UX and UI of Isadora

Juriaan

Hi there guys,

I was wondering or we could talk a bit about UX and UI of Isadora and or the community has wishes regarding this subject.

Create a new post if you wish to suggest a new feature regarding UX / UI :)

@Mark @DusX We would love to see some screenshots of the new Interface :)

Juriaan

Wish : The ability to name our JavaScript inputs / outputs

As a Isadora user that uses a lot of JavaScript I would love a option to name my inputs / outputs so that I know where they stand for if I open the patch a few days later.

Juriaan

Wish : Better help dialog for User actors

Max MSP for example has a beautiful way to show how there actors work with a lot of examples that can be accessed by hovering over it and clicking a menu item.

I would love to have this for Isadora :)

+ the option to make our own HELP files for custom actors (Would be really nice for if we wish to share the actor on the forum / give the actor to a client)

Juriaan

Wish : A way to color our lines

It would be really nice if we had a palette of colors, so that we can color our lines. That way we always know what each line is doing :)

Woland

I'm going to jump in here and say that I wish that naming a Control in the Control Panel caused that name to pop up either below or above the Control. I keep using Comment Controls, but it would be so much more efficient if the names were "locked" to the Control itself.

bonemap

Hi,

Is it just me or is there a specific skill to entering parameters?

So many times I enter an integer or float hit enter on the keyboard and a seemingly random number variation appears instead of the number I have attempted to enter. At times it takes 3 or 4 attempts to get a parameters callibration to stick. What is that? Is it supposed to be the Tab key instead of the Enter key? What about the Return key? Have I got the ergonomics all wrong for changing parameters and calibration settings in Isadora?

Are my fingers too big, too slow, too fast? Why can’t a changed parameter just change? For example, why would a parameter change to 7.5 if I enter 20?

But then again perhaps it is just me fumbling around the keyboard.

Best wishes

Bonemap

Michel

@bonemap

I never have seen that. Is it with specific actors or totally random from your point of view?
By the way after changing or setting a parameter you can hit either enter or tab, both should work fine.

Best Michel

DusX

@bonemap

Is this perhaps happening on inputs that have some scaling set? I don't think I have ever encountered this behaviour but could imagine that a number may change if it is being scaled.

bonemap

@dusx, @Michel

Thanks for your responses. If it is not a common I will try to capture the issue next time it occurs. I am not working on a patch at the moment.

best wishes,

bonemap

mark

@Juriaan

All of the wishes you make above will come true.

I will also add that I don't plan a major overhaul of the user interface, but instead am focusing on usability. For example, I interviewed several designers in Berlin, and their top two (very strong) wishes were: 1) timecode inputs the movie players, and 2) when you delete a video effect, that the link between the actors to the left and the right is automatically restored. Apparently, when in rehearsal, the video going dark briefly when they delete the actor causes directors to "freak out." Also, if you have an output that has links to many destinations, you'll be able to tear off the entire bundle of links and connect them to a different output.

There are some other items on the list, but if you have usability issues like the ones above, list them here.

(We're investigating getting all of the icons redesigned, but I am not sure if we'll have enough budget to pay a graphic designer to redo all 220+ icons, as that's not going to be cheap. Let's see.)

Finally, @bonemap, I too have never seen the behavior you describe. Please let us know if you can find a recreate and we'll fix the problem.

Best Wishes,
Mark

Juriaan

Thanks Mark ! I will be posting more wishes / things that have to do with UX.

Juriaan

Wish : Multiscreen support for all Interface elements

Izzy 2.6.1 is a pain at windows when you are working with multiple screens. If you drag an interface element (Like the OSC listener or the coding dialog) across the screen it becomes blank, causing confusion to the end-user.

Juriaan

Wish : Controls

More options to style our control elements.

Examples

For example, the edit text control element can not be colored (background color).
The number element can not be colored.(Background + Text color)
The dial element can not be resized, there are only 4 options that you can choose from

Juriaan

Wish : Controls

If you link an control element to a Input, it should automatically copy over the scaling of the input for you. So let's say I have a Number Control element, and I wish to attach it to a value input of Actor 'X'. I set my scaling to 0 (min) and 300 (max). I link the elements together. Now I have to manually change my control element scaling.

What I would like to see is that the control element that is linked, will import the scaling parameters and use those instead.

dbini

Wish: addition of 1280x800 to the default resolutions of the mapper.

Fix: odd behaviour when selecting an item in the media bin. after importing media, i often try to drag the new item into a different position in the bin, or to drag it down to the scene bar to make a new scene that plays it. but when i click on it and move, it often tries to select multiple items. would it be possible to implement a shift-click system for selecting multiple media items?

mark_m

@mark said:

1) timecode inputs the movie players

Thank you Mark, that's great. Can I also redraw your attention to this connected feature request?
https://community.troikatronix...

Thanks!

Mark

Juriaan

Wish : When you have Stream Control open, you are still allowed to click in your main patch window.

Use-case : I'm a Isadora user that uses the program to control live show control elements to each other. Most of this communication is done using OSC, since they create feedback I have to init my Trigger in my main patch window. Sadly this isn't allowed by Isadora, since you can't control any other elements when the OSC Stream Setup window is open :(

Juriaan

Wish : Color picker Window HEX input

Currently settings colors and creating Interface elements is a bit of a pain. It would be lovely if the Color picker also accepted HEX input.

mark

@Juriaan:

I have to clarify this, as I just read the list again.

All of the wishes you make above will come true.

I don't think we'll be able to do the max style help for User Actors, where there are examples, etc. Mostly this has to do with creating those examples -- that's something I don't feel we'll be able to get done in time. But hopefully the other points you mention will all be there.

Best Wishes,
Mark