Quote:
Originally Posted by emolina
If the comics are already in a drop-box then how do they get put into another drop box that's not visible at this level?
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Here's a possible solution:
Once again, assume an iBooks-like layout. Icons in a grid, some of which are issues (full cover) and others are "long boxes" (cover w/ an overlay). I'll also assume that the library is only two levels deep: no nested long-boxes.
How to move "out" of a long-box?
When a user taps the box, to open it, it doesn't fill the screen entirely. The user can see the rest of their library around it but it is slightly dimmed, and is inactive. Tapping outside the border closes the box, but won't activate the icons in the library.
Edit, tap an issue (or more than one) to activate it, then begin to drag. When they do so, the "rest" of the library un-dims, becoming as bright as usual. This is a subtle visual cue: if you can see it, you can drag icons there.
The user drags towards the border, towards the "rest" of the library. When their finger crosses the border, the long box closes and the user sees their whole library.
The can lift their finger, and the issues join the library as a whole, or they can continue to drag towards another icon (to put it in another box or to create a box).
How would the user stumble across the functionality? The visual cues (dimming and un-dimming) are hints, subtle signs that the interface is working the way you'd assume: if you can see it, you can drag to it.
When the long-box is open, the library is dimmed: the user is "in" the box and even though they can see the library, it is "off": they can't click on one of those icons without closing the long-box.
But, when you click edit and begin to drag, the library lights up. It is "on", and the use can drag an issue towards it. Then the long box closes automatically (like spring-loaded folders on the Mac) and the user can drop the files or drag them to another place.
This method uses direct manipulation, it acts in a way a user can expect and experiment to discover, and it includes cues to help them do so.
Perfect? No. Could use fleshing out? Probably.
And only usability testing would show if it's workable. But it isn't a terrible idea.