[wtp-pmc] WTP Facets Framework UI Walkthrough Notes

["Raev, Kaloyan" <kaloyan.raev@xxxxxxx>]

Hello, 

Here are the notes I have taken during the WTP Facets Framework UI
walkthrough that we did on Wednesday. 
There are some screenshot uploaded on the wiki that can be used for a
quick reference while reading the notes:
http://wiki.eclipse.org/UI_Walkthrough_Facets

I am sending these notes to Konstantin, who develops the Facets
Framework, WTP PMC list and UI Working Group list. 
Konstantin, I assume you will have questions. You can discuss them in
the UI Working Group list. We may make another walkthrough on facets in
a few weeks if needed. 

Notes follow...



The first wizard page of the Project Creation wizards looks OK and
complies with the Eclipse UI guildelines. 
http://wiki.eclipse.org/Image:Screenshot_facets_1.png
The idea for choosing the version of the primary facet on the first
wizard page is accepted well. 

When looking at the Project Facets dialog
(http://wiki.eclipse.org/Image:Screenshot_facets_2.png) and the Project
Facets property page
(http://wiki.eclipse.org/Image:Screenshot_facets_3.png) there are lot of
recommendations suggested. 

* the checkbox in front of each facet
  - the current situation is that if the facet cannot be uninstalled,
the checkbox cannot be unchecked. Instead a tooltip pops up explaining
why it cannot be unchecked. This tooltip is quite a strange idea and
does not comply with the Eclipse UI guidelines
  - checkboxes that should not be unchecked should be grayed
  - even better all checkboxes should be allowed to be unchecked, but if
the user unchecks a facet that cannot be uninstall, then an validation
error should appear. 

* locking/unlocking
  - locking of facets is very weird and it seems that nobody (except
Konstantin) knows what exactly it does. It seems like it filters facets
depending on their constraints. 
  - if it is about filtering of facets, it would be much clearer for the
user if there is a global checkbox for showing/hiding the appropriate
facets for the current use case. 

* validation
  - the idea of showing validation errors is very much liked
  - validation error entries should not be selectable. Currently, they
are and it this implies that the user can do something with this error
(like quick fix), but actually he has no options for actions. 
  - validation errors should not appear in the special widget below the
facets list view, but in the dialog box title, or the property page
title. This is according to the Eclipse UI guidelines. 

* Configurations drop-down
  - The Save button should have ellipsis :-)
  - It would be better that the Save/Delete buttons are replaced with
Edit/Remove/New/Import buttons like in the Java > Code Style > Formatter
preferences page. 
  - Save/Delete seems to be rarely used, even never by the ordinary
users. So, it is better to remove them at all.
  - Creating and Deleting of facet configurations should be moved in a
Preferences page. A link ("Configure") to this preferences page could
replace the Save/Delete buttons. 

* Runtime view
  - again validation errors are better than filtering. The user should
see all available runtimes, otherwise it may be frustrating why a
certain runtime is not available. When selecting invalid runtime, a
validation error should appear. 



Greetings,
Kaloyan Raev
Eclipse WTP Committer
<http://www.eclipse.org/webtools/people/person.php?name=raev> 
Senior Developer
NW C JS TOOLS JEE (BG)
SAP Labs Bulgaria
T +359/2/9157-416
mailto:kaloyan.raev@xxxxxxx
www.sap.com

P Save a tree - please do not print this email unless you really need
to!