Should xplorer² be more user friendly?

[profess]

Hi All,

First off just to say X2 is a wonderful product which I've been using for over 7 years...

At times it's a little fiddly to get it to behave the way you want. There are loads of options which have to be performed in a 'special sequence' and require 'inside knowledge' in order to get right.

What bugs you about x2 that you'd like to see put right or corrected? For instance toolbar settings could be shared throughout the various layouts, User Command dialog could be an all-in-one solution to add, edit, change icon etc, without having to go back into edit, likewise adding bookmarks and assigning hotkeys could be an all-in-one process, rather than when adding bookmarks that it's separate to edit etc.

Would you like to see these irks and annoyances ironed out?

[IneedHelp]

What I'd like to see is a ToDo list and an InProgress list presented in a sticky thread managed by Nikos. The ToDo list should increase as users file requests and report bugs while the InProgress list tells us what will be implemented/fixed in the next update.

Knowing what and when, that would be user-friendly. Without that, pools like this will just fade away without leaving anything behind.

[profess]

i hear you, but competitors will copy features...

[IneedHelp]

As if that wouldn't work the other way around :D

Me, myself and I flooded the xplorer² Professional forum with feature suggestions inspired by existing XYplorer features.

[Brig]

I don't agree with the poll choices. More user friendliness would be a good thing, I guess, in the abstract. But I've got x2 set up the way I like it, I don't change it very often. When I do change or add something it's to address some pressing need, and by checking the manual or the forum I can usually figure out how to get what I need. Just like most folks here. The whole experience is fairly user friendly already. (What a cheerleader I am.)

That said, if Nikos wants to make things even easier on us, so be it.

[Robert2]

Xplorer² is ranked among the top 5 “free replacements for Windows Explorer” at http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-a ... -container

[WimdeLange]

User friendly? What does that mean in this context? Easily said, but if you don't define it, it does mean anyhting. I work already a very long time with products like xplorer2, dating back to Norton Commander in the DOS, centuries ago.

I like the concept. It is already user friendly.

What I liked is the suggestion about the current state and planning of the product. But that is something that Nikos should like too. It is his product, we can assist him in saying what we likes. But in the end, he decides what he wants to do, in what order and in the way he chooses.

[Tuxman]

The "fix bugs" vote rocks. As if nikos would not already do that.

Among all feature-rich file managers, x² is probably one of the easiest ones. How could it be more user-friendly without losing functionality?

[profess]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.  And those who haven't - you know who you are...

User friendliness - is with regards to users having to find intricate ways of getting settings to 'stick' and for x2 to behave how you want it to.  Also having to go into several options dialog boxes, like in the Customise menu throughout.

I guess I did also merge user friendliness with updating some dialog boxes though, which was incorrect maybe.

Tuxman - kinda obvious Nikos would fix bugs as a priority, but the question was to give priority to updating the x2 gui and dialogs regardless of anything else, therefore completion would be faster, or to stop for new requests for the app.

Overall I was seeing if I was the only one

Thanks again everyone,

Osei

[Tuxman]

User friendliness - is with regards to users having to find intricate ways of getting settings to 'stick' and for x2 to behave how you want it to.

Isn't this already how it is?

[WimdeLange]

User friendliness - is with regards to users having to find intricate ways of getting settings to 'stick' and for x2 to behave how you want it to.

Isn't this already how it is?

I totally agree.

[mikecox]

I love X2 but I only use a fraction of it's power because much of its functions are lost in the maze of optons; it's just very complicated and difficult to wrap my mind around, and some of the features are difficult to understand.  I read a lot of the tips but I often don't even understand what the tip is talking about.  Someone in IT might, but I don't.  Maybe a glossary of terms would be a good idea.

I am impressed by the manual, which is very well done, and the ToDo list; but that doesn't seem to have a search item, and I usually give up looking for answers there; the list is just too long.  But if I find what I'm looking for the tutorials are great.

But making a utility like this "user friendly", or intuitive, would be a real challenge.  But if achieved I would accomplish much more with it.

I am currently trying to get my columns to sort incrementally. I've tried clicking the headers and selecting "save settings now" but they don't hold.  My columns are back to sorting Z-A; again!  Seems like there should be a simple preference option to set the sort order in one place so it sticks.

[RightPaddock]

Poor question - conflates user interface with functional enhancements with defect correction, so I'll only comment on the UI matter.

What one regards as "friendly", another will regard as "hostile".  

And for me at least - what I regard as friendly today, I might regard as an abomination tomorrow when something better comes along.  Keyne's riposte when accused of changing his mind was - "when circumstances change, I change my mind - what do you do sir?"

Today I'd prefer a customizable ribbon & a customizable context menu, until something better comes along

I voted for the one in the middle, it seemed the least muddled at the time.

[Thracx]

Where's the "fix bugs or add new features" only vote option?!?  Democracy and me never seem to mix well, I always get left out :/