* Consistent menus

[Hans_S]

Hi,
I have been working with FH 7.0.2 for a while and I like it, but there is one aspects that drives me crazy again and again, and that is the inconsistency across menus and operations. My Easter wish is that this be fixed soon.

What do I mean by inconsistency? There are two aspects. The first aspect is the way I can reach a specific operation. For example, how to add a note or source. In the individuals list, a right-click on an individual opens a context menu with seven "Add" items, which all open sub menus. The Add source/note submenus contain the actions to link an existing record, to create and link a new record, or to add a local source/note. This is a logical arrangement, and it leads me straight to where I want to go.

On the other hand, in the same list, a right-click on an event opens a long and confusing context menu. Finding the desired item takes much longer.

When I open a source in a floating window, go to the "Notes" tab and click Add Note > Shared Note Record, a dialog opens from which I can select an existing note record, but this dialog also has a "New" button. I didn't see this button in any of the other selection dialogs. It is unique, is very useful, exists in exactly the place where I would expect it , and should be present in every selection dialog (unless there is a specific reason not to show it).

The other aspect of inconsistency is how operations are named. For example, "Add source note to this record" vs. "Add note to this record" (why the word "note" in the former text? ); or "Add link to existing note record" vs. "Add note record" vs. "Shared note record" which all three do the same thing ; or the "Add media" menu item which has a sub menu with the "Add link to multimedia record" operation (what's the difference between "media" and "multimedia"? ); or "Add source note" vs. "Local Note" (the same operations ). I believe the terms should be "Add link to..." and "Add local..." throughout the program, where "Add link to..." means linking to another record, while "Add local..." means to insert into the record you are currently working with. The "Add link to..."operation should lead to a selection dialog with a "New" button.

Apart from the "New" button issue, FH6 was rather consistent in these respects.

Other users, please comment! I wonder whether I'm the only one to suffer from this.

Hans

[AdrianBruce]

I'm still on v6 so can't comment on v7, but consistency is seriously important. Not least if a help file says "Use menu item XXXX" but the menu item is actually XXXY... Anything that disrupts the flow, even if it is "obvious", is bad. Loads of sites and apps suffer from the same issue.

In a sense, it sounds like something that should be easy to fix (because it usually is!) but finding such issues is distinctly hard work. You have to read stuff with a pedantic eye, not looking for the meaning, but looking for discrepancies. In my professional life, I got reasonably good at this - but there weren't many others who would raise similar issues. Fortunately most of my colleagues were happy to accept the issues.

[tatewise]

Adrian, in my professional role I had a similar pedantic eye and was quite good at spotting discrepancies.
The inconsistencies across the FH windows, menus, help pages, etc, are annoyingly inexplicable.
However, once they become 'familiar' they almost go unnoticed, but for newcomers must be exasperating.
You only get one chance at creating a first impression.

[Mark1834]

They’ve been driving us mad for years, but while we’re reminiscing about our old professional lives, a lifetime working in a major multinational made it clear that it is more often than not the fluent but non-native English speaker who finds the most errors, as they read more carefully what is actually written, not what we subconsciously expect to find.

My favourite is a Japanese expat, who asked “why are the outside lanes of the motorway on the inside, and the inside lanes on the outside...?

[jimlad68]

Hotkey to hide boxes in charts/diagrams (19120)
see by jimlad68 » 03 Apr 2021 12:37

and viewtopic.php?f=32&t=19150#
Autohotkey (AHK) "Productivity" shortcuts

as Mark and Mike say, If you use a product a lot, one gets used to it, it is frustrating when it is an area infrequently used.