[GNC] Tabs Behaviors in GNC4.1

D. sunfish62 at yahoo.com
Wed Sep 16 17:49:55 EDT 2020


Geert,

I stopped contributing in any way to the project at the beginning of 2019, in large part because of problems with the workflow, culture, and environment that GnuCash operates within. So, I can definitely relate to your feeling like you want to step back. 

Given that my observations regarding GnuCash features, use, and behavior are of no interest or importance to the developers, I'll just stop making attempts to share those observations, and instead be grateful to have the use of Gnucash (warts and all).

David T. 


-------- Original Message --------
From: Geert Janssens <geert.gnucash at kobaltwit.be>
Sent: Wed Sep 16 15:26:22 EDT 2020
To: "D." <sunfish62 at yahoo.com>
Cc: Gnucash Users <gnucash-user at gnucash.org>, Stan Brown <the_stan_brown at fastmail.fm>, David Carlson <david.carlson.417 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [GNC] Tabs Behaviors in GNC4.1

Op woensdag 16 september 2020 14:46:58 CEST schreef D.:
> Thanks for pointing this bug out.
> 
> It's too bad that the suggestion in the bug to discuss this change on the
> lists was not apparently taken up. The devs would then have at least heard
> from some other users about their use cases and preferences, and users
> would have had a heads up about the change. Instead, a change gets pushed
> out based on one person's request, mainly because it involves "three lines
> of code." I'll set aside the wisdom of making changes to software based
> primarily on the complexity of the fix, or on a single user and the
> opinions of three devs...
> 
> While it might seem overkill to discuss something as seemingly minor as this
> change, I think *any* change in the user interface should be discussed
> more, rather than less.

David,

Yes, more discussion up front is useful. However if you want more discussion to happen (or more 
precisely if *you* want to be get involved more in such discussions) I suggest you actively 
choose to become more involved proactively rather than waiting until a finished release is 
presented to you. That doesn't mean you have to write or review code, but you can subscribe to 
the channels where the devs generally communicate to get an early idea of what lives there.

Some topics will be brought to the users, others not so much. And by the way, I don't think 
gnucash-user is the proper channel for this kind of discussion. I believe it should be held on 
gnucash-devel.

> 
> Now, we get to have that discussion.
> 
> At the risk of repeating myself, let me re-present. In my usage of Gnucash,
> I keep a core set of tabs always open. These tabs represent my primary
> active accounts: my checking account, savings account, credit card account,
> and a cash account.
> 
> I leave them open because they are involved in the vast majority of my
> transactions, and it is easier to click on one of the tabs than to go to
> the CoA, locate the account, and open it. I like to have them at the top of
> the list at all times because I can quickly locate them there. I know where
> they are.
> 
> With the latest change, I no longer can rely on this. My core tabs move
> down. If I open one of my more obscure accounts to look at things, it
> pushes its way in at the top. If I've opened several of them, they are all
> at the top, and when I am done with those tabs, I have to carefully close
> tabs, rather than close all tabs below a certain point on the screen.
> 
While I see what you mean with closing, I perceive this as a minor behavioural change. As all the 
new tabs will be on top, it should not be too hard to close them one by one by starting with the 
first one. You don't have to move your mouse for that. I can imagine you have to be a little bit 
more careful to stop clicking in time to avoid closing your first "always-open" tab. However if 
you have many always-open tabs that problem also exists when new tabs open at the end.

> None of this is particularly catastrophic, but it does affect me and my
> workflow every time I open or close an account, so I would prefer to have
> the option of restoring the old tab behavior.
> 
See my other replies here and on the bug. I don't think an option is a good solution.

> The idea of pinned tabs is interesting, although it doesn't remove the need
> for the preference. If I jump to a new account tab from a pinned one, will
> the new tab go at the end of the list, or bury itself in the middle of my
> pinned tabs? I think the user would still want the option of where the new
> tabs open.

That problem is not solved by adding an option.

> 
> I'll give a clear and unambiguous preference: I want to be able to choose
> this behavior with a preference setting. Put this setting on the same page
> as the tab location setting, and have it read:
> 
> Open new tabs: □ At the bottom of the tab list □ After the current tab
> 

Understood. My clear and unambiguous design standpoint is that an option is not the solution. 
It's a band-aid at best. I don't have a ready-made answer but I know this isn't it.

Geert



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