Release Panorama


Like the new UI, seems much more snappy and response, a big drawback of the old one.


Though there are a few things I don't like (which probably are not final, but I thought I mention them anyway):


I don't like the layout of the new detail overlay, there is too much space wasted. I like how you reserve much space for the app description, but as you can see it's not used at all in most cases. Details such as size, version, author, etc. on the other hand are printed very small. I suggest putting those details in a bigger font in a box at the top left and the description below that (scrollable maybe to allow display of longer texts).


The right hand side could also display the details, but I would just suggest maybe putting the download size above the install button (to also separate it from PXML data).


Additionally I would like to see an option to switch between the overlay menu and the old integrated detail menu, which does not interrupt browsing as much and still displays all data.


Last but not least please remove the "three character" limitation on the search, there is no benefit from it - sure putting only one char there will not limit the list at all in most cases (although consider searching for X or Z, which might already be useful in some cases), but there is also no harm to that and also consider one might want to search for an app called "Qt".


Anyway, thanks a lot for the continued work on this :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I don't like the layout of the new detail overlay, there is too much space wasted. I like how you reserve much space for the app description, but as you can see it's not used at all in most cases. Details such as size, version, author, etc. on the other hand are printed very small. I suggest putting those details in a bigger font in a box at the top left and the description below that (scrollable maybe to allow display of longer texts).


The right hand side could also display the details, but I would just suggest maybe putting the download size above the install button (to also separate it from PXML data).
Good ideas all around. I haven't spent too much time on the detail dialog yet, but I'll keep this in mind when I get around to polishing it.

Additionally I would like to see an option to switch between the overlay menu and the old integrated detail menu, which does not interrupt browsing as much and still displays all data.
The old detail menu was one of the reasons MilkyTest was slow to scroll. When scrolling the list Qt generates the package elements on the fly, and the more complex they are the more resource intensive the scrolling is. I do have some tricks up my sleeve that could help here, but basically the delegates (elemnt created for each package) should be as simple as possible to keep the performance up.

Last but not least please remove the "three character" limitation on the search, there is no benefit from it - sure putting only one char there will not limit the list at all in most cases (although consider searching for X or Z, which might already be useful in some cases), but there is also no harm to that and also consider one might want to search for an app called "Qt".
This too was a performance decision. Searching for a single character in all packages returns most of the packages, which results in a noticeable delay before the second character even appears in the text box. Building the filtered model is kinda resource expensive from such a big data set. Maybe if I make the limit configurable?
 
how about be able to manually search for one or two characters, but not automatically display anything until the third?
 
Could you thread the input and kill the previous filter command if another character has been entered? or perhaps put a timed delay on filter processing while there are less than 3 characters?


- Neelix
 
Practically speaking I'd say no. The structure Qt has for its "ModelView" system would make threading parts of it kinda hard. Not impossible, but hard.
 
how about checking the input field periodically within the filtering cycle and breaking it if more input has been received?


- Neelix
 
^ The UI and the filtering happen in the same thread, so the input field is not changed until the filtering is finished.


I was thinking about a delay. So when the first or second letter is punched in, a (for example) three second delay is started with some kind of indicator. When that delay ends the search is initiated. Each new keypress resets the delay. Searches after three letters are instant. This would make it possible to both do one or two letter searches and not wait for the premature results when searching for something more specific.
 
Maybe if only one letter is entered the visible list just jumps to stuff beginning with that letter? Only after two letters are entered a search is done?
 
Whoooaaaa!


Totally awesome!


I want this in the OS! Seriously! :) :D


Looks like we might do a HotFix 7 while DJWillis is working on .next just to have a nice launcher included :)
 
I love panorama though I think we need some polish to the look of the ui (silky smooth that it is)


maybe someone could do some illustrations of how it could look and then b-zar could try to visualise the image :)
 
Yes, I'm not an artist nor a UI designer. That is why I asked for help earlier :) . Some nice background image behind the icons would already make wonders. I can make it changeable from the settings, too.
 
well at the moment mi a big fan of the "metro" design microsoft is using, maybe that mixed with psp xmb interface would be quite nice?
 
This is some profoundly awesome stuff, and really represents what I'd want from a Pandora launcher. I'm not a fan of mini menu at all, but this looks like it'll rock its socks off. Tight integration between launching and installing can only be a good thing. It really makes sense in the Pandora ecosystem.


I'd love a Hotfix 7 with this in!


I have to second Foxblock's suggestions and add one of my own: reduce the number of icons on any page of the launcher, and add a little space between them. They're a little cramped at the moment, and would do well to have their titles a little more separated from the icon too.


I can't fault the design. It's clean, simple and effective. I wouldn't muddy it with pretty graphics, although some method of choosing themes would be worthwhile for people who want to make things fugly.
 
Well, themes would be great, as a lot of users could contribute them.


Those themes could also include font size, icon size, icon spacing, etc. which would also take care of Gadgetoids suggestions :)
 
I have to second Foxblock's suggestions and add one of my own: reduce the number of icons on any page of the launcher, and add a little space between them. They're a little cramped at the moment, and would do well to have their titles a little more separated from the icon too.
Both the number of icons per row and space between them are configurable by preference. Haven't added a nice setting yet, but it's at least changeable from the qml files with little effort (no recompiling or anything). The icon sizes scale automatically to the nearest multiple of 16px.


EDIT: to be more precise, you'd currently edit these two lines. rowSize is icons per row, spacing is space in pixels between elements.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Both the number of icons per row and space between them are configurable by preference. Haven't added a nice setting yet, but it's at least changeable from the qml files with little effort (no recompiling or anything). The icon sizes scale automatically to the nearest multiple of 16px.

Great :) Only thing I've seen about sizing: It doesn't seem to keep the aspect ratio right now :)
 
Back
Top