User Interface Feedback
Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:13 pm
Not really a feature request per se, but I do have some feedback on the user interface for BTP. First, though, I want to say that the more I use BTP, the more I like it-- it's a great program and I like it a lot. This feedback is only meant to help improve an already great program. If these seem nit-picky, I apologize.
Now, the feedback on the UI. I do a lot of my work on a PowerBook with a 1024x768 screen, and some of the UI elements make working with BTP a little difficult. Other UI elements could be improved to make them more usable in general, regardless of screen size.
1. The database browser at the top of the window is nice when creating recipes, but once that's done, it's just wasted space and can prevent me from seeing all of the recipe ingredients at once, even when it is reduced to the smallest allowable size. A way to hide this section would be nice.
2. The search box (on the right side) is too far away from the database list section (on the left side). Moving those two elements closer together would make searching sections of the database a bit easier and faster.
3. The area next to the pint glass for color estimation is wasted space. Why not move some elements into this area to make more vertical room for other sections, like the ingredients section?
4. When browsing the ingredients databases, I can't double-click on an item to view the full information about it unless I add it to my ingredients list and double-click it from there. I should be able to see the full information from the database browser.
5. Clicking on a "Boil" or "Quantity" value on an ingredient to edit it feels a little awkward because the font becomes smaller and is justified to the top right corner of the editing box. Making the editing of these values feel more seamless with how it is displayed would be nice.
6. The Notes tab is too small! It is difficult to scroll through lengthy notes in such a small section. Not only would it be nice to have a larger viewable area, but what about providing date-based notes so I can easily browse through them?
7. The recipes database concept is confusing. I have all of my recipes in a folder already-- why do I need to import them into the program in order to browse them? I tried importing recipes, but I ended up with duplicates, and renaming some of them didn't go well. I'm sorry this is vague, but I only tried this a few times and gave up. I'm willing to believe that maybe these problems are my fault and that I didn't work with it enough to really understand it.
8. A shortcut key (or better yet a separate menu) for the calculators window would be nice! I use this feature constantly-- faster access would be good.
9. A graphical date picker for the "Date" field would be nice.
10. When tabbing among number fields that affect values in other fields (e.g. adding a mash schedule step) the math gets a little screwy in that rounding errors (I assume) change previously input values.
11. The "Display" drop-down menu could be simpler-- I don't necessarily need to see my ingredients broken down by type.
-Steve
Now, the feedback on the UI. I do a lot of my work on a PowerBook with a 1024x768 screen, and some of the UI elements make working with BTP a little difficult. Other UI elements could be improved to make them more usable in general, regardless of screen size.
1. The database browser at the top of the window is nice when creating recipes, but once that's done, it's just wasted space and can prevent me from seeing all of the recipe ingredients at once, even when it is reduced to the smallest allowable size. A way to hide this section would be nice.
2. The search box (on the right side) is too far away from the database list section (on the left side). Moving those two elements closer together would make searching sections of the database a bit easier and faster.
3. The area next to the pint glass for color estimation is wasted space. Why not move some elements into this area to make more vertical room for other sections, like the ingredients section?
4. When browsing the ingredients databases, I can't double-click on an item to view the full information about it unless I add it to my ingredients list and double-click it from there. I should be able to see the full information from the database browser.
5. Clicking on a "Boil" or "Quantity" value on an ingredient to edit it feels a little awkward because the font becomes smaller and is justified to the top right corner of the editing box. Making the editing of these values feel more seamless with how it is displayed would be nice.
6. The Notes tab is too small! It is difficult to scroll through lengthy notes in such a small section. Not only would it be nice to have a larger viewable area, but what about providing date-based notes so I can easily browse through them?
7. The recipes database concept is confusing. I have all of my recipes in a folder already-- why do I need to import them into the program in order to browse them? I tried importing recipes, but I ended up with duplicates, and renaming some of them didn't go well. I'm sorry this is vague, but I only tried this a few times and gave up. I'm willing to believe that maybe these problems are my fault and that I didn't work with it enough to really understand it.
8. A shortcut key (or better yet a separate menu) for the calculators window would be nice! I use this feature constantly-- faster access would be good.
9. A graphical date picker for the "Date" field would be nice.
10. When tabbing among number fields that affect values in other fields (e.g. adding a mash schedule step) the math gets a little screwy in that rounding errors (I assume) change previously input values.
11. The "Display" drop-down menu could be simpler-- I don't necessarily need to see my ingredients broken down by type.
-Steve