[Feature request/Issue] UI design improvements

[easyaspi314]

FBReader is a great e-reader app, but its UI is a bit confusing. @geometer

These are many potential improvements that would help FBReader's UI, mainly in wording.

Preferences

• Some menu items are confusing to the average user.
  • Subtitles should be used sparingly.
  • Icons should instead be used on the main screen
  • See Writing and Settings on Google's Design guidelines.
• I just want to say that preferences should ideally be in XML files, it is easier in the long run.
• Try to be as straightforward as possible. For example, for margins, use a slider with a visual fake page that updates to the margins as it slides, and you can even have pixels in a smaller description.
• "About" and "Tips" screen should go in the "Help" menu, which will be its own page, with a link to the FBReader website. Here are two mockups of the FBReader main settings page and the fonts page. Dimensions, colors etc aren't perfect, just showing the idea.

  Main screens/Reading

• Quick formatting menu similar to the Kindle app. Quickly change margins, justify, size, font, etc.
• Menu: Formatting will go in this quick format menu, then it should be various menu items before, then Buy premium, Settings, Help & feedback.
• Please choose the drawer or the overflow menu. And if you use the drawer, the background does not go under the items, it goes above them. See the Navigation Drawer for what I mean.
• Simpler terms, more icons, less text. Instead of "file tree", use "Internal storage", and "External storage", with the path as the subtitle. It would be a good idea to check out the interfaces of other E-Reader apps like Play Books, Nook, Kindle, etc. Don't copy them, but instead use it as inspiration.
• Book info annotation has no margins?

  Other small things

• The page transition is jumpy when you don't have your finger on it. Is the book rendered on the main thread, or not rendered by the GPU?
• Most settings (fonts, margins, etc) are not applied automatically.
• Units don't appear to scale to density pixels. (hdpi is 1.5x, xhdpi 2x, etc).

Samsung Galaxy S III SGH-I747M 4.4.2 KitKat official, rooted FBReader free 2.6.10 (2061022)

[geometer]

Thanks, very good request and nice images. We definitely will do this sooner or later. Could you please comment on "small things":

The page transition is jumpy when you don't have your finger on it. Is the book rendered on the main thread, or not rendered by the GPU?

I expect it is slightly better in 2.6.11. Could you please check?

Most settings (fonts, margins, etc) are not applied automatically.

Sorry, what you mean exactly?

Units don't appear to scale to density pixels. (hdpi is 1.5x, xhdpi 2x, etc).

Do you mean font size, margins, etc.? This is a problem: we do not want to change the values in an update for existing users.

[easyaspi314]

Well the latest update fixed the jumpiness. Much smoother! :D

See #397 for more on the settings not applying.

You just divide the value by the screen density on first run. Is there a preference that contains the previous version? On Mar 24, 2016 7:25 PM, "Nikolay Pultsin" notifications@github.com wrote:

Thanks, very good request and nice images. We definitely will do this sooner or later. Could you please comment on "small things":

The page transition is jumpy when you don't have your finger on it. Is the book rendered on the main thread, or not rendered by the GPU? I expect it is slightly better in 2.6.11. Could you please check?

Most settings (fonts, margins, etc) are not applied automatically. Sorry, what you mean exactly?

Units don't appear to scale to density pixels. (hdpi is 1.5x, xhdpi 2x, etc). Do you mean font size, margins, etc.? This is a problem: we do not want to change the values in an update for existing users.

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