[Bug]: The difference between Layout | Author page options and Author options isn't clear

[michaellenaghan]

Operating system

macOS Ventura 13.2.1

Publii version

0.42.0

Post editor

None

Bug description

Publii 0.42.0 introduced Author options, Post options and Tag options in Theme Settings — at least, in the default Simple theme.

Layout in Theme Settings already had (and still has) Author page, Tags page and Tag page options.

The difference between the two isn't clear. For example, what's the difference between Layout | Author page | Featured image and Author options | Display featured image?

Well, looking at the code, I can see that:

• all of the author options — i.e., from both Layout | Author page and Author options — only affect the author page;
• the old options, Layout | Author page, only affect the "bottom" of the author page — i.e., each post listed on the author page;
• the new options, Author options, only affect the "top" of the author page — i.e., the hero section above the post list.

So the answer is that Layout | Author page | Featured image determines whether or not each post's featured image is shown on the author page, while Author options | Display featured image determines whether or not the author's featured image is shown at the top of the author page.

Not obvious!

A suggestion: group all of the options for each kind of page together in one spot, with the options that affect the top of the page, i.e. the hero, at the top, and the options that affect the bottom of the page, i.e. the post list, at the bottom. (Maybe some of the per-page SEO options should also migrate to these new per-page spots?)

By the way, there should also be Tags options. Right now you can turn off the Post count at the top of the Author and Tag pages, but you can't turn off the Tag count at the top of the Tags page.

Steps to reproduce

No response

Relevant log output

No response

[bobmitro]

The options in the Layout tab are responsible for the appearance of the post list displayed on the pages as tag or author. However, you are right that the terminology used for the new tag and author config options may contribute to the confusion surrounding the Layout tab's options.

So, I have made some revisions to the theme and implemented a few corrections. Now, it should both sound and look much better :)

[michaellenaghan]

I see the work in the 0.42.1 branch. Excellent, thank you!

Two other suggestions:

• Add Tags options with a Display tags counter option.

  {{tagsNumber}} is now the only counter you can't turn off:

          <h1>
             {{ translate 'tags.tagsPageTitle' }} 
             <sup>({{tagsNumber}})</sup>
          </h1>

• Use switches/toggles in Author options, etc., rather than drop-downs.

[bobmitro]

Use switches/toggles in Author options, etc., rather than drop-downs

It's infeasible :) The Author/Tag Options encompass three choices: On/Off/Global. So, a drop-down menu is needed.

[michaellenaghan]

I think we're talking about different things? I was talking about the newly added Author options, etc.:

I was contrasting them with the similarly named options in Layout:

(Obviously, those screenshots are from 0.42.0, not 0.42.1. Btw, another small newly introduced difference: 0.42.1 now uses "Show featured image" in Layout, while Author options, etc. uses "Display featured image". Not a problem, just noting.)

[bobmitro]

Ok, now I see that you are referring to the global settings for post/author/tag options. However, I think I will keep them in a drop-down menu to maintain consistency and unify the appearance with the options for individual pages.

[michaellenaghan]

Understood.

The per-post override options you were talking about:

actually correspond (in 0.42.0) to the Layout options:

rather than the new global options for author, etc.

So if consistency is the goal you could consider doing the opposite: changing the switches to drop-downs? Then all of the "Display" options would be presented the same way.

(And, again, in 0.42.1 there's a change in terminology: "Display" in the per-post options, but "Show" in the corresponding and newly renamed Layout options.)

P.S. If this kind of feedback isn't useful, please let me know! Sometimes the line between being helpful and being unhelpful isn't very well defined.

[bobmitro]

The post configOptions refers to the options that are only displayed on the post page. The tag/author config Options apply to the list of posts. Where did you find the date switch? Are you using the new Simple 2.6.1.10 version?

PS: Every form of feedback is highly desirable, especially since the perspective of UX creators is often quite different from that of end users. I'm referring to situations where the creator has a perfect understanding of, for example, the available options, and as a result, they may describe them poorly.

[michaellenaghan]

I'm using a highly modified version of Simple 2.6.0. (I branched from 2.5.0 and merged in appropriate changes from 2.6.0. I'll do the same with 2.6.1.)

In 2.6.0 the checkbox that corresponds to my screenshot is defined here.

In 2.6.1 the label changed but it's still a checkbox.

[bobmitro]

In 2.6.1 the label changed, but it's still a checkbox

This is ok for me. These options refer to the post listings, sometimes called cards. These settings are not related to the new tag/author Config Options that apply to author and tag pages and are available when editing tag and author.

[michaellenaghan]

Ah, I think I see now.

I made a mistake.

This comment has two screenshots.

The first is from the Other options in a post. The drop-down has three values, one of which is "Use global configuration."

The second screenshot is from what's called Layout in 2.6.0.

I thought the second screenshot was the source of the global configuration the first screenshot referred to. So I was suggesting that they be labelled and presented the same way. But, no, that wasn't right; the newly introduced options are the source.

Oops.

Sorry about the confusion!

I think this issue can be closed now?