PortlandWiki:GUI
PortlandWiki needs a new user interface! Help us build it. This page is a central dumping ground for ideas, wireframes, graphics, color schemes, and anything else related to improving our "look-and-feel"!
Competitive Assessment
Part of thinking about a new design is to see if we can look at other wikis out there. To see how other sites have evolved, and to deduce why they reached to that conclusion. Unless someone among us were part of the design, I can only analyze based on the conclusion. Sometimes this is called heuristics. We methodically look at other sites with similar purposes or similar technologies. We methodically note what we like.
Brainstorming
Within the effort of the redesign, some initial work has been done in an effort to learn more about the user experience, and to get a sense for the needs and the goals.
Top Messaging Area
The Top Messaging Area is a content object located at the top of the content area of a set of pages. The TMA, tends to exist for all pages, and provides global, emergency, and account messages. In the current design the TMA appears below the page title, but one view is that the TMA should be positioned at the very top, perhaps between the logo and the top navigation.
View Top Messaging Area Analysis
Widgets
Sometimes called components. These are distinct content items that are finite, and are often positioned separately from the text area of the text. Widgets are often stacked together in a separate column of a page, serving to present the pages content in a different way. Widgets are often used as a jumping off point to other pages.
Inline Objects
Content that is flow-based and is anchored to how text is displayed. Inline objects will change in location according to how text is is forced to flow. The most common form of content within the wiki format.
Types of Inline Objects
- text
- links
- external links
- Images
- Galleries
- Table of Contents
Change Tools
The Change tools are actions used to activate the editor for a page or a specific page.
Types of Change Tools
- Edit Page (seen in the upper right tab)
- Edit Section (seen as an Edit link within each heading 2 section
Though Wikipedia has continued to have the Edit Page tool as a tab in the upper right, their commercial division, Wikia has started using a button located by the page title to do the same thing.
Property Tools
Tools used to identify properties of a page that is tracked by the wiki system.
Types of Property tools include
- What Links here
- Related changes
- View History
Editor (OUT OF SCOPE)
The Editor as of April 2011, is out of scope for the redesign, but is listed here anyways.
Seems pretty close to Wikipedia's Editor
The editor is an embedded content submission area that is used to add, update, or change existing content. The editor provides text that is integrated with wiki markup. A graphic button toolbar is provided that will insert wikimarkup to text. An advanced form of the toolbar is available. There has been some discussion for using a different Editor.
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Basic formatting
Advanced formatting
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Advanced Insert
Special Characters (with font mapping)
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