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touchtheSky - running out of space!
This thread lists a discussion about adding 'pin' buttons to lock widgets in place on the desktop. I've added this function to touchtheSky, and it works rather well if I do say so myself.However, this leaves me with a problem - not enough space on the widget toolbar! I have a few options available:
1) Remove the 'About' button from the toolbar, and place it onto a separate page within the Config drawer, much like the Weather Now drawer. Advantages - frees up a space for the pin button, moves a less-used function out of the way. Disadvantages - does About really fit with Config? Are people going to find it again easily?
2) Forget the pin idea - maybe people don't need this after all?
3) Widen the toolbar - taking up more space on the desktop.
Any thoughts or suggestions? I'm reluctant to make a big change without consulting the audience first!
Which strategy would you prefer?
| Option | Results | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move 'About' into 'Config', and add 'Pin' to toolbar |  |
67% | 10 |
| Leave things as they are - no 'Pin' function | |
20% | 3 |
| Make the toolbar longer, fit everything in, including 'Pin' | |
7% | 1 |
| None of the above (please add to thread) | |
7% | 1 |
| Total number of votes: | 15 | ||
I'd probably still set the default page on startup to the About page as it already is, hopefully that might mitigate things.
Originally posted by claudeb:
I haven't used TouchTheSky much, but I vote for not adding that extra button. It's doesn't sound useful enough to be worth the added complexity. Especially as this particular widget is already quite complex. Just my two cents.
Huh? I've never found this widget to be complex--it's always been easy to understand and use for me. And what's the added complexity? One button that toggles one feature. Would that really make such a difference?
Originally posted by Strife767:
Huh? I've never found this widget to be complex--it's always been easy to understand and use for me. And what's the added complexity? One button that toggles one feature. Would that really make such a difference?
Well, there are already a lot of buttons packed into a small space - I'm certainly conscious of not wanting to cover it with buttons. It is something that should really stay as simple to use as possible.
The added complexity is really down to moving a set of features 'further down the chain' - one more click on another button to find it, which might be annoying for some.
Hi spellico, thanks for your comments, here and on the widget page.
There's not a lot of space in mini-mode, and I've had plenty of comments that the time info isn't always accurate, so I'm hesitant to make the time more prominent. Have you tried this widget at all?
There's not a lot of space in mini-mode, and I've had plenty of comments that the time info isn't always accurate, so I'm hesitant to make the time more prominent. Have you tried this widget at all?
Thanks johnnysaucepn. Yes I have tried it. It's very unwieldy, it's got only time and date and it's esthetically unpleasing. I think you probably have enough space next to "sunny"/ "clear" etc. same size, same type. And even if the mini-mode were a tiny bit longer having the time would more than make up for the difference. The issue of accuracy is, in my opinion, somewhat irrelevant as you have the time in the open mode anyway + I'm not sure why , I have 3 of them open on different time zones and it looks fine. Anyway it would be great if but if not it's still great and thanks again for the great work!!
@spellico: regarding to the topic "PIN" I think, you're not right. On my opinion most people will find it usefull, esp. when using more than one instance of it.
But your question for the time shown in the mini mode is great. It makes the widget even more useful. And I agree with you concerning the time accuracy issue. Nevertheless I tested it and did not find any differences bigger than some 30 seconds, what might occure because of updating intervals between the time sources and Accuweather on the one hand and between Accuweather and the application on the other hand.
@johnnysaucepn: if you're not sure about the implementation of these features, you can give the choice to the users, if they want to see it or not. Simply insert two checkboxes into the configuraton dialog to switch them on and off (make them visible or invisible). An additional line for the time in mini mode will not make it a "maxi"one
But even if you decide not to implement those things: great job, very nice and handy app. Thx
But your question for the time shown in the mini mode is great. It makes the widget even more useful. And I agree with you concerning the time accuracy issue. Nevertheless I tested it and did not find any differences bigger than some 30 seconds, what might occure because of updating intervals between the time sources and Accuweather on the one hand and between Accuweather and the application on the other hand.
@johnnysaucepn: if you're not sure about the implementation of these features, you can give the choice to the users, if they want to see it or not. Simply insert two checkboxes into the configuraton dialog to switch them on and off (make them visible or invisible). An additional line for the time in mini mode will not make it a "maxi"one
But even if you decide not to implement those things: great job, very nice and handy app. Thx
Originally posted by h-as:
An additional line for the time in mini mode will not make it a "maxi"one
Well, actually that was one of the major pieces of feedback I had when I introduced the mini mode. Users (especially Windows, I think) wanted to make sure that the height of the mini mode was no greater than the height of the window title bar plus the menu bar, so it wouldn't overlap anything useful.
You're right, though, that there are all sorts of the things that can throw the time off - it's never going to be as accurate as a NTP-powered system clock. I believe the problem some users were having was that the time could be from 20-30 minutes to an hour out, totally dependent on the city. There may be all sorts of reasons for this, from inaccurate data to incorrect time zone settings - neither of which I have control over.