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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 64
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 64 |
Without the old 'Index' button/link is the only way back to the top forum list through the 'Forum List' link at the top? (or am I missing something?)
I liked using 'Index' to move up from a thread view and up from a forum view, it used the same muscle memory.
Thanks, Lee
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newbie
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newbie
Joined: Jun 2006
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look at the bottom left of the thread
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 64
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 64 |
look at the bottom left of the thread I see that it's still there when viewing a thread, but not when looking at a list of messages in a forum. I just noticed the same thing when viewing a private message, there isn't any navigation out except for the top links. Lee
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 9,242 Likes: 1
Former Developer
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Former Developer
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 9,242 Likes: 1 |
There's been a suggestin of placing some kind of "top" link at the bottom of each page. Not exactly sure on the best placement for this if it should be in the footer somewhere next to Contact us and the homepage link or what.
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 16,301 Likes: 116
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 16,301 Likes: 116 |
Rick, I like the idea of the "Top" link, perhaps put it next to "Index" or even in the posts themselves (After email post perhaps?)
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 9,242 Likes: 1
Former Developer
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Former Developer
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 9,242 Likes: 1 |
Well, it kinda extends not just to the posting pages. This could be after reading the FAQ, looking at the calendar with alot of events for the day, the user list, etc. Anywhere you have to scroll down should have a "Top" link, and it should be consistent throughout.
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 16,301 Likes: 116
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 16,301 Likes: 116 |
Hummmmmmmmmmmm, didn't ake that into account, wow, that does leave some interesting drawbacks... Is there room to the left of "Contact Us" for "Top of Page"?
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,837
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,837 |
When we say a 'top link' - do you mean a link going to the home forum page or a link to the top of the page? If it is a link to the top of the page, then it would be nice to have a small 'top' arrow bottom left of every post.
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 16,301 Likes: 116
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 16,301 Likes: 116 |
Yes we're talking of "return to top of page"; an image would be "ok" but not sure where it'd really fit..
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 64
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 64 |
There's been a suggestin of placing some kind of "top" link at the bottom of each page. Not exactly sure on the best placement for this if it should be in the footer somewhere next to Contact us and the homepage link or what. I've been waiting to see if I'd get used to the inconsistency but it hasn't happened yet. I use the 'Index' link to move up but then have to move up to the breadcrumbs at the top (and remember to select one back to get up another level). I'm *really* used to having a consistent "up" button in UBB6.5. Regards, Lee
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 64
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 64 |
Still not happy with the navigation change. Before (in 6.x) I had consistent navigation with the Index link from both messages level on forum level. Now I have the Index link when reading messages, but then have to switch the the bread crumbs at the top to switch forums. It bugs me every time I read a v7 board. I'm not opposed to change...but I *really* miss consistency in navigation.
Frustratedly yours, Lee
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,837
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,837 |
Am I missing something here? Rick has added a 'Top' link on every post - you can click on this to scroll quicky to the top, whereby you can either click on the breadcrumbs or you can click on 'Forum List' to get back to the index page. Apologies if I mis-understand
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 16,301 Likes: 116
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 16,301 Likes: 116 |
Don't worry Ian, i was thinking the exact same thing...
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 64
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 64 |
It's not impossible...but it's not consistent and clicking to get to the top of the page so I can click another button that requires me to mouse up to the top menu....this is progress? Can you honestly say that you prefer it this way?
I can honestly say it bothers me every time I visit a version 7 board -- I didn't bother mentioning it at all for awhile thinking I'd get used to it. It was a logical flow in previous versions...it used your muscle memory effectively.
Lee
Edit: Using forum list won't work for subforums as it'll pop you all the way up to the top.
Last edited by lcantey; 07/25/2006 11:52 PM.
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 64
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 64 |
So I rolled it out to my first tester. First comments over AIM: imported forums are bugged alright 10:57 can't see the threads 10:57 just original post 10:57 forum navigation sucks First complaint was about not seeing imported posts in threaded mode. It is only showing the first post. The second was about moving between forums. I happen to agree completely as mentioned before but I hadn't discussed it with him previously. Regards, Lee PS. As an aside, his registration date on the boards is 6/10/99
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Joined: Jun 2006
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Old Hand
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Old Hand
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 956 |
First complaint was about not seeing imported posts in threaded mode. It is only showing the first post. Look at this. I report this importer bug. The second was about moving between forums. I happen to agree completely as mentioned before but I hadn't discussed it with him previously. Known problem. Threads moving is not simple. Lets see what B4 brings. and always remind: this is BETA, no complains, just error reports
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Joined: Jun 2006
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,837 |
I thought Beta meant it was Gold
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 64
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 64 |
and always remind: this is BETA, no complains, just error reports I figured there wasn't much time left and I originally brought it up three weeks ago to little response. I just found it interesting that another longtime threads user had the exact same impression on that usability issue. In any case I'd really like to see a change for better usability in this area since I think it's a regression but I've brought it up and we'll see what happens. Thanks, Lee
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Joined: Aug 2006
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member
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member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 111 |
A complaint we received was that the index link was only at the bottom and not at both the top and bottom like before.
Fred
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 9,242 Likes: 1
Former Developer
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Former Developer
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 9,242 Likes: 1 |
The main problem with this is where do we stick more navigation buttons/links?
In earlier versions, if you were in the middle of a thread and decided you didn't want to be there and wanted to go back to the forum index, you'd need to scroll down to the top or bottom of the page and click the Index link. In this version you can click "top" and then use the breadcrumbs link to go to wherever you need to go. If you're in a subforum you can get to the subforum postlist, or you can go to the parent forum postlist or you can go back to the main forum summary page all from one area. If you're at the bottom of the page, you've got the Index link to return to the forum list or the Hop to box to jump to any forum.
So, as far as I know there is only one major difference in navigation between 7 and 6 which is the missing "index" link at the top. If we were to put one there I see 2 problems. One I don't really know where it would go without it looking out of place and two it seems like it's rather redundant with the breadcrumbs right above where it would be.
Maybe I'm missing something and not looking at it the same way. Definitely open to suggestions, alot of things have changed with this version. Using the breadcrumbs for navigation is a change, but offers the most flexibiltiy in navigation, especially with subforums in place.
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 64
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 64 |
The thing I notice is that I read to the end of a thread, I select the Index link and then decide to move up a level to the forum list. There used to be an Index button there to move up also. Instead I have to switch mental modes (and screen location) and switch to using the bread crumbs. It's the loss in consistency and the unnecessary context switch that wasn't there before.
Thanks, Lee
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 111
member
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member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 111 |
One thing missing is the next topic, previous topic links. Clicking on the bread crumbs kind of gives you the same thing and is what I pointed out to the staff, but is somewhat of a change.
As another poster said, I also think you should have an index page inside the forum list of topics.
One idea or a suggestion is to put the links at the top between where the page numbers are and the topic title, similar to where they were before. If you are worried about space and it not looking right an option would be to just post the buttons and not the words. This would give them the same functionality with out taking up a lot of room.
You might also consider putting a bread crumb bar at the bottom.
These suggestions wouldn't take up anymore bandwidth or CPU cycles, but would offer up more functionality while not causing confusion or clutter.
Fred
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 111
member
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member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 111 |
One other thing, the up arrow for either index or search results or the left/right arrows for next/previous should be clickable images (at the bottom) along with the words.
Fred
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,837
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,837 |
One thing missing is the next topic, previous topic links. Clicking on the bread crumbs kind of gives you the same thing and is what I pointed out to the staff, but is somewhat of a change. That is at the foot of the thread.
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,837
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,837 |
Isn't the 'Forum List' the same as 'index' - or am I missing something?
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 111
member
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member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 111 |
One thing missing is the next topic, previous topic links. Clicking on the bread crumbs kind of gives you the same thing and is what I pointed out to the staff, but is somewhat of a change. That is at the foot of the thread. Ian, Yes, there is a link at the foot of the thread, but we are not talking about the foot of the thread, we are talking about at the top. This is a change from version 6 and we are discussing the ramifications of those changes. As others have said, even though you can get the same kind of functionality by clicking on the bread crumb link for index, you loose the previous & next topic functionality from the top of the thread. Why would you do this you might ask? Sometimes after reading a reply I will go look at the post it was replied from which means scrolling up. Sometimes this brings me back up to the top or almost to the top. Scrolling up and hitting index, next, second page, etc. is a habit I have come to do. When looking at this from a functionality standpoint and a performance decrease of the system I think leaving this in wins hands down. Basically the code is already there, it just needs to be copied and pasted in the top and there wouldn't be any more calls or queries to the database so you virtually would take a zero hit on performance. Fred
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 111
member
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member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 111 |
Isn't the 'Forum List' the same as 'index' - or am I missing something? No, it isn't the same. Index takes you up one level. If you are reading a thread it will take you to the forum listing of all the threads. If you are in a sub forum it should take you back to the forum above it. If you are in a forum then it takes you back to the category, etc. At least this is how it should work. Clicking on Forum List takes you to the list of all the forums (top level). Fred
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 111
member
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member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 111 |
If you move the lines around a bit you can get the images to also do what the links do. Here is an example for showflat.php in the templates/default folder: <div>
{if $prevlinkstart}
{$prevlinkstart}
<img style="vertical-align: middle" src="{$config.BASE_URL}/images/{$style_array.general}/previous.gif" alt="{$lang.PREV_THREAD}" border="0" {$images.previous} />
{$lang.PREV_THREAD}
{$prevlinkstop}
{/if}
{$currentlinkstart}
<img style="vertical-align: middle" src="{$config.BASE_URL}/images/{$style_array.general}/all.gif" alt="{$alttext}" border="0" {$images.all} />
{$linktext}
{$currentlinkstop}
{if $nextlinkstart}
{$nextlinkstart}
{$lang.NEXT_THREAD}
<img style="vertical-align: middle" src="{$config.BASE_URL}/images/{$style_array.general}/next.gif" alt="{$lang.NEXT_THREAD}" border="0" {$images.next} />
{$nextlinkstop}
{/if}
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 111
member
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member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 111 |
I changed the top to this. It puts the images at the top, but the spaces are still in there, haven't played with it enough to take out the spaces, but you will get an idea of what it looks like. Also, on the above (last post), remove the last and it will remove the space after the image. <span style="float: right">
{$pageprint}
</span>
<span style="float:right;padding:5px">
{if $prevlinkstart}
{$prevlinkstart}
<img style="vertical-align: middle" src="{$config.BASE_URL}/images/{$style_array.general}/previous.gif" alt="{$lang.PREV_THREAD}" border="0" {$images.previous}/>
{$prevlinkstop}
{/if}
{$currentlinkstart}
<img style="vertical-align: middle" src="{$config.BASE_URL}/images/{$style_array.general}/all.gif" alt="{$alttext}" border="0" {$images.all}/>
{$currentlinkstop}
{if $nextlinkstart}
{$nextlinkstart}
<img style="vertical-align: middle" src="{$config.BASE_URL}/images/{$style_array.general}/next.gif" alt="{$lang.NEXT_THREAD}" border="0" {$images.next}/>
{$nextlinkstop}
{/if}
</span>
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Bots
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