Improve the file picker usability

[kikmedia]

After playing a while with the new file picker in 3.1 I think this is a nightmare from a usability point of view.

Simply, it's not easy to understand why the file picker lightbox does't integrate the full file manager.

First case: User wants to add a picture to a gallery. After clicking 'change selection', file picker opens, and the user selects one or more images. Fine, despite the fact, that the 'apply' label should be named 'apply selection'.

Second case: A user wants to add some pics to his gallery again. After clicking 'change selection', file picker opens, but this time the user misses some of his pics. So he clicks 'open the file manager', clicks 'upload', selects some pics, presses the upload button. Then, afterwards, he klicks on 'apply'. Ooops. Bad move. No chance on selecting files. Next step: see first case.

Third case: Our user is quite clever and wants to add even more pics. And he remembers the nasty 'apply' button. So, this time, he clicks 'change selection' again, clicks 'open the file manager', does some uploads ( click, click, click ) and ... wait ... there must be ... ah, well, that dirty little thing on top right must be ... wait ... alright, it's 'go back'. Fine. Click. Ooops. Really oooops, the next 'go back' is again on the top of the panel, this time on the left side. Click - and finally the picker appears again. Now our cute user is able to click again and select his uploaded file. 'Apply' is another click ...

Did you count the clicks? Fine. Nine clicks for an image. That really rocks.

Enhancement: simply provide the same layout as in standard file manager layout - standard ability to select a file but with the upload, create folder and-so-on-buttons on the topmost of the lightbox. Don't swipe the picker out and the manager in. Don't move buttons. Name them properly.

I'm quite sure that this will be a great enhancement and boost productivity at once. Would be a great move. And thanks a lot.

[leofeyer]

First of all: did you test this with the latest develop branch? The back button behavior in the modal dialog has been modified since RC1.

Second of all: did you also count the clicks it takes to run the three use cases under Contao 3.0 (or even 2.11)?

[kikmedia]

Yes, of course, latest develop release, checked out last sunday (and again a few minutes ago) - even after that, there are two go back buttons on the file manager (topmost, one to the left and the other one to the right hand). And yes, I've counted, and even if I take the fast lane by clicking 'upload and go back', I'm still counting eight clicks in test case number three.

Leo, I'm aware that this is an improvement to former versions, but it's a light year away from being implemeted well. In C2, nobody complained because they even didn't find the upload button for ages. But now, I'm quite shure that everybody will complain now.

Sorry to ask you for a change a week before beta release, but I have to tell you about usability issues anyway (and it's still better I do than lots of folks at the forums).

[leofeyer]

Here's what I think we should do:

1. The link back to the file picker should be named "back to the file picker" (and the link back to the page picker "back to the page picker").
2. We should try to either disable the apply button or make it trigger a JavaScript alert when the user is on the "wrong" page. However, I am not yet sure which solution is the best.

Despite those two issues, I think the feature is a worthy usability improvement. I have counted the clicks myself today and cannot share your nightmare feelings at all :)

[adressler]

I think it would really help a lot, if the uploaded files were selected in the picker afterwards. The most annoying thing is to find the files again in the picker.

[rburch]

Not sure this is the same thing or not plus I'm in 3.0.6 so maybe it's already implemented, but it would be great if I could just upload files directly in the file picker. For example, if I click change selection, but haven't uploaded my file yet, I could just do it in the popup, select it and be done. I know my clients would love it. It would feel like less steps for them. They would have to go back to the file manager when they realized they need to upload the file, then go back to there element and add it. Does that make sense?

[nrunde]

The best way (imo) would be to open the file manager directly and implement the selection radios into the managers interface. Nice to have would be a automated selection after uploading an item, I think with the new DBAFS this would be possible.

[kikmedia]

Buttons on bottom: should be renamend in 'abort' (and still 'apply'), since 'close' doesn't simply closes the box but aborts the entire operation.

Name on the very top: in my opinion, it should be renamed to something like 'Files' or 'File widget' (since operations could provide two functionalities if we change this to a smoother integration).

I'm fine with checkboxes (for a gallery) oder radio buttons (for a single file, which means images and documents both) when box is opened to select some files. Since this is the first action, which is named within the content element with the term 'change selection', this one should be rightmost.

There could be the rename, delete, move icons beneath (left of check-/radiobox), so one will have a quick access to this functions.

Not shure if we need all the file manager buttons on top for this box, but if we provide all of them (including sync), they should leave some kind of status feedback, i.e. to be grayed out in clipboard mode.

After clicking 'add file' or 'add folder' all functions which are not available now should provide a status information also, i.e. they should be grayed out.

I will provide more screenshots later, okay?

[leofeyer]

Made some improvements in 83cd58f49a459f0c37aff9dc502b4e7e64cde3b5. Merging the file manager and the picker is an option for the next major release only (Contao 4).