A small enhancement request for CC

HarryT · 07-07-2014, 03:24 PM

Let me start off by saying that I'm hugely impressed by CC; I'm running it on both my eInk Onyx T68 Lynx, and my Nexus 7, with a library of just under 4000 books on each, and it performs flawlessly. It's made having a large library on a tablet really feasible for the first time, in my view. The best £1.99 I've ever spent on my eBook library!

Could I make a suggestion for a small enhancement which would really make the program a lot easier to use on eInk devices such as the T68? Could you add the option of paging through a list of books, rather than scrolling through them? The scroll interface works great on an LCD screen, but it doesn't work at all well on eInk, due to the slow refresh speed. You can't see the screen at all while it's scrolling, and it's anyone's guess where it's going to end up

. Having, as an option, the ability to page through a list with "<" and ">" buttons at the bottom of the screen would make it so much easier to use on eInk devices.

I hope you'll consider this request for future development, but even if you don't, CC is a wonderful tool.

Thanks for considering this request,

Purple Lady · 07-07-2014, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Let me start off by saying that I'm hugely impressed by CC; I'm running it on both my eInk Onyx T68 Lynx, and my Nexus 7, with a library of just under 4000 books on each, and it performs flawlessly. It's made having a large library on a tablet really feasible for the first time, in my view. The best £1.99 I've ever spent on my eBook library!

Could I make a suggestion for a small enhancement which would really make the program a lot easier to use on eInk devices such as the T68? Could you add the option of paging through a list of books, rather than scrolling through them? The scroll interface works great on an LCD screen, but it doesn't work at all well on eInk, due to the slow refresh speed. You can't see the screen at all while it's scrolling, and it's anyone's guess where it's going to end up

. Having, as an option, the ability to page through a list with "<" and ">" buttons at the bottom of the screen would make it so much easier to use on eInk devices.

I hope you'll consider this request for future development, but even if you don't, CC is a wonderful tool.

Thanks for considering this request,

+1

+10!

chaley · 07-07-2014, 05:22 PM

You are getting into one of the areas that worries me a lot. Android development guidelines push hard toward gestures that smooth-scroll the display. There will be lots of places where this interface breaks e-ink. For example, I imagine that in addition to vertical scrolling the cover and list views, the gestures that open and close the grouping drawer are also problematic. The same thing will happen when scrolling book details, in the content server, and even in the settings display.

I might be able to make a fling/scroll in the book list views page instead of scroll, but that will leave all the other problems unresolved. The issue is made more difficult because I can't test it, not having an e-ink device.

Thought is needed ...

Purple Lady · 07-07-2014, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chaley

You are getting into one of the areas that worries me a lot. Android development guidelines push hard toward gestures that smooth-scroll the display. There will be lots of places where this interface breaks e-ink. For example, I imagine that in addition to vertical scrolling the cover and list views, the gestures that open and close the grouping drawer are also problematic. The same thing will happen when scrolling book details, in the content server, and even in the settings display.

I might be able to make a fling/scroll in the book list views page instead of scroll, but that will leave all the other problems unresolved. The issue is made more difficult because I can't test it, not having an e-ink device.

Thought is needed ...

For me the menus, opening and closing grouping drawer, and book details are not important. They are limited in size so you won't get lost. And the distortion is expected on an eink device. It's only a problem on a long list of books because it's hard to see where you are at while it's scrolling and it's easy to miss what you are looking for.

Thinking is good.

HarryT · 07-08-2014, 01:23 AM

Agreed. Grouping gestures work absolutely fine. The problem is really only in the main book list.

chaley · 07-08-2014, 05:40 AM

What about something like this? If OK, then which direction does tapping a button go? If they are like scroll bars then the upper button would cause the screen to show the page above the first (highest) element. If they are like page buttons then the upper button would show the page below the last (lowest) element. My intuition is to make them work like scroll bars.

HarryT · 07-08-2014, 05:42 AM

That looks great to me. It would seem sensible to me that the upper button would do a "page back", and the lower button a "page forward". As you say, like scroll bars. If you could make them nice and large (like they are in your picture) that would be good - the touch screen on the T68 is not the most precise I've ever encountered...

Purple Lady · 07-08-2014, 10:36 AM

Works great! Thank you!!

jackie_w · 07-08-2014, 05:29 PM

Would light-grey/white arrows be visible on a 16-grey eink device? or maybe I'm taking your quick mock-up too literally?

Purple Lady · 07-08-2014, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackie_w

Would light-grey/white arrows be visible on a 16-grey eink device? or maybe I'm taking your quick mock-up too literally?

White arrows would not be visible unless they had a grey background behind it which it kind of looks like he did. The light blue links in book details weren't even visible until an option to use dark blue was added.

chaley · 07-09-2014, 12:03 PM

I used the white-on-grey icons to avoid having the buttons stand out too much and to use transparency so that the text/covers on the screen would slide under them.

I am not wedded to this choice. For example, I could use the same green up/down icons that are currently used in the folder settings dialog. I have no idea what shade of grey they would become, but those of you with the T68 can tell me.

BTW: this is the sort of thing I am truly bad at (user interface & color choices), so comments are welcome.

HarryT · 07-09-2014, 12:06 PM

They way they are at the moment in the test version you kindly sent us looks (and works) absolutely fine on the T68. Given that nobody who's not using an eInk device is likely to want this option (scrolling works so much better on an LCD screen) I'd leave well alone.

Purple Lady · 07-09-2014, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

They way they are at the moment in the test version you kindly sent us looks (and works) absolutely fine on the T68. Given that nobody who's not using an eInk device is likely to want this option (scrolling works so much better on an LCD screen) I'd leave well alone.

I agree.

07-07-2014, 03:24 PM	#1
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	A small enhancement request for CC Let me start off by saying that I'm hugely impressed by CC; I'm running it on both my eInk Onyx T68 Lynx, and my Nexus 7, with a library of just under 4000 books on each, and it performs flawlessly. It's made having a large library on a tablet really feasible for the first time, in my view. The best £1.99 I've ever spent on my eBook library! Could I make a suggestion for a small enhancement which would really make the program a lot easier to use on eInk devices such as the T68? Could you add the option of paging through a list of books, rather than scrolling through them? The scroll interface works great on an LCD screen, but it doesn't work at all well on eInk, due to the slow refresh speed. You can't see the screen at all while it's scrolling, and it's anyone's guess where it's going to end up . Having, as an option, the ability to page through a list with "<" and ">" buttons at the bottom of the screen would make it so much easier to use on eInk devices. I hope you'll consider this request for future development, but even if you don't, CC is a wonderful tool. Thanks for considering this request,

07-08-2014, 05:40 AM	#6
chaley Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,742 Karma: 6997045 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Notts, England Device: Kobo Libra 2	What about something like this? If OK, then which direction does tapping a button go? If they are like scroll bars then the upper button would cause the screen to show the page above the first (highest) element. If they are like page buttons then the upper button would show the page below the last (lowest) element. My intuition is to make them work like scroll bars. Attached Thumbnails

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07-07-2014, 05:22 PM	#3
chaley Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,742 Karma: 6997045 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Notts, England Device: Kobo Libra 2	You are getting into one of the areas that worries me a lot. Android development guidelines push hard toward gestures that smooth-scroll the display. There will be lots of places where this interface breaks e-ink. For example, I imagine that in addition to vertical scrolling the cover and list views, the gestures that open and close the grouping drawer are also problematic. The same thing will happen when scrolling book details, in the content server, and even in the settings display. I might be able to make a fling/scroll in the book list views page instead of scroll, but that will leave all the other problems unresolved. The issue is made more difficult because I can't test it, not having an e-ink device. Thought is needed ...

07-08-2014, 01:23 AM	#5
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Agreed. Grouping gestures work absolutely fine. The problem is really only in the main book list.

07-08-2014, 05:42 AM	#7
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	That looks great to me. It would seem sensible to me that the upper button would do a "page back", and the lower button a "page forward". As you say, like scroll bars. If you could make them nice and large (like they are in your picture) that would be good - the touch screen on the T68 is not the most precise I've ever encountered...

07-08-2014, 10:36 AM	#8
Purple Lady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,698 Karma: 16542228 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Pennsylvania Device: Huawei MediaPad M5, LG V30, Boyue T80S, Nexus 7 LTE, K3 3G, Fire HD8	Works great! Thank you!!

07-08-2014, 05:29 PM	#9
jackie_w Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,212 Karma: 16534894 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Device: Kobo: KA1, ClaraHD, Forma, Libra2, Clara2E. PocketBook: TouchHD3	Would light-grey/white arrows be visible on a 16-grey eink device? or maybe I'm taking your quick mock-up too literally?

07-09-2014, 12:03 PM	#11
chaley Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,742 Karma: 6997045 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Notts, England Device: Kobo Libra 2	I used the white-on-grey icons to avoid having the buttons stand out too much and to use transparency so that the text/covers on the screen would slide under them. I am not wedded to this choice. For example, I could use the same green up/down icons that are currently used in the folder settings dialog. I have no idea what shade of grey they would become, but those of you with the T68 can tell me. BTW: this is the sort of thing I am truly bad at (user interface & color choices), so comments are welcome.

07-09-2014, 12:06 PM	#12
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	They way they are at the moment in the test version you kindly sent us looks (and works) absolutely fine on the T68. Given that nobody who's not using an eInk device is likely to want this option (scrolling works so much better on an LCD screen) I'd leave well alone.