#555 Tooltips help for new users

[Mark Grimshaw]

WIKINDX can be complicated for the new user so perhaps some tooltips might be of help.

Mouse hovers over menu entry, icon, or local URL (e.g., to browse all this creator's resources)—up pops short tooltip (with the help).

Mark

[Stéphane Aulery]

Now the logout buttons disappears.

[Mark Grimshaw]

Will check.

Mark
Probably sent from my Fairphone...

On Mon, 27 Nov 2023, 22:59 "Stéphane Aulery", lkppo@users.sourceforge.net
wrote:

Now the logout buttons disappears.

Attachments:

• Greenshot-20231127225620.png
  https://sourceforge.net/p/wikindx/v5bugs/_discuss/thread/08c7bae19f/a575/2304/attachment/Greenshot-20231127225620.png
  (115.9 kB; image/png)

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[v5bugs:#555] https://sourceforge.net/p/wikindx/v5bugs/555/ Tooltips
help for new users

Status: wip
Target: Unknown
Found in: Unknow
Created: Mon Jun 05, 2023 08:37 AM UTC by Mark Grimshaw
Last Updated: Mon Nov 27, 2023 08:58 PM UTC
Owner: Mark Grimshaw

WIKINDX can be complicated for the new user so perhaps some tooltips might
be of help.

Mouse hovers over menu entry, icon, or local URL (e.g., to browse all this
creator's resources)—up pops short tooltip (with the help).

Mark

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[Mark Grimshaw]

Completed this job and refactored MENU.php in the process. The result of the latter is that the menu system is a lot easier to adjust and add items to.

Tooltips are not available to plugins but might be at some point in the future.

[Stéphane Aulery]

Hi Mark,

Something is wrong in new menu systme or configuration because the link of some subentries of plugins point to the current page not a chosen page like before.

Regards,

[Mark Grimshaw]

Hi Stéphane,

Which plugin? Can you provide a screenshot?

Mark

[Stéphane Aulery]

For example I display the home, then the first level of the debug plugin display a link to the current page. The href is empty which is a shortcut to the current page in HTML. Some plugins do the same thing. I did not check every link.

[Mark Grimshaw]

It's always done this, and not just plugins. However, it should now be fixed.

Mark

[Stéphane Aulery]

Good idea this "#0". Usually I replace the link with another non-clickable HTML.

[Mark Grimshaw]

I came across it this morning here:
https://weblog.west-wind.com/posts/2019/Jan/21/NonNavigating-Links-for-JavaScript-Handling

A HREF structure is required so that the tootips (e.g., 'title') can be applied even on the top-level items.

[Stéphane Aulery]

"#0" is good because # target an element with an id, but this id cannoit be az number in HTML. I will remember it! Thanks.

[Mark Grimshaw]

I have not yet—but might look today—done tooltips for plugins. If I do it the same way as I've implemented it for the main menu, it requires each plugin menu structure to be redone and the plugin compatibility to be bumped up. There will be a way that avoids this but . . .

. . . the additions to the backupmysql plugin mean that the name no longer fits—backupwikindx would be better. However, I'm aware that changing the name of the plugin files has implications beyond just the plugin. It would probably also require a plugin compatibility increment . . .

. . . so perhaps I should just go ahead and rewrite all plugins to have the same, easier, tooltip-enabled menu structure as the main menu. This would be easier to maintain but would require any plugin writer (who knows if there are any) to rewrite their plugin before it can be used with 6.7.3.

What do you think?

Mark

[Stéphane Aulery]

1. The plugin compatibility have already be bumper for 6.7.3. Continue as you need to.

2. I anticipated this case. Keep component_id and change component_name. This will avoid breaking updates and will be displayed correctly.

No compatibility changes. We change compatibility when the functions/objects that the core exposes and that the plugins are likely to use change. We should have an official list of functions/objects accessible to plugins to know what breaks or does not break compatibility in the modifications. To this day I do it by feeling.

1. I find this idea of adding tooltips to the menu strange. I don't know of any application that does this. The menu is not very complicated but sometimes confusing: hidden basket in the menu, lots of loose items in config. There may be other metaphors to use than the menu to provide access to features.

If you want to finish, don't deprive yourself. I'm absolutely certain that no one writes plugins. Compatibility is broken with each version. No one can keep up with such a pace. And no one ever comes to us for help to fix a plugin in 10 years. For me this is a clear sign that the extensibility is not useful to date or that it is not at an interesting level, or that it is too complicated, or still unclear.

[Mark Grimshaw]

OK. I'll redo the menu structure for plugins and rename the plugin—can I change the folder name?

I rather like the tooltips. Perhaps we will set a trend! Not everyone will know what a basket is or bibutils and I've often had people I've shown WIKINDX to tell me 'it seems complicated to use'—anything that might make it easier should be tried. But, anyway, I did originally suggest the option to disable them for registered users because I can appreciate that not everyone will want them.

[Stéphane Aulery]

OK. I'll redo the menu structure for plugins and rename the plugin—can I change the folder name?

The folder name of what?

I rather like the tooltips. Perhaps we will set a trend!

I'm not opposed to it but I mean that there are definitely ways to exploit the space to display other blocks and make functionality directly accessible.

I'm not opposed to it but I mean that there are definitely ways to exploit the space to display other blocks and make functionality directly accessible. There are also many pages where a simple explanation is missing.

Not everyone will know what a basket is or bibutils

A shopping cart is a very common metaphor in computing. Ok, for bibutils. But should the menu be called bibutils or something else more attractive like "Others formats" with an explenation about the role of bibutils when the page is opened?

and I've often had people I've shown WIKINDX to tell me 'it seems complicated to use'—anything that might make it easier should be tried.

WIKINDX is too focused around the menu system and there are unclear menu entries.

For me it is preferable, in order, to first complete the functionalities that you consider essential, then re-architect the database, then review the design and accessibility of the functionalities, finally the extensibility (plugins, etc...).

But, anyway, I did originally suggest the option to disable them for registered users because I can appreciate that not everyone will want them.

It's not necessary. A tooltip will not display when the user is going fast.

[Mark Grimshaw]

backupmysql is in components/plugins/backupmysql/

can I change it to components/plugins/backupwikindx/
?

[Stéphane Aulery]

component_id field in component.json, the folder and the class name MUST be the same. If you change, change all three.

If you change the name, the consequence will be that the backupmysql plugin will be deactivated on installations that have already installed it.

[Mark Grimshaw]

Would the deactivation be a problem if the plugin compatibility has been incremented anyway? It seems strange to have a plugin called backupmysql when it now does a lot more.

Let's do it like this: I'll change just the component_name and component_description and leave it to you how to handle any other changes as you see fit.

Mark

[Stéphane Aulery]

If you change component_id the username you will have no choice but to uninstall it and install the new backupwikindx.

If you don't change component_id it will be transparent for the user, and the inconvenience will be for us.

[Mark Grimshaw]

Tooltips now enabled for plugins too.