#1 Usability suggestions

[freesoftgui]

Hi,

Some weeks ago I posted some suggestions in the "open discussion forum", at:

http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?thread_id=1817991&forum_id=726460

But probably the suggestions are posted here, in the "Feature Requests" tracker, so I copy them here (sorry for the duplication).

___________________________________________________________

Great open source application, good work!

I'd like to contribute to the proyect by giving some usability suggestions, to make the aplication easier to use.

The application has 3 levels of navegation:

1. list of feeds
2. list of articles (of a feed)
3. text (of an article)

The tipical navigation will consist of:

- select one feed
- select one article
- read the article
- select other article
- read the article
- select other article
- read the article
...
- select other feed
- select one article
- read the article
- select other article
- read the article
- select other article
- read the article
...

Perhaps, sometimes the user will select to open the article on the mobile browser, but this will be unfrecuent. The usual navigation will onsist nearly-exclusively of the 3 commented levels of navigation (feeds, articles and texts).

So, we should make that navigation as easy as possible, by minimizing the number of key pressings. Currently, when we are in the level 2 (list of articles) or in the level 3 (text of an article), we have to press several keys to go to the previous level:

- Options key
- Down arrow key
- Ok key

So 3 key-pressings are needed to change to the previous level. I think that only 1 key-pressing should be required.

From the point of view of usability, probably the most intuitive solution is to use arrow keys:

- Use right/left arrow keys to enter next/previous level of navigation.
- Use up/down keys the to do the same thing they do used now (to highlight other element in the list, or to scroll the text).

There are two special cases, that can be solved easily:

- If we press the left arrow key in the first level (list of feeds), there is no previous level. But, there is no previous level only in the aplication. In the mind of the user, the previous level is the screen previous to launching the aplication. So the action can be to quit the application.

- If we press the right arrow key in the last level (text of an article), there is no next level. But, again, there is no next level only in the aplication. In the mind of the user, the next level is the screen of the mobile browser, showing the article page. To avoid to unvoluntary open the mobile browser, I would make before a question to the user, "Open in the browser?" or similar. The question could also be configurable at settings.

Ah, I forgot old phones (that only have up/down arrow keys, and don't have right/left arrow keys). That phones usually only have 2 function keys: left function key (normally used to open an option menu) and right function key (normally used for Ok/accept). Well, for those phones (and for new ones too) I would use:

- The right function key would have the same efect than the right arrow key. It's the actual behabiour.

- An element of the option menu (opened by the left function key) would have the same efect than the left arrow key. It's the actual behabiour too. But, instead of being the second item on the option menu, I would place it as the first item, to avoid one key pressing (the down arrow key) to select the item.

- As an improvement of the last point (an option menu element (the first element) to go to the previous level), we could make the left function key to act as the ok (the right function key) when the option menu is open. In this way, we would only need to make a double-click (well, double-press) on the left function key, in order to change to the previous level. Double-pressing one key is faster (and easier) than pressing one key and then other key.

Well, that's all ;). I think that those suggestions (specially, the right/left arrow keys suggestion) will increase greatly the usability of RSSReader.

One final point. A tinny explanation could be added to the web page, on how to "copy" (yes, that is the word for the common user) RSSReader to the phone. For example:

HOW TO COPY RSSREADER TO THE PHONE

To copy RSSReader to the phone, you will need some communication
method between your computer and your phone to be working (cable,
bluetooth, or infrared), and copy the midp20_RSSReader.jar file
(that is into the <zip file> (link)) from the
computer to the phone. If you have an old phone (that uses MIDP
1.0), copy midp10_RSSReader.jar. The detailed steps are different
from one phone to other, so please read the manual of your phone
and the help of your communication program.

Alternatively, you can use your phone browser to download
RSSReader directly from this web. Just enter this url:

http://mobilerssreader.sourceforge.net/midp20_RSSReader.jar

If your phone is old, use this url:

http://mobilerssreader.sourceforge.net/midp10_RSSReader.jar

In that way, the installation of the application will be more clear and easy for potential users.

Hope all this will help. Thanks for your work!

[Nobody/Anonymous]

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Thanks for the suggestions. I have a release (1.11) which uses standard keys for navigation. It is better than the version that you were using in that for supported phones, the back key is the right nav. button. I'm still working on allowing other keys.

[Ving Jr]

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user_id=1868543
Originator: NO

I have made changes to documentation on installation/copying. The release 1.12 will have change to allow using keyboard to go back when on description and other text description fields on item form.