[Suggestion] Flags Icon Alignment

[NodusCursorius]

Problem: Currently, the Flag icons provides meaningful information at a glance but use inconsistent alignment. The requirement of such streamlined communications is visual efficiency and consistency.

 

Example: Image of Existing methodology, involving a game of Frogger.

 

Proposed Solution: Image of Proposed methodology, likened to a well-maintained Zen garden.

 

Alignment would help maintain readability in an otherwise jarring visual experience, something that increases frustration levels in direct relation to the increase of mods using Flag icons. Conflictual could be assigned align-left and Note assigned with align-right.

[Tannin]

Right now a mod may have up to 5 different flags at a time and there is a good chance this number will increase in future versions.

If I were to align the flags this way I would have to reserve a lot of space for the flags in a section of the screen that suffers information overkill and where screen space is valuable.

[NodusCursorius]

Right now a mod may have up to 5 different flags at a time and there is a good chance this number will increase in future versions.

If I were to align the flags this way I would have to reserve a lot of space for the flags in a section of the screen that suffers information overkill and where screen space is valuable.

I respectfully disagree. While re-sizable columns are useful from a "options for everything" standpoint, I feel it is detrimental for a number of of reasons. Naturally, feel free to say "**** off" at any point in time. You are the gatekeeper.

 

1. https://i.imgur.com/l9kFMIN.png - Width is not currently lacking in real estate, even with a reduced width resolution of 1565 there is nearly 400 pixels of whitespace (or nearly a third of the screen). This is while allowing triple-digit Priority columns, full-date Version columns, uncut Category titles, a currently trimmed Flags column, and a more than double the width of titles in the Mod Name column. The default UI, even if we reduced it by 200 pixels, would have ample room for smaller resolutions while still retaining all of the information.

 

2. There is a great deal of whitespace in each row that could be used to streamline viewable information. Instead of an icon indicating that a mod is out of date, you could recolour the row with a faint orange background. Since endorsement flags aren't checked until updates are queried it seems like consolidation could exist as a solution there, as well. A few pseudo-programming steps could consolidate the proposed spacing solution for the 'Redundant' and 'Conflict' flag:

compareFiles(modA, modB)
IF overwrittenFiles >= 1 THEN
    IF overwrittenFiles == modAFileCount THEN
        display(redundantIcon)
    END
    display(conflictIcon)
END

 

3. Static solutions are used to streamlined pieces of information, which is why we have columns in the first place. Quickly separating Priority from Version from Category is quite possibly a highly appreciated feature. I feel there's inconsistency in having a column that contains multiple pieces of information that are inconsistent in location. The Version column already helps to encourage this visual consistency by providing the installation date if an actual version does not exist. You have brought flexibility and consistency to a community flogged by the horrors of conflicting information, and while this may not be an easy solution I do feel it is the right one.

 

 

Side-Note: Please, allow me this moment to thank you personally for your hard work and dedication against the flood of bug reports, hateful comments, alongside the ever present Compiling Monster that I'm sure has haunted a few of your dreams. Mod Organizer has made my life so much easier for structure, organization, and bug testing that I could never pound words into lines to match the admiration and respect I have for you.

 

::EDIT by rootsrat ::

Apologies for editing your post, but I didn't want to clutter the discussion. If we've had a reputation system, I would immediately give you 5 points for your polite way of discussing the matter. That's an excellent example of polite and constructive criticism! +5!

[Tannin]

- Well, the screenshot you posted is 1565px wide, that's about twice the default window size of MO. And you have streched the left pane a lot compared to the right, which forces the right pane to truncate filenames. This does render your first point a bit moot. MO is not designed as a widescreen fullscreen application, it's designed as a window application that leaves a bit of screen estate on a 1024x768 screen.

- Coloring is not sufficient, some of the MO users are color blind and have specifically asked for icons instead of (or at least in addition to) coloring for highlighting.

 

Please don't mistake me, I'm not dismissing the proposal per se, I just don't know yet how without breaking other design decisions I made earlier.