Re: Usability of the GTK+ 2 file open dialog

[Michael Ekstrand <lists elehack net>]

On Tue, 7 Mar 2006 09:28:43 +0100
Toby <tobia conforto linux it> wrote:
> Another one: who came up with the retarded idea of "Browse for other
> folders"?  Just show the damn thing already!  Why add 1 useless click
> (on a small widget on top of that) to 90% of file dialog usage?

I also have serious problems with the current file chooser (at least in
most programs). A simple text entry would be nice...

Anyway, the "browse for other folders" - it might not be as retarded as
you think. It's the same concept that Mac OS X has in a majority of
programs. Now, OS X isn't perfect, and some have suggested that it
isn't up to par with Apple's UI design standards (I'm not qualified to
measure that), but Apple does do a lot of research and thought on UI.
And they have that feature.

So, while that doesn't automatically mean that it's a good idea, it
does mean it's precedented by people who have a history of good design.
So it's worth thinking about, evaluating... and maybe throwing in the
dumpster.

- Michael


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