Publisher 2 Export UI

[randomjames]

Gotta say that the first thing I noticed about the new Publisher UI was the appearance of the export panel.

Why were the highly user friendly format colours and icons removed in favour of a tiny select box? This seems like a bizarre adjustment.

[Ricardo Sanchez]

I hate it too. Please return the old export window. And remove the preview, in complex files it blocks the machine.

[MikeTO]

This is just a guess but there are more export formats in v2 so the horizontal icon tabs were reaching the limit of how much the old design could scale. Also the More button wasn't a great solution compared to the expandable Advanced section in v2. I liked the icon tabs but I otherwise prefer the new design of the Export dialog so it's a fair trade for me.

[randomjames]

The old menu had 11 items, the new select box has 13.

It's not a space issue. The new menu is actually over 30% wider than the one in version 1. See my attached image for quick mock up of how the old style icons could look in the new menu.

The new dropdown reduces usability dramatically, by forcing the user to read through a list of tiny names, all in the same colour. Before, my brain associated PDF with the red icon. Now I've got hunt for it. This is bad UI.

[carl123]

2 hours ago, ricardo.sanchez said:

And remove the preview, in complex files it blocks the machine

You don't have to wait for the preview to finish generating, you can just ignore it and continue with changing the settings you want to change or just hit the export button

Or are you saying on your Mac you can't do anything until the preview finishes generating?

[imagodespira]

@randomjames: Same here. No need for an oldscool dropdown text menu. I also don´t like the preview. 

 @carl123: it is not all about the actual speed, it is the perceived speed which slows down the work. I need time to search the entry in the list, next my eyes are blocked for a short while in the preview.. 

I think we never wolud discuss as much about UI here in the forum if the software would not be a design software  But i would assume that a design software also uses some guidlines and make it better than this here. For me who make designs the whole day and look at small pixel errors and colors it is a no go to go so much steps back.

 

[ashf]

Sooner or later there will be a space issue with ever growing file types.

And honestly I feel V1's icon selector is amateurish.

 

[imagodespira]

It is not that we want to have the same as in V1!!! We don´t want this what we get in V2. If the space should be a problem in future it sholud be spend time to find an idea to make it better and not even worser. An icon with a color to find an entry fast is not a joke. It is a way to improve productivity, a big text list where we have to read each entry to find the right is not good. And again: it is a software for designers, we make it the whole day and find in our work/art/sparetime/hobby this kind of stuff... we make icons, art and find ideas how to bring it good to screen and paper... it is not a text editor  So i assume that the devs find solutions to make it better and go not 10 steps back

Also the enhanced settings should be hidden in the export window. It makes sense if it is enhanced and not needed for every export situation, and disabling the preview is a must for me  Much, much room for improvements...

 

Either way: i am happy to pay the update (Spent 170 euros yesterday  ). 

[fde101]

The use of icons to represent export formats limits expandability unless the set of icons can be scrolled; it was never an optimal user interface convention and I had thought for a while that it may be limiting the number of exportable file formats to do it that way.

Personally I would have gone with a list box on the left side (where they put the preview) and not a drop-down list.  They could still have icons next to the entries in the list box, they would just be smaller.

A preview for the export window was requested by a LOT of people on the previous version, so removing it would generate far more complaints than keeping it - I would suggest they move it to the right side of the window to allow for the above-mentioned list box and add a checkbox to toggle it on and off (and remember the setting for future openings of the window!).

 

EDIT: actually, the more I think about this, the drop-down is fine - the list box should actually have export presets in it, with controls underneath to create and maintain a set of user-defined presets with all of the export options for quick recall.  The initial set of presets might be one per file format.

[Zaxonov]

They tweeted a reply to me about the export panel and they're working on it and they will push an update to it later.

[Thomas Geist]

Let me make some placable suggestions:

1. For the preview: offer a toggle box to turn it off. That way the used can decide if they want a preview or not.
2. For the format icons, I am almost sure everybody will get used to the dropdown soon. But I would wholeheartedly agree that some clarity gets lost without the colored icons. So why not show just the one icon for the currently selected format besides the dropdown.

Just an idea ...

[TheOtherRoland]

1 hour ago, Thomas Geist said:

Let me make some placable suggestions:

1. For the preview: offer a toggle box to turn it off. That way the used can decide if they want a preview or not.
2. For the format icons, I am almost sure everybody will get used to the dropdown soon. But I would wholeheartedly agree that some clarity gets lost without the colored icons. So why not show just the one icon for the currently selected format besides the dropdown.

Just an idea ...

My initial thoughts were also to create a choice for this feature: "show preview: yes/no" and that we'd get used to not seeing the color icons in a horizontal sequence. However, it cannot be dismissed that human brains react more efficiently to images rather than text; something to do with evolution and being able to identify a charging wild animal by how it looks rather than how it spells its name.

Nonetheless, I'm glad to see that a new plateau has been reached in the Affinity line of products. Kind of like base station 2 on Everest.

[Dennison]

I agree with many of the comments about the Export panel and await an update with improvements with eagerness.

1) Please give me an option to turn OFF the preview

2) IF a drop down menu is necessary, then at least let the abbreviations be in different colours. 

 

Overall, it seems that in V2, priority has been given to aesthetic over practicality. The lack of use of colour to highlight toggles  on/off is glaring! Another triumph of aesthetics over practical use.