Design: UI/UX feedback

[TriVoxel]

The app is very simple and nice. However, I think it could be improved further by taking advantage of more LibAdwaita features and with more consistency with LibAdwaita.

I think on the app's first run, it would be nice to not have the top bar tabs as these aren't useful until a file is chosen, and they might confuse someone out there. However, we should always keep the Main Menu button available at all times. We could clean it up a bit by using an AdwStatusPage on first run with the app icon, a short description, and a big "Choose file" pill button. Once a file is chosen, the screen could update to either the current interface, or we could show some useful media information in a new tab, such as the current file's resulution, bitrate, audio bitrate/channels, number of subtitle and audio tracks, video length, FPS, and maybe some other useful metadata, as well as a preview thumbnail. I'd personally love to see some metadata about the file I'm working on, right in the app before I start changing my settings.

We might also consider moving the "Open" button from the "Video" section to the Main Menu as this feature is more of a global option than a "Video" conversion option. This would clean up the UI a bit and make it more consistent with other GNOME apps. We could also then implement a recent file list into that, so users who are re-converting the same file and experimenting can have maybe 5-10 recent items to go back to just in case. Being in the Main Menu and a global option, we can then assign a keyboard shortcut to it as well, which would just be nice in general.

Lastly, I think since there's not really any point in modifying settings while the conversion is taking place, the export process should have a dedicated AdwStatusPage, both for aesthetic reasons, and because we could do cool things with it as outlined in #51.

Overall, really solid app. Been wanting to make an app like this myself, so I'm excited to contribute to this!!

[gianni-rosato]

I like this a lot, and I'm keen on being better at adhering to the "GNOME way" when it comes to design and usability. I would definitely need help, though; if you believe you are able to contribute and add such a feature, I'm open to a PR. Thanks for the suggestion!

[TriVoxel]

I like this a lot, and I'm keen on being better at adhering to the "GNOME way" when it comes to design and usability. I would definitely need help, though; if you believe you are able to contribute and add such a feature, I'm open to a PR. Thanks for the suggestion!

I'm very keen on it, indeed! I've been wanting to do an app like this myself, but have been instead contributing small patches to existing projects to familiarize myself with Gtk, Rust and Vala. I'm sure I can at least provide some decent UI, though!

[meybonomme]

Here are some of my suggestions to make Aviator's user interface significantly simpler and much more intuitive.

Fragments is a good example of what the app could look like when opened (minus the search button). Clean and simple, following GNOME standards. One big drag and drop area and the plus button in the upper right corner to browse the file:

Once the file is open, the app could still stay simple and clean. The Encode button is located in the upper right corner of the window, and the window only shows the name of the source file and some of the most basic settings. Exactly which ones can be discussed. Advanced settings could be in a separate settings window, similarly divided into tabs.

The app's default settings should be fine for most casual users, with very minimal or no tweaking needed to get the best balance between speed and quality. Ideally, using the application with the default settings would look like this: I drag the file into the window, (changing a few simple settings if necessary) and click the "Encode" button. Done, you just have to wait for the output to be completed.

Most of Aviator's settings mean nothing to the average user and are therefore left unchanged anyway. However, displaying all the settings in the main application window is annoying and confusing for most regular users. Advanced users can easily find these settings in the menu. The "Advanced Settings" link/button can also be placed in the main application window.

As a result of all this, Aviator would live up to KDE's slogan: simple by default, powerful when needed 🙂

[probonopd]

Please avoid libadwaita. libadwaita doesn't work well outside of the Gnome desktop.

[gianni-rosato]

Libadwaita will continue to remain in use. Aviator is an app designed for the GNOME desktop - everything else is a secondary consideration.