6 ms·

Probably some wish to be consistent for all firefoxes across all platforms. It's pretty common for x-platform software, and I think a big mistake. Most people d

Probably some wish to be consistent for all firefoxes across all platforms. It's pretty common for x-platform software, and I think a big mistake. Most people don't move across platforms that often and those that do already encounter so many other differences a print dialog being recognizable won't make much change.

selfhoster11 5y ago
This. GIMP's save/open file dialog on Windows is, for the lack of a better word, graphics and usability-wise disgusting. Confusing and fiddly controls, no thumbnails (on a graphics application!) If anything, they should replace the GTK open/save dialog with something that mimics the Windows one.
- ben-schaaf 5y ago
  GTK(3+?) can actually easily use the platform open/save dialog with GtkFileChooserNative.
WhyNotHugo 5y ago
I agree completely on how stupid this is. A person is a "Windows user", and prints on lots of applications on Windows, and expects a consistent experience across all applications. Same applies for Linux users and Mac users. A person is not a "Firefox user", who prints of Firefox on Windows/Linux/Mac. The few people who _do_ fit this unique profile, are very much used to seeing very different dialogs on all three platforms. Also, printing in 2021? I get that people still print, but it seems equivalent to improving the Fax dialog in 2006.
- curt15 5y ago
  In the coronavirus age, reading printed materials causes me less eyestrain than reading on a computer screen.
- kayodelycaon 5y ago
  The macOS print dialog has a number of pdf options I use frequently.
- handrous 5y ago
  > Also, printing in 2021? I get that people still print, but it seems equivalent to improving the Fax dialog in 2006. Free coloring pages (like: outlines of characters or whatever, you can easily find these with image searches) for your kids. Worksheets for homeschooling or school supplementation, or if you're a teacher. DMing RPGs if you want more than one screen of stuff visible at a time, or are trying to avoid screens at the table. I find, especially, printing relevant monsters or character sheets for likely combat encounters in a session to be super useful—saves you flipping back and forth between a bunch of things on a screen or doing the work of condensing stats, you can underline and notate one or two spells on the sheet so you're not searching at the table for "what would this magic-wielding creature probably cast first in combat with this party?", for a repeat-encounter big nemesis that the party comes to hate you can let the party rip up the sheet when they finally dispense with them, that sort of thing. Most of the RPG stuff also applies to serious study or working-with-references. Screens still aren't a replacement for 20 sheets of print-out paper that I can have spread out on my desk all at once, and fold, write on, stick in a desk drawer for later, cram in my pocket, flip over to sketch something on the back, whatever.
- ryandrake 5y ago
  Tale as old as time! I remember getting into almost a shouting match with a UI designer over this common conflict. Is it more important that the app's UI is consistent with other apps on the user's computer, or is it more important that it is consistent with the same app across all platforms (and consistent with the company's self-defined "branding")? I argued that the user expects all his apps to be consistent and look like they fit in with their other apps on the system, and the designer argued that the user doesn't care, and that our company's designers knew better than Microsoft/Apple/etc. about the best User Experience for our particular app. Seems like reasonable people can disagree about this.
  - acdha 5y ago
    This is also a great example of why you need good user testing: a designer is hyper aware of what they’re trying to do design-wise, developers tend to focus on implementation and support, and we’re all too familiar with the product to represent users well. I’ve seen plenty of things like that where everyone spends months on it and the outside users don’t notice/care or point out that, say, the custom design didn’t work with their system font settings or screen reader.

selfhoster11 5y ago

This. GIMP's save/open file dialog on Windows is, for the lack of a better word, graphics and usability-wise disgusting. Confusing and fiddly controls, no thumbnails (on a graphics application!) If anything, they should replace the GTK open/save dialog with something that mimics the Windows one.

ben-schaaf 5y ago
GTK(3+?) can actually easily use the platform open/save dialog with GtkFileChooserNative.

WhyNotHugo 5y ago

I agree completely on how stupid this is. A person is a "Windows user", and prints on lots of applications on Windows, and expects a consistent experience across all applications. Same applies for Linux users and Mac users. A person is not a "Firefox user", who prints of Firefox on Windows/Linux/Mac. The few people who _do_ fit this unique profile, are very much used to seeing very different dialogs on all three platforms. Also, printing in 2021? I get that people still print, but it seems equivalent to improving the Fax dialog in 2006.

curt15 5y ago
In the coronavirus age, reading printed materials causes me less eyestrain than reading on a computer screen.
kayodelycaon 5y ago
The macOS print dialog has a number of pdf options I use frequently.
handrous 5y ago
> Also, printing in 2021? I get that people still print, but it seems equivalent to improving the Fax dialog in 2006. Free coloring pages (like: outlines of characters or whatever, you can easily find these with image searches) for your kids. Worksheets for homeschooling or school supplementation, or if you're a teacher. DMing RPGs if you want more than one screen of stuff visible at a time, or are trying to avoid screens at the table. I find, especially, printing relevant monsters or character sheets for likely combat encounters in a session to be super useful—saves you flipping back and forth between a bunch of things on a screen or doing the work of condensing stats, you can underline and notate one or two spells on the sheet so you're not searching at the table for "what would this magic-wielding creature probably cast first in combat with this party?", for a repeat-encounter big nemesis that the party comes to hate you can let the party rip up the sheet when they finally dispense with them, that sort of thing. Most of the RPG stuff also applies to serious study or working-with-references. Screens still aren't a replacement for 20 sheets of print-out paper that I can have spread out on my desk all at once, and fold, write on, stick in a desk drawer for later, cram in my pocket, flip over to sketch something on the back, whatever.
ryandrake 5y ago
Tale as old as time! I remember getting into almost a shouting match with a UI designer over this common conflict. Is it more important that the app's UI is consistent with other apps on the user's computer, or is it more important that it is consistent with the same app across all platforms (and consistent with the company's self-defined "branding")? I argued that the user expects all his apps to be consistent and look like they fit in with their other apps on the system, and the designer argued that the user doesn't care, and that our company's designers knew better than Microsoft/Apple/etc. about the best User Experience for our particular app. Seems like reasonable people can disagree about this.
- acdha 5y ago
  This is also a great example of why you need good user testing: a designer is hyper aware of what they’re trying to do design-wise, developers tend to focus on implementation and support, and we’re all too familiar with the product to represent users well. I’ve seen plenty of things like that where everyone spends months on it and the outside users don’t notice/care or point out that, say, the custom design didn’t work with their system font settings or screen reader.