Hi all,
Now that DW9 is out in the open (hooray) and we can see where it is headed, I have some thoughts regarding the grouping and setting contexts on a page.
The current way the user has to navigate when editing a page's content, settings and functionality propose a challenge for an average editor, at least in my experience. A challenge of remembering where and in which tab context you might find the needed functionality. Of course, over time an editor will learn where everything is placed. I just feel that the ambition for a fresh and new interface should be to cause the least amount of distress for the user as possible. So I have come up with some suggestions that I think could improve the user experience. The intent is not to think of a completely new UI, but rather to improve what you already have.
So here goes...
The overall concept of a "Page" introduce a number of aspects and contexts which are not easily visualized in a meaningful way.
A page has properties, which affect the entire page, no matter what content it contains. Page properties, being settings at the top of the hierarchy, is above all other page settings, and therefore requires a more central position in the UI. In the current version of DW9, when you click Properties the button dissapears and the entire tab context changes, so you can't really see that you are actually in the context of page properties. Let's face it, all ribbon tab contexts look the same and can be confusing for the average user. My suggestion is a tall, left positioned properties button that works as an overall context indicator, one that is always present and available.
When loading the page, the settings will either be in Page-mode or Paragraphs-mode according to your item type definition. Either way, under the tab Content there should only be content related settings. Not publication settings, which should be placed under page properties. When in paragraphs-mode you see the options for editing content in pargraphs. When in Page-mode, you just have the show page button.
The tools tab is more or less the same, but without the paragraph action buttons. They belong under the content tab, so you don't switch between tabs when selecting a paragraph checkbox.
The workflow tab now contains the settings related to work flow, some of which has moved from page properties. And a new grouping of the buttons (workflow, drafts, versions).
When clicking page properties (image 5), the button (context) becomes higlighted and the tabs change.
First tab is Publication, where you can adjust if a page is published or not, and for a given time period.
Next tab is accessability, a bit similar to publication, but the idea is to communicate that a published page can be accessed by different means.
The Advanced tab and Layout tab are more or less the same.
I hope this can spark some ideas and keep the ball rolling...
