty of space in the top section next to the search field. Why not put it there, or above the Settings field? Can i restructure it myself? How about some drag and drop perhaps (like iGoogle rss feeds).
· In some part of the system i can save using CTRL+S, other places i can't. Shortcuts are such timesavers ^^
· Some events are not refreshed instantly, like adding a subpage to an existing page. I have to refresh the whole window and when i do that Umbraco can't remember my position.
· Although your videoes are a great support feature, the sound is horrible and it seems someone had to go to the hospital twice ;-)
· Why not add your free videoes to the login dashboard. Blank pages are just... meh...
Great system none the less. Looking forward getting to know it better.
Ha det bredt!
Oh and one more thing.
I really miss a "selected" class in the navigation macro. I might have overlooked it, but i can't seem to find it ?
Bleh,. wrong forum, sorry :/
Can someone move it?
Moved it to the "general" forum :-)
Thanks for the feedback, we do appreciate constructive criticism :).
Here's some responses to the things you raised though:
RE: Application icon placement
Keep in mind that Umbraco started 5 years ago, when screen resolutions were no where near what they are today on the standard computer. Also, I think you'd find that most content editors are not running screen resolutions the size you are.
Also, Windows is a by-default bottom-left orientated system. That's where the Start button is on a default install, so "non-techies" (ie - content managers) have the expectation that everything starts there (yes, that's a bit of a generalization, but it is some-what valid).
RE: Tree refreshing
Yes, this is a known but of 4.0.x, but the good news is that this has been fixed in the upcoming 4.1 release.
RE: Shortcuts
What places did you go to use shortcuts but find them not working? I personally don't use CTRL + S in any web space because it's not a standard practice. It also depends on how the browser is handling that keyboard shortcut (whether you can catch and override it).
Thanks Morten :)
@Slace
Thanks for your reply. Here are some of my thoughts on the subjects:
Regarding icon placement: Although a non-techie might expect it to be at the bottom, or to the left, the same person might also be very familiar with general top navigation on ordinary websites, which could translate into the same structure in the management system. But for those select few of us (me, anyway) who run medium to large sized resolutions the navigation setup generates a lot of movement back and forth, hence wasting time.
Tree refreshing sounds good! That one really bugs me, plus the updating speed of my local installation is pretty slow. That might due to some settings somewhere. I've seen a couple of posts about it and i'll look into to it further down the road.
Actually i adopted the ctrl+s behaviour from another CMS, so i just tried it out and it worked some places, and not others. I mainly use Firefox where i can ctrl+s in the macro and xslt section, but not when i'm editing content on a page in the richtext editor.
Again, if i have to move the mouse up on the save or publish icon everytime i want to save something, i have to let go of the keyboard and move my arm+hand to the mouse and navigate the cursor onto the icons and click. That's not really the biggest issue in the world, but when you have to do it many times a day, you'd wish someone made a shortcut for these events.
Some might not grasp using general shortcuts, but for us who do, its a big timesaver, in my humble opinion anyway :-)
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