I think that there was a thread where I mentioned some of the issues in the usability of Captify, and Anthony acknowledged, that it had just grown, a little wildly, and was maybe in need of some pruning- but I can't find it.

Anyway, there are some UI issues which look almost purposefully confusing, and where the popups offer no help at all. Certainly, the ideal is that a module is self-documenting.

For one simple example, there are image sizes in pixels, and also as a ratio. Are both needed? Wouldn't it make sense to have each pair of settings in a panel/box with a big OR between them? Otherwise, perhaps someone can explain why it's a good thing to have UI controls which both seem to control the same properties, and where it's easy to enter inconsistent results, with no indication which controls override the other.

It's a nice body of work, but a lot of effort is being expended by everyone, and moderators are writing that it takes "lots of trial and error" - which it really shouldn't, as there are really only a couple of questions-
1) K2 or Joomla (If K2 is not installed that answers itself-rather, doesn't need to be asked),
2) Items/Categories/Both
3) Item Images or Article Images? Actually, Anthony agreed that my idea for Item image first, then Article image, for K2 at least was a good feature request. So, again, maybe that's another question that can answer itself.
4) Image Size (OR Ratio, probably)

...it seems that the last fixes are getting into some pretty tiny technical issues...now that the core is stable, how about usability?

Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback Ken.

Getting sick last month has set me behind making any changes to the modules but it's certainly still on the cards.

I guess there are a few things though:

This is a feature of the image resize script and adds an extra dimension to the power of the resizer. If we were just to set the dimensions without the ratio then the image would be all skewed. Kind of what happens if you resize an image using html using the wrong image dimensions. The ratio allows you to create different crop edits eg 2:1 will produce a wider image while 1:1 creates a square. One of the key factors in the mix is also the original size of the image.

I have documented this in the past but I think it needs to be added to the extension page and made more explicit.


That really comes fromt he user implementing in a different way to how we set it up int he demo. The screenshots of the settings we use should provide the same results as the demo. If you want to change that then obviously you need to play with image heights and widths to get the right fit. Thats certainly what I do when Im building the demo because I cant read pixels off the screen - I should break out my screen measurer app but I often forget to sue that. So its often changing things by 10px to see if I can get the desired affect.

I agree about the k2 items and categories setting. it's not particularly clear and its something we will sort in the update.

We plan to implement an accordion layout for most of our modules and I think that once this happens it will solve a lot of the complexity. eg you wont need to scroll past the k2 settings if you aren't using it.

Thanks for your feedback as always.

Be keen to see what you think of the new version once we get the next theme out.

Anthony

Thank You, Anthony.

Wow, that Image resize bit does seem cool, but I don't get it right now.

I am not sure why, but I took what I think are the same size (425x282) iStockphoto JPGs, and resized them to 210x140, which is the same ratio and I think about what yours were in the Grid demo, but mine are ugly and pixelated.

So that was part of my issue, too, that I was not getting the results I wanted...I'll keep trying.

Ok so basically with a 425 by 282 image resized to 210 by 140 if you want to retain the same size the ratio should be 3:2 is that what you used?

Yep, but mine come out ugly and pixelated. I put in a ticket on this with login. Maybe you'll see something I don't.

Thanks!

Sure thing.

Anthony