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jharker · 10-23-2008, 07:12 PM

Hey, all!

I like Antartica's ideas a lot. I was thinking along similar lines... here's a UI concept I put together based on Antartica's earliest post. I kept some of the elements from that, then I changed some things and added some new things, based on comments in this thread plus my own ideas.

My goals were to make the button functions as simple and intuitive as possible, maintain some consistency with the old UI, minimize the number of touches necessary to perform common tasks, and add room for new functionality (search, bookmarks) without being confusing.

Here's what I ended up with... What do you all think of this?

Key aspects :

Make the programs display in normal mode by default (not full-screen).
Keep toolbar at the bottom but reconfigure it (see below).
Remove the pagebar, but add a "current page/total pages" element to the toolbar.
Reserve the buttons on the left of the iliad for the viewer (not for the system).
Reserve the buttons of news/books/docs/notes to be used as virtual desktops; so they can be used to switch between applications (4 applications open at maximum seems reasonable for the iliad).
Use the "iRex button" as a "system" button that pops up a menu dialog box.

System dialog box :

Popped up / toggled by the iRex button, the system dialog box provides access to system utilities and options:

Information display includes:
- Date & time
- Detailed battery status, including exact charge % and approximate time remaining.
Menu options include:
- Exit/close current document
- iDS connect
- Device Manager

Revised toolbar :

The toolbar has left-side icons and right-side icons. The right-side icons provide higher-level functions and don't change much with context. The left-side icons depend on the application.

To revise the toolbar and make the icon functions clearer, I suggest changing the left-side icons into menu headings.

When a menu icon is clicked, the icon expands to show the buttons in its sub-toolbar. The sub-toolbar is persistent and remains open until it is closed, or until you open a different sub-bar.

Right-side icons

Page number/Total pages
- Touching this element with the stylus pops up the original pagebar to allow jump-navigation.
Enter fullscreen mode
Battery indicator
Close document

Left-side icons

Page
- Close this sub-toolbar
- Portrait/Landscape
- Single/Continuous
- Zoom out to page
- Zoom in
- Last zoom
- Pan
Bookmarks
- Close this sub-toolbar
- Create bookmark
- Remove bookmark
- Next bookmark
- Prev bookmark
Scribble
- Close this sub-toolbar
- Draw
- Erase
- Line size
- Line color
Search
- Close this sub-toolbar
- New search (pops up keyboard/dialog)
- Search direction (toggle fwd/back)
- Next match
- Prev match

Button functions :

Left column, from top to bottom

Back - Exits fullscreen mode. In normal mode exits current document. In menus/ContentLister, go up a level.
Index/Bookmarks - Open navigation popup window with document index listing bookmarks, links, and scribbles/notations within the current document.
Pagebar - Previous/Next page.
Up - Previous bookmark, hyperlink/scribble, or search item. (Context-dependent.) Also used for menu navigation.
Enter - Add/remove bookmark, follow a hyperlink, or start new search. (Context-dependent.) Also used for menu navigation.
Down - Next bookmark, hyperlink/scribble, or search item. (Context-dependent.) Also used for menu navigation.

Bottom row

One idea:
- news - Go to desktop #1. (If no app, open the news folder.)
- books - Go to desktop #2. (If no app, open the books folder.)
- docs - Go to desktop #3. (If no app, open the docs folder.)
- notes - Go to desktop #4. (If no app, open the notes folder.)
Another idea:
- news - Rotate through open newspapers. (If none, open the news folder.)
- books - Rotate through open books. (If none, open the books folder.)
- docs - Rotate through open documents. (If none, open the docs folder.)
- notes - Rotate through open notes. (If none, open the notes folder.)

Upper-right

iRex button - Open the system menu.

Special long-press functions

News/books/docs/notes : Long press brings up the corresponding folder automatically.
Escape : Exit current document.
Pagebar : Skip fwd/back five pages.
Up/Down Arrows: Skip fwd/back five bookmarks, links/scribbles, or search matches.

10-23-2008, 07:12 PM	#14
jharker Developer Posts: 345 Karma: 3473 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Device: iRex iLiad v1, Blackberry Tour, Kindle DX, iPad.	Hey, all! I like Antartica's ideas a lot. I was thinking along similar lines... here's a UI concept I put together based on Antartica's earliest post. I kept some of the elements from that, then I changed some things and added some new things, based on comments in this thread plus my own ideas. My goals were to make the button functions as simple and intuitive as possible, maintain some consistency with the old UI, minimize the number of touches necessary to perform common tasks, and add room for new functionality (search, bookmarks) without being confusing. Here's what I ended up with... What do you all think of this? Key aspects : Make the programs display in normal mode by default (not full-screen). Keep toolbar at the bottom but reconfigure it (see below). Remove the pagebar, but add a "current page/total pages" element to the toolbar. Reserve the buttons on the left of the iliad for the viewer (not for the system). Reserve the buttons of news/books/docs/notes to be used as virtual desktops; so they can be used to switch between applications (4 applications open at maximum seems reasonable for the iliad). Use the "iRex button" as a "system" button that pops up a menu dialog box. System dialog box : Popped up / toggled by the iRex button, the system dialog box provides access to system utilities and options: Information display includes: Date & time Detailed battery status, including exact charge % and approximate time remaining. Menu options include: Exit/close current document iDS connect Device Manager Revised toolbar : The toolbar has left-side icons and right-side icons. The right-side icons provide higher-level functions and don't change much with context. The left-side icons depend on the application. To revise the toolbar and make the icon functions clearer, I suggest changing the left-side icons into menu headings. When a menu icon is clicked, the icon expands to show the buttons in its sub-toolbar. The sub-toolbar is persistent and remains open until it is closed, or until you open a different sub-bar. *Right-side icons* Page number/Total pages Touching this element with the stylus pops up the original pagebar to allow jump-navigation. Enter fullscreen mode Battery indicator Close document *Left-side icons* Page Close this sub-toolbar Portrait/Landscape Single/Continuous Zoom out to page Zoom in Last zoom Pan Bookmarks Close this sub-toolbar Create bookmark Remove bookmark Next bookmark Prev bookmark Scribble Close this sub-toolbar Draw Erase Line size Line color Search Close this sub-toolbar New search (pops up keyboard/dialog) Search direction (toggle fwd/back) Next match Prev match Button functions : *Left column, from top to bottom* Back - Exits fullscreen mode. In normal mode exits current document. In menus/ContentLister, go up a level. Index/Bookmarks - Open navigation popup window with document index listing bookmarks, links, and scribbles/notations within the current document. Pagebar - Previous/Next page. Up - Previous bookmark, hyperlink/scribble, or search item. (Context-dependent.) Also used for menu navigation. Enter - Add/remove bookmark, follow a hyperlink, or start new search. (Context-dependent.) Also used for menu navigation. Down - Next bookmark, hyperlink/scribble, or search item. (Context-dependent.) Also used for menu navigation. *Bottom row* One idea: news - Go to desktop #1. (If no app, open the news folder.) books - Go to desktop #2. (If no app, open the books folder.) docs - Go to desktop #3. (If no app, open the docs folder.) notes - Go to desktop #4. (If no app, open the notes folder.) Another idea: news - Rotate through open newspapers. (If none, open the news folder.) books - Rotate through open books. (If none, open the books folder.) docs - Rotate through open documents. (If none, open the docs folder.) notes - Rotate through open notes. (If none, open the notes folder.) *Upper-right* iRex button - Open the system menu. *Special long-press functions* News/books/docs/notes : Long press brings up the corresponding folder automatically. Escape : Exit current document. Pagebar : Skip fwd/back five pages. Up/Down Arrows: Skip fwd/back five bookmarks, links/scribbles, or search matches. Last edited by jharker; 10-23-2008 at 07:20 PM. Reason: Language edits and rewording.