UI Improvements

[ddhsoftwareadmin]

Hi,

Wondering if there is anything specific you have thought looks really bad in HanDBase from a UI or design perspective? On occasion I receive complaints from users asking for a new design. While I can't afford that, I can try to improve some things if I knew just what irked people about it the most! I'll start the list with a few things I really want to address from my own perspective:

1. The Filter enabled switch is not vertically aligned.
2. I never have found or designed a checkbox that I like the looks of- on iOS the concept of a checkbox is kind of foreign to begin with, so I'm kind of on my own with it. In the reminders app they use a simple open circle or a circle with a dot for checked. Wouldn't really call that a checkbox field but at least it has symmetry going for it- the Checkbox is inherently not symmetrical when the checkbox goes outside the bounds of the box, and looks kind of silly when it's squished within it. Any ideas?
3. There are a few segment controls that are very hard to read with the blue color I'm using for the tint color in the app these days. I plan on addressing by making these black and see how that looks.

Anything else? Would love your input and please don't be offended if I can't/don't change it- design is a very subjective thing and a lot of the changes I've made in the past came upon some sharp remand from users who liked it the way it was before- so I have to tread very carefully here!

Thanks in advance!

[glenwf]

My biggest frustration is deleting a database file in the list of Databases.

On my iPod Touch 5 there just isn't enough room to hit the right spot to get the list with "Delete" in it to appear. I know on larger screens this isn't a problem, but the small screen requires me to try for the sweet spot sometimes 10 or 15 times before I get that menu for the database I want it for. The majority of my tries go into the database itself, or the menu for another database which I sometimes say ok for and realize I've deleted the wrong database.

Don't know where an alternate solution would be, because the database probably has to be closed to delete it unless there is a delete switch that could be in the database "General Database Settings" that could be selected so when exiting the database it would take effect.

Thanks, and good luck.

[ArGiEs]

My biggest frustration is deleting a database file in the list of Databases.

On my iPod Touch 5 there just isn't enough room to hit the right spot to get the list with "Delete" in it to appear. I know on larger screens this isn't a problem, but the small screen requires me to try for the sweet spot sometimes 10 or 15 times before I get that menu for the database I want it for. The majority of my tries go into the database itself, or the menu for another database which I sometimes say ok for and realize I've deleted the wrong database.

Don't know where an alternate solution would be, because the database probably has to be closed to delete it unless there is a delete switch that could be in the database "General Database Settings" that could be selected so when exiting the database it would take effect.

Thanks, and good luck.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ArGiEs]

Hi,

Wondering if there is anything specific you have thought looks really bad in HanDBase from a UI or design perspective? On occasion I receive complaints from users asking for a new design. While I can't afford that, I can try to improve some things if I knew just what irked people about it the most! I'll start the list with a few things I really want to address from my own perspective:

1. The Filter enabled switch is not vertically aligned.
2. I never have found or designed a checkbox that I like the looks of- on iOS the concept of a checkbox is kind of foreign to begin with, so I'm kind of on my own with it. In the reminders app they use a simple open circle or a circle with a dot for checked. Wouldn't really call that a checkbox field but at least it has symmetry going for it- the Checkbox is inherently not symmetrical when the checkbox goes outside the bounds of the box, and looks kind of silly when it's squished within it. Any ideas?
3. There are a few segment controls that are very hard to read with the blue color I'm using for the tint color in the app these days. I plan on addressing by making these black and see how that looks.

Anything else? Would love your input and please don't be offended if I can't/don't change it- design is a very subjective thing and a lot of the changes I've made in the past came upon some sharp remand from users who liked it the way it was before- so I have to tread very carefully here!

Thanks in advance!

Actually, the last update polished things up rather nicely. You've posted a couple of things I concur with - e. g. the blue text issue. One thing that I find difficult ( but rarely use) is, in the list view, using the slider that determines the percentage of the display of the fields. It's very difficult to fine adjust the width; you're trying to nudge it one, two, or three percentages and as soon as you lift your finger it changes. As far as the check boxes go I'm food with what's in place now, but if you find a better system, go for it. There is one thing I mentioned before, but I think you said it was too major of an undertaking: increase the character capacity of the note field. I store a lot of data in those fields, and periodically I have to cut and paste data out of them into a separate special database to store the overflow ( that originally was your idea for a workaround). That's all I can think of off hand.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[glenwf]

I would agree with Bob ..."in the list view, using the slider that determines the percentage of the display of the fields. It's very difficult to fine adjust the width; you're trying to nudge it one, two, or three percentages and as soon as you lift your finger it changes."

There needs to be a properties box where the column size can be adjusted by a number in addition to the slider which is very useful for getting it into the rough size and experiment quickly, and for that it is very useful.

Thanks

[mcalex]

I have to agree that the slider for field percentages does not work. Small adjustments are essentially impossible. Why not just let the user make a change to the field showing the result of moving the slider?

[glenwf]

I ran into something today I mentioned Nov. 19, 2016 under the title "display bug" which was verified by others. That wasn't mentioned in your list I believe. The attachment mentioned below I attached here and is also attached to the Nov 19, 2016 message in this forum.

This has been bothering me for a long time, but now it is driving me crazy and wasting a lot of time as I work up a new database.

The display screen on my iPod Touch 5 displays correctly in vertical and horizontal orientation until I enter "Database Properties" while in vertical mode (narrow section at top). When I return to the list view, it is fine, but if I want to look at more fields and switch to horizontal mode (long side at top) something funny happens. The long search window is on top and a second narrower window is below that overlaying and obscuring the title row of 1/2 the screen.

If that doesn't make sense, see the attached screen shot. Does this happen to anybody else????

The only way to get red of the duplicate search bar is to exit the database, then open it again and all is good until I go into "Database Properties" and the but happens again.

[ddhsoftwareadmin]

My biggest frustration is deleting a database file in the list of Databases.

On my iPod Touch 5 there just isn't enough room to hit the right spot to get the list with "Delete" in it to appear. I know on larger screens this isn't a problem, but the small screen requires me to try for the sweet spot sometimes 10 or 15 times before I get that menu for the database I want it for. The majority of my tries go into the database itself, or the menu for another database which I sometimes say ok for and realize I've deleted the wrong database.

Thanks Glen for this- are you talking about the ellipsis buttons (...) that are shown to the right? You are unable to press them because they are too small? If so, that seems like something I could address. I have been debating whether to swap out the ... for a + or action button (box with arrow through it) since I never really cared for the way the ... looked. I'll see what I can do!

[ddhsoftwareadmin]

Actually, the last update polished things up rather nicely. You've posted a couple of things I concur with - e. g. the blue text issue. One thing that I find difficult ( but rarely use) is, in the list view, using the slider that determines the percentage of the display of the fields. It's very difficult to fine adjust the width; you're trying to nudge it one, two, or three percentages and as soon as you lift your finger it changes. As far as the check boxes go I'm food with what's in place now, but if you find a better system, go for it. There is one thing I mentioned before, but I think you said it was too major of an undertaking: increase the character capacity of the note field. I store a lot of data in those fields, and periodically I have to cut and paste data out of them into a separate special database to store the overflow ( that originally was your idea for a workaround). That's all I can think of off hand.

Thanks Bob! I agree about the slider- it's never been precise enough and can be very frustrating. I will add this to my list- there is a UISlider drop in replacement that allows finer tuned control if you pull your finger down lower on the screen and it should work great to solve this issue!!

[ddhsoftwareadmin]

I ran into something today I mentioned Nov. 19, 2016 under the title "display bug" which was verified by others. That wasn't mentioned in your list I believe. The attachment mentioned below I attached here and is also attached to the Nov 19, 2016 message in this forum.

This has been bothering me for a long time, but now it is driving me crazy and wasting a lot of time as I work up a new database.

The display screen on my iPod Touch 5 displays correctly in vertical and horizontal orientation until I enter "Database Properties" while in vertical mode (narrow section at top). When I return to the list view, it is fine, but if I want to look at more fields and switch to horizontal mode (long side at top) something funny happens. The long search window is on top and a second narrower window is below that overlaying and obscuring the title row of 1/2 the screen.

If that doesn't make sense, see the attached screen shot. Does this happen to anybody else????

The only way to get red of the duplicate search bar is to exit the database, then open it again and all is good until I go into "Database Properties" and the but happens again.

Hi Glen, thanks for reminding me about that one- will fix that too!