I posted this in the Distro Forum but after re-reading Phillipe’s Blog I am opening a new thread here in an attempt to get discussion going on the new look and feel, as Phillipe says if people have opinions they have to be expressed now and not three months down the road!
I have just put 2.10 on my test box with a Distro Load. Congratulations on getting out such a complete and functional Beta Version that installed right first time.
Its going to take a bit of getting used to the new layout, especially working out where everything is! First impressions are that I liked the old GUI better, something is not feeling quite right with the new one, most likely because I was so comfortable with the way it was done before it makes me think if it wasn’t broken why try to fix it? Somehow the new GUI seems a little less polished than the old one, something I am sure will change with time, however, at this early stage I would say if its possible to have a choice in GUI layout it would be great to have the choice.
Please don’t take this the wrong way, I really appreciate the work that is put in by the developers who do a first rate job. I am sure that as I look past the aesthetics I will find the real meat is under the hood in what the GUI can actually achieve in new features and improved functionality.
I will be very interested to hear what others have to say when comparing the two
I think the new layout is FAR superior to the old one. It has taken a little while to get used to where everything is, but in general it is so logical that it is not taking long.
I agree with wmelnick, I like the look and feel of the new GUI. I found that most everything was intuitively easy to locate. There have been a few times where I had trouble locating the module I want, but I’ve had that trouble with the two long lists on the left hand side of the current version.
One thing that I’d like to see added to the new GUI is a search function that lets you search for modules by typing their name. On the old GUI, I could use the browser search feature and easily find a module, but that won’t work using the new one.
I was also pleased to read (on PIAF Forums) that the Swiss Army Knife module will be integrated into 2.10 before it is finally released, and that there will now be an Advanced Option to switch Dialing Pattern Rules back to the 2.7 method, which allows cutting and pasting. This was advocated by Michigan Telephone even before 2.8 came out, and is LONG OVERDUE.
I ran the upgrade per instructions, and everything shows 2.10.xx, but my admin screen still has the OLD look and feel. I’ve tried the usual suspects; clearing browser cache, restarting web services, rebooting server, etc. Anyone have any thoughts as to why my FreePBX still looks the old way, even though it’s clearly 2.10?
I had that problem as well. Unfortunately I cannot give you a solution because I messed my PIAF install so badly that I ended up reinstalling and upgrading to 2.10beta immediately before I touched anything.
You might want to clear your browser cache however.
The general consensus around our office on what is now known as the TFV or FFV (Tango/Frog Free Version) is that there is too much white space and something needs to focus the user on the content. The problem is the vertical extents change based on content so you are constrained as to what you can do.
Well said Scott, I think that this lack of focus is a big part of the lack of a ‘good feel’ to the GUI, Perhaps an increase in font size by a point or two would help and incidentally while being appreciative of the Schmooze input, the logo could perhaps be a little smaller, it tends to dominate the page to the detriment of the content.