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#169 2006-10-30 22:13:28
Re: Admin Facelift. Take 3
Nice Ace! For the menu, I would try something like this or maybe use a <dl>. Also, you could change <input type="submit" ...> to <button>Publish</button>. Same function, just you won’t need to apply a class to it, and you’d style it as button {}.
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#170 2006-10-31 13:49:52
- Ace of Dubs
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- Registered: 2006-04-17
- Posts: 446
Re: Admin Facelift. Take 3
Will do jm, thanks for the feedback and link..
DLs just might be the move for navigation
More to come…
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#171 2006-11-01 16:01:55
- Ace of Dubs
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- Registered: 2006-04-17
- Posts: 446
Re: Admin Facelift. Take 3
Doin some more comps before I dip back to the code.
The first one is inspired by Jakob’s great work I think its pretty sleek, and uses all the proper TXP colors. However I was worried that it might be deviating too much from the current corporate branding (mostly white with touches of yellow) so I mocked up the second one.
Looking forward to your feedback as I tweak more code,
Ace
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#172 2006-11-01 16:46:22
Re: Admin Facelift. Take 3
The white looks a little bare without the tabs having any color imo. What if the first one looked more tabby ?
A couple minor things.
- I miss the tabbed look for text,html,preview. I really liked what you had on the last one for them.
- I find the little arrows in Prev and Next help me quickly register which direction they are going in, I kind of miss them.
Shoving is the answer – pusher robot
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#173 2006-11-01 16:53:04
- Ace of Dubs
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- Registered: 2006-04-17
- Posts: 446
Re: Admin Facelift. Take 3
Cheers Hak
I’m gonna go ahead and put together a live version tonite
Last edited by Ace of Dubs (2006-11-01 16:53:19)
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#174 2006-11-01 17:40:54
Re: Admin Facelift. Take 3
After seeing the direction things are heading, which I’m really excited about, I wanted to put forward a couple ideas. Here it goes:
- Group the article navigation items together. Currently items like “New Article,” “Previous / Next,” and “Recent Articles” are scattered all over the page. I think it makes good sense to group these items together since they are have a common thread: the navigation of articles. In my mock up I placed this group of items along the left of the writing area.
- Move the “Advanced Options” from the left side to the right side. It seems to have all of the options for the article placed on the same side.
- Textile help stays on the left side but is placed below the article navigation group.
- I grouped the Organization Options (Section and Category) together. These options both affect how the article is organized within the site’s structure and should be grouped with one another.
- I seperated Comment Options and Timestamp Options to give them distinct spaces within the main options area.
- Next to the Publish button are the article status options as it should be the last thing an author sets.
- I also moved the “Add image” and “Add file” links beneath the body area. I’m unsure exactly how they function so it may not make sense to place them here. However, it seems like a logical place to have them rather than with the Options group on the right.
- Finally, and this is a small thing, the site name is where you click to view the site.
I really believe that it makes good sense from a usability perspective to group the article navigation items together. It also makes sense to have all of the article options grouped together. All items that concern the actual content should be grouped together as well.
Beneath is a poor excuse for a wireframe that reflects the things I mentioned above. It’s just a wireframe, not a suggestion on colors.
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#175 2006-11-01 18:37:09
- Ace of Dubs
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- Registered: 2006-04-17
- Posts: 446
Re: Admin Facelift. Take 3
Excellent suggestions jdykast! You hit the nail on the head with your rough outline and addressed several issues that were subconsciously buggin me for a while. The end result is a much cleaner and intuitive UI.
The only caveat I can think of is that advanced options may get a little crowded with custom fields so I propose we give them their own place to live..
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#176 2006-11-01 19:26:48
- hazel
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- From: Glastonbury, UK
- Registered: 2006-09-22
- Posts: 36
Re: Admin Facelift. Take 3
Custom fields really need to come into the main writing area.
Write, right?
Digging the retro colour scheme btw Ace ;)
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#177 2006-11-01 19:31:17
Re: Admin Facelift. Take 3
There are some interesting concepts around here at the moment.
Three things I would like to see additionally:
- A more visible article image (maybe with a preview thumb).
- (Unlimited) custom field that could be placed either in the sidebar or under the body and excerpt. I know this depends on the programming but it should be included in a layout, too.
- A new order of body and excerpt. I think it is more logical to have the excerpt first (like in newspapers: the teaser always come first :)
Nils
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#178 2006-11-01 20:56:04
Re: Admin Facelift. Take 3
A more visible article image (maybe with a preview thumb).
About the “Add image” link – does it bring up a means of adding a photo within the article or does it assign an image to the article? I see those as two different purposes that may not be served by the same interface. The reason I ask is because when I saw the “Add image” link I assumed it was for putting the appropriate code into the article. On the other hand it seems like Nils sees it as a way to assign an image to the article.
A new order of body and excerpt. I think it is more logical to have the excerpt first (like in newspapers: the teaser always come first :)
I agree that putting the excerpt before the body makes sense. In my wireframe I left it below the body because it had always been there.
(Unlimited) custom field that could be placed either in the sidebar or under the body and excerpt. I know this depends on the programming but it should be included in a layout, too.
The custom fields present an interesting delima. I imagine that some use them as ways of supplimenting their article, which would group them relationally with the writing area. Others may be using them as metadata of sorts, giving them a relationship with the article options.
Oh, I think it makes sense to drop the “Edit” links next to the section and categories. They take you away from the writing interface and then any article data you had entered is lost (assuming you don’t save its current state before clicking).
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#179 2006-11-01 21:17:27
Re: Admin Facelift. Take 3
The one issue I have with switching excerpt and body is that abstracts and teasers are rarely written before the actual article.
Shoving is the answer – pusher robot
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#180 2006-11-03 17:00:07
Re: Admin Facelift. Take 3
Ok, here’s another mock up of the write area. Have at it.
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