GUI Navigation, Part 2: New View Placement Options

Posted by Eitan Suez Tue, 12 Dec 2006 16:05:00 GMT

The JMatter "to-do" list has had an item on it that for a while I thought would never get done.

JMatter GUIs are inherently OO UIs. I like to make the analogy to our operating systems' desktops. There are a number of ways to make such UIs more effective.
Sometimes I look to these desktop systems for ideas and features.

One such feature was Apple's "Expose" which has since also been copied by the Beryl project on Linux: the idea of scaling down and fanning out one's windows temporarily for the purpose of easily switching focus to a window that is otherwise hidden by other windows that have a higher z-index. JMatter has such a feature. Pressing the F12 key invokes the JExplose feature which does precisely that (the desktop pane's context menu also bears the option).

Another feature of desktop systems, one that has been around longer, and is specifically related to the file manager, is the idea of giving users options in terms of how to place newly-created views. When navigating a folder hierarchy, one can double click on a folder, which typically opens a new window with the contents of that folder. Long ago, on ms-windows I recall always turning on the option of "re-using the existing window"; that is, replacing the existing view with the new one. This can really help with an otherwise rapid proliferation of windows on one's desktop.

Then, mozilla introduced us to another navigation option: a sort of "middle of the road" option: don't create a new window, but don't replace the existing view either: place the new view in a new, separate tab. So mozilla gave birth to tabbed browsing. I believe tabbed-browsing is not a feature that applies only to the task of navigating web pages; it can be applied more generally, including to applications such as a file manager.

Back to JMatter. I have recently finished implementing a number of related enhancements. The first is extending slightly the model for Users. A User now has a new aggregate property called "Preferences." Its first and only option at the moment captures how a user generally prefers to navigate in JMatter: should new views be created by default:

1. in a new window?
2. in a new tab?
3. in-place, replacing the existing view?

Setting your preference is all it takes to change JMatter's default navigation behavior.

There are many situations where one will want to override the default and, say, want to open a new view in a new tab even though the default is in-place navigation. So a new gesture has been introduced in JMatter. Holding down the Shift key while invoking a command that produces a new view will cause a context menu to popup near your mouse location, allowing you to select how you'd like that particular view created. Choose "in a new tab" and proceed.

In the screenshot below, you see me invoking the "Open" command. I am holding down the Shift key.

In the next screenshot, you see the navigation option pop up. I selected the "in new tab" option.

Next, you see the result of the view created in a new tab.

Finally, this last screenshot shows that, with tabs, you have the option of detaching the view onto its own window or closing the tab (Ctrl+w is the corresponding key binding).

This feature is for all practical purposes complete and checked in to subversion, and will also be included in the next release.

I believe this to be an important feature, finally producing a desktop with a number of effective navigation instruments:

1. Fundamentally an OOUI
2. DnD support
3. An expose-like feature
4. Tabbed, In-Place, or New-window view placement

The last item on the drawing board that in my mind will complete the picture is support for docking views. I have looked at flexdock, which is a terrific effort. But I'm looking for something that is more transparent: effectively a layout manager designed for JDesktopPane that transparently provides docking support. Let me know if you know of or are working on such a thing.