[Feature]: Reorganize the Preferences dialog

[kwvanderlinde]

Describe the Problem

I can never find anything in the Preferences dialog without 10 straight minutes of staring at my monitor. Especially for anything in the Interactions or Application tabs - I almost never guess which tab is right, and even if I do there's so much in both of them that it's overwhelming. The other tabs aren't bad though.

The Solution you'd like

For preferences currently in the Interactions and Application tabs, move them into new tabs based on what they affect or relate to. The main goal here is any settings a user would naturally relate to each other should also be located by each other. I expect the Interactions and Applications tabs would no longer need to exist afterward.

I think these are a good set of new tabs to consider:

• Map: for map defaults and rendering.
• Token: for token defaults, behaviours.
• Chat: for any chat-related settings.
• Server: for personal server settings and other server setting if there are any.

Alternatives that you've considered.

None.

Additional Context

As an example, map defaults like New Maps have Fog of War are in the Interactions tab, but it doesn't really relate to an interaction (that is decided by actual map settings). Over in the Application tab we have Hide 'Map not visible to players' Warning - alright that's certainly application behaviour, but why do I have to go somewhere else to modify map behaviours? If I want to change something about maps, I should be able to find a "maps" thingy somewhere and tweak it.

[kwvanderlinde]

For extra credit, it would be nice to have all settings on a common grid with consistent heights for the rows. It's a little jarring trying to scan the dialog when some settings a squished together more than others.

[bubblobill]

I suppose you want every change to be temporary until you hit the Okay button too.

While we're at it, how about adding complete custom key-mapping under a new tab?

[bubblobill]

I personally find preferences a bit of a nightmare.

• Implement a thing,
• Realise other people are weird and might not want it
• Come up with a preference key
• Come up with a really specific preference key because the appropriate alreay exists for something unrelated
• Learn all over again how to put it in AppPreferences with its attendant methods
• Dither about adding it in an alpha sorted position or next to similar preferences
• Open the preferences dialog,
• Try to find the appropriate section,
• Question my self-worth,
• Will it screw up the layout,
• Does it need its own grouped collection,
• Will people using large font sizes discover that they can no longer see the stuff that is off screen,
• Reconsider building the whole dialog again with a goddamned scroll pane
• Get it all ready to go.
• Have some uber-user say that breaks the design philosophy, you can't do that.
• Begin a new dream feature.

What I want to be able to do is have a preference class;

• Implement a thing,
• Realise other people are weird and might not want it
• Come up with a preference key
• Easily change the key that is currently squatting on my key because mine makes more sense
• Create a new Preference
• Required
• Classify the key according to a simple type - bool, int, colour, etc.
• Assign the key to a group - Application, Map, Campaign, Client, UI, blah
• Optional
• Specify a control type if I really have to - spinner, slider, formattedTextField
• Give it a sub-group - New Map Defaults
• Add conditions: reference any other preferences that are enabling pre-requisites, prefX must be true and prefY > 32
• Flag it Advanced or Experimental or Dev-Use or what-have-you as appropriate
• Assign a non-default context: New Server
• Tell the preferences manager it exists
• Have the dialog create all the content programatically from all the preferences it knows about, and
• Make it searchable and provide an optional navigation tree