Wish List for New UI Design

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  • Last Post 19 April 2017
jonnysax posted this 14 April 2017

As rscott mentioned in the  Vote for your favorite Web UI for Axial Control discussion, We should put together a wishlist of what we want to be able to see in the dashboard view of the UI.  Below is what I'd like to see with the new UI: (some of these were already mentioned in the other thread, buti figured I would include them for cohesivness)

1)  Efficient use of space (i.e. reduce the amount of white/wasted space)

2)  Tiles for scenes instead of the current list setup... It would be nice to see scenes similar to how we see devices, a square with the scene title, the device(s) it triggers and their current status and the last time it was executed.  then maybe double click on the scene tile to edit the scene triggers and conditions?  I feel this would be an efficient way to display a quick glance and status of scenes.  

3)  Ability to customize and organize devices visually into groups or type.  

4)  With the idea that this could be used as a replacement or alternative to the app, it would be nice to have the ability to have the ability for a kiosk mode where we could customize what devices and scenes are available for activation (similar to the app right now, but maybe a little more streamline and efficient)

5)  In addition to the above, the major problem I have with my mobile phone "kiosks" is the inability to stay and keep connected over longer periods of time.  maybe this new UI would fix that issue if it was used as an alternative to the app.  

well... thats all I can think of for now.  I'll add more if I think of anything.  

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Dignan17 posted this 15 April 2017

I'd like to define the terms before I respond. You and Ryan referred to a "dashboard." I took this to mean the landing page for the Web UI, but you seem to be going into more aspects of the interface. I'm fine with either one, I just wasn't sure which one we were commenting on. I have tons of requests for both :)

jonnysax posted this 15 April 2017

@Dignan17, Sure thats a great idea.  If you look at the designs, there are three main areas... the top menu with File, View, Tools, etc.  There is the left menu, with Devices, Scenes, Rooms, etc, Then there is what i'm calling the "dashboard" with the main content.  My choice in calling it a dashboard is that I think the redesign of the UI should act not only as a interface to control the house, but also a way to know the status of devices an scenes at a glance.  Sorry for the confusion.  Hope that helps

Dignan17 posted this 18 April 2017

Ok. I guess the only thing I really care about is that it doesn't look anything like Vera! As you might be able to tell, I despise Vera's user interface. They added a dashboard in their UI7, and it's terrible.

Now, for a web client or server UI, I don't really care what the dashboard looks like or does, as long as I can get into the devices and scenes and get done what I want done. But on Mobile, it is imperitive that I'm immediately presented with a way to control things as soon as the app launches. On Vera, the mobile app is obsessed with information, and it takes up all the space. I can add favorite devices, but it's still bad and I could go on but I'll stop.

For specific wishes about a "dashboard" page, I honestly don't really have any preference. I can't think of much information that I'd need that I don't get from my devices page, but I can see where that might have too many items to be useful, so having a screen with a set of "favorites" would be useful, especially considering that I'd be checking this web ui more often than the server UI since it's easier.

Now, if we're talking about suggestions for other elements in the software, I have plenty of those, but I don't know where I'd place those or if we'd even be talking about them as part of this exercise. I guess this is all more cosmetic than anything, isn't it?

jonnysax posted this 18 April 2017

I agree Vera is horrible.  thats the main reason i went with Incontrol in the first place.  

The favorites thing would be useful!  I have smoke/CO alarms i really dont need to see the status of at all times in the UI.  I think i'll know when they go off.  ha ha.  

I cant speak for Ryan, but I assumed this would only be cosmetic coding.  If its not, please let us know.  I'd love to add some ideas on the server software itself.  I guess this would be placed in a new thread on the Feature request forum.  

 

Dignan17 posted this 19 April 2017

I would absolutely tell any designer "look at what Vera did here...then do the opposite of literally everything."

There are elements of the Axial UI that I'd improve, but overall it's far easier to use than Vera. But having any web-based UI at all will be a big step up. I'm generally enthusiastic about it.

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