I'd like to offer a little feedback on the UI, for whatever it's worth. First, I think QRecall looks great. The attention to detail is evident in every screen. Not to mention that it seems to work very, VERY well. So far I'm most impressed with its reliability.

That said, I really *dislike* list view. Have you considered implementing some sort of column view? In my mind, nothing beats the column view for quickly navigating a folder hierarchy. Although I'm digging QRecall in a big way, I find the list view, with all the lines and rewind controls, etc. rather confusing. I can only imagine trying to teach a newbie user how it works.

What I'd like is the ability to browse my archive in column view. When I select a file, I'd like to see all instances of the file listed in the far right column. Select the one I want to restore and away I go!

So far I think you have a great product, but I do find the UI rather confusing and non-standard. In my mind, this will be QRecall's greatest obstacle as it attempts to compete with other backup solutions.

Thanks for listening!

-Rob

Rob Wyatt wrote:That said, I really *dislike* list view. Have you considered implementing some sort of column view?

Yes, that's been mentioned a couple of times and is on the short list of new features.

What I'd like is the ability to browse my archive in column view. When I select a file, I'd like to see all instances of the file listed in the far right column. Select the one I want to restore and away I go!

That is, more or less, available now. Open the Info drawer (View > Show Info). Select a file and the info drawer will display additional information about the item, including the list of layers where the item was captured. Double clicking on an item in that list rewinds the archive to that date.

Thanks for listening!

Thanks for the feedback!

Thanks James!

I'm glad to hear that column view is on the short list. Whew!

Speaking of the Info drawer, another bit of feedback. It's hard to know what I dislike more, list views or drawers. I find drawers sliding out, windows moving off the edge of the screen to accommodate them, etc. rather irritating. I'm very much a fan of single-window UI.

Personally, I think the Info pane should *always* be visible and integrated into the archive window. From an ease of use standpoint, what does one really gain by hiding/showing this information?

Anyway, not a big deal, obviously, but I thought you might appreciate the feedback.

Thanks!

-Rob

Rob Wyatt wrote:Speaking of the Info drawer, another bit of feedback. It's hard to know what I dislike more, list views or drawers. I find drawers sliding out, windows moving off the edge of the screen to accommodate them, etc. rather irritating. I'm very much a fan of single-window UI.

I know opinions about drawers run strong. I can tell you that some considerable amount of time was spent making sure that the document window won't "move off the edge of the screen" to accomodate the drawer. The window will resize, if needed, when the drawer is opened and restore itself when the drawer is closed again.

Personally, I think the Info pane should *always* be visible and integrated into the archive window. From an ease of use standpoint, what does one really gain by hiding/showing this information?

The full amount of info consumes a lot of screen real estate. If you have a 30" Cinema display it's no big deal. But on a 13" laptop the One-Window UI is cumbersome. Try using the latest iTunes on a really small screen.

Secondly, even with a column view there's more information in the Info window than could be displayed in the summary column. And the Info drawer also displays information about groups of items, layers, volumes, and the archive itself. There's really no other place to display this and I suspect that I dislike dealing with multiple Info windows even more than you dislike drawers.

James Bucanek wrote:If you have a 30" Cinema display it's no big deal. But on a 13" laptop the One-Window UI is cumbersome. Try using the latest iTunes on a really small screen.

Fair enough. My 24" iMac has SPOILED me for sure!

James Bucanek wrote:Secondly, even with a column view there's more information in the Info window than could be displayed in the summary column. And the Info drawer also displays information about groups of items, layers, volumes, and the archive itself. There's really no other place to display this and I suspect that I dislike dealing with multiple Info windows even more than you dislike drawers.

I hate multiple info windows, so we're definitely on the same page there! I agree that you can't possible get all of the info you want to display into a summary column. I just wish the drawer was part of the main window. I totally appreciate your reasoning re: screen size. That makes total sense.

My biggest issue with drawers is that they confuse users. I watch less skilled users fumble with them all the time. They look for something that's not there, can't find it, hunt through menus, and suddenly a drawer pops out of nowhere. To me, drawers are the most boneheaded UI addition to MacOS. I love sheets, but drawers are rotten in my mind.

I like simple. And having Info integrated into the main view window is just simpler in my mind.

Regarding windows moving, I have my Actions list placed in the upper right corner of my screen. When I select "Show Schedule" from the View menu (why is no toolbar button available, btw?), the window moves to the left, covering whatever might be there, the drawer opens, etc. When I close the drawer, the window moves back. This annoys me!

At the very least, I think the drawer should open in such a way as to not move the window. If the window is in the upper right corner, open the drawer on the left side or underneath. Or, better yet, get rid of it and make the schedule part of the Actions window.

I just think that the more users have to look for features, the more confusing the program becomes. Drawers are hardly a deal-breaker, but I do think they make QRecall a bit *less* user-friendly.

-Rob

Thanks for the additional input. I'm always looking for ways to make QRecall more usable, and learning about how people use it, what they like and don't like, helps substantially.

I don't have any immediate plans for reworking the main interface, but when I do revisit it I'll take all of these suggestions into account.

Thanks for listening, James!