Re: [Gretl-users] Menu re-structuring
Riccardo Jack Lucchetti schrieb:
On Wed, July 12, 2006 19:13, Talha Yalta wrote:
> While we are at it, I also would like to make a few suggestions
> regarding the user interface. It may not be possible to implement them
> in this version but what does everybody think of these?
>
> 1- How about dividing the main window vertically so that icon view is
> available and visible by
> default next to the vertical list of variables. This would be nice
> because I think the icon view is one of the particularly novel and
> useful features of the program and it is not very visible with the
> current setting.
Hmm, I don't know. I feel the window might become a little crammed. Would it
be hard for you to produce a mockup screenshot of what you aven in mind?
I like Talha's idea (if I understand it correctly, he refers to the
icons from the session window). To me it seems to be like another
toolbar. The icons could be made a little smaller than in the current
session window, if you're afraid they would take away too much space.
It's also a nice way to make the session menu redundant without hiding
its features too much.
> 2- Multiple UIs! It is known that econometric software can be
> intimidating for the uninitiated. The students are often lost within
> the myriad of tools and options. With the user friendliness in mind,
> how about gretl having 2 different user interfaces (full and lite for
> undergrads) which have different set of options visible in the menus.
> Once the students master more basic tools, they will be able to move
> on to the higher level, which can be easily set in the options menu.
> This might be a nice idea to consider for the next versions as gretl
> becomes more and more powerful.
Sorry, but I'm against this. IMHO, the perception that some people of gretl as
a toy package, barely good for teaching introductory econometrics is our worst
enemy. I fear that a "trimmed" version of the menu could increase the risk of
peing perceived as "not really suitable for serious use".
I'm also against it. From my experience, it's easy to teach only some
features and the students will just ignore the rest. The only UI
difference that matters imho is between command line (say, like R) and
menus (like gretl).
As for the rest of the menu structure discussion, the main issue in my
view was to officially start thinking about a consistent organization.
The details are not that important for me, I'm confident it will be
better than before :-)
cheers,
sven