Just Add an Option 2

As discussed in an earlier post, the idea of categorizing options by importance was introduced. In the current Public Beta of ArsClip, the configuration windows has been reworked to do this.

Some option pages are now split into collapsible panels. The main panel displays the more important settings and an option description of the feature. All other panels are collapsed by default and either contain less important features or more advanced. The Tree control also already does a similar job by placing the most important categories at root menus and less important categories as child menus.

One benefit is easier navigation and learning overall, but the sacrifice is that some options are harder to discover. It turns out the sacrifice is actually an improvement. All options were harder to discover before the change, because so many were shown per page. It's fine if non-important features are hidden and more advanced users should have no problem finding the advanced options.

A second benefit is that adding options doesn't add so much clutter. The options are already split into smaller chunks, so more options won't be detrimental. While the previous design of making "automatic features first" will still be used, falling back to a configuration option isn't a problem either.

End of the Rain

The Public Beta v4.18 of ArsClip is getting close to finished. The flood of new ideas has come to an end, so the only task left is listening to feedback.

Program icons seem to be in a good state. Removing color works well for making the icons less harsh. There's been no feedback for or against the change, but I like it.

The experimental mouse icon for "pasting" still seems to need some tweaks. The visual of the icon does the job, but when it appears is an issue. Having the mouse icon always shown when over a clip was intuitive, but annoying. In the current iteration, the icon only shows after hovering for a short period of time. This seems to incorrectly link the icon to the tooltip, since they appear at the same time on a default install.

At this point, the mouse icon may or may not be a feature. If it doesn't work, there probably won't be any visual cue added for showing a "pasting menu".

ArsClip System Clips

The latest Public Beta of ArsClip contains a new Permanent Group: _System. Unlike other groups, the _System group is a hidden group. This means that the only way to execute the clips is to assign a global hotkey. By default, the group is populated with many example clips that perform system-like tasks. The three type of default clips are: pasting from the popup, showing windows, and altering the clipboard. While designed as examples, these clips are ready to use. Also, the clips in this group can be edited just like any other group for customization.

This new group solves one specific problem: new users don't know how to paste a popup clip using a global hotkey. The configuration window now has a button to this new group to logically link the Popup Hotkey and Permanent Clips/Macros.

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To activate clips the same way the Popup does, two new Permanent Clips/Macro commands have been created: [TOCLIPBOARD=0], [PASTEDEFAULT].

The first command places a Popup Clip on the clipboard. The second command executes a paste. Both of these commands use the [Popup>Pasting] settings by default. Just like the popup, the [Per-Program Options] can override how these features behave.

Before this change, there was no way to place a picture clip or a formatted text clip on the clipboard using a macro.

That Left Column Icon

ArsClip's left column icons serve two purposes for Popup Clips. Identification is the first task. It show where the clip originated or what kind of clip it is (depending on setting used). Clip Menu access is the second task. It gives an area that can be hovered to trigger a menu for the current clip or clicked to edit the current clip.

The problem with the left column icon is how distracting it is. The icons that programs use aren't exactly subtle in shape or color. To combat this, the current Public Beta removes repeated icon by substituting a repeat mark. This makes it easier to visual see a group of clips from the same program. Since the area also acts as a clickable area, completely removing the icon doesn't seem reasonable.

The next beta will likely also alpha blend Popup Clips icons to make them more subtle. Visually, the icons still draw too much attention away from the rest of the popup, even with repeats removed. I may change the repeat mark to just an icon with a much lower opacity. This may give the same grouping effect and be less distracting.

When It Rains ...

The next ArsClip Public Beta has been uploaded: v4.18.

One or two ideas will sometimes cascade into a slew of ideas. I had more ideas than time for the previous version, so some things were postponed and added to the Plans and Ideas page.

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Permanent Clip icons didn't follow the same rules as the Show More and Clip Set icons. They've been changed to give the same visual cues when the icon is hovered.

The left column icon now will show subtle 3D shading. This occurs when a menu with a clickable icon is hovered.

Ctrl, Alt, and Shift keys now serve two purposes. First, when held they will show a tooltip with their configured action for the current clip. Second, these keys will also close the current tooltip shown when hovering a menu.

The Tab key had a single hidden feature - to force a clip to paste as only formatted text. This has been changed to behave just like all the other options under [Popup>Keystrokes/Mouse]. The default setting is still the same.

ArsClip Wrapup 2

The current Public Beta is a candidate for official release. No more changes are being made except for possible bug fixes.

All icons that aren't in the left hand column have been muted. Since these icons are just for identification, so they should stand out less than the clickable icons. This include the Program Options menu, Search and Paste menu, and the clipboard marker.

The "Configured/Full Mode" menu has been renamed. Simple menus should use verbs to describe what they do. "Show More" and "Show Less" are more descriptive and uses Progressive Disclosure terminology. In simpler terms, it looks more like what it does.

The Clip Sets menu only used "Clip" as a label. This made it impossible to find in the configuration menus, but it was descriptive for the content of the expandable menu. This has been renamed on the popup and the History settings page now has a link to the Clip Sets page. Since Clip Sets are now always shown by default, they need to be identifiable.

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One issue that has no fix planned for this version is pasting menus, specifically Popup Clips. They really needs to look like clips that paste when clicked. In a future version, I'll probably add some indicator only when hovering the menu. The most obvious fix would be to display the menu as "Paste XXX", but this seems distracting.

Since Clips Sets are now defaulted to on, this does help advertise the submenus as clips. Clips also use a left column icon to describe either were they originated or what type of clip they are. Both help identify what the clip is, but not what the menu does.

ArsClip Wrapup

Final changes are being made to the Public Beta version of ArsClip. Since a few important bugs are fixed in this beta, less features were planned to help speed up the official release.

The last change of the Popup was to get rid of the "cliptype icon". Using the new goals, this did not need to be emphasized. The indicator has been moved to the left column area of the popup. Also, the Configuration window was updated to describe the Tab key function.

Since this was a clickable area on the popup, the Clip Menu has been updated to replace this function. Using the new "Automation instead of Options" philosophy, the Clip Menu will automatically expand the "Paste As" menu for formatted text clips or file clips.

The default configuration was also changed to always show Clip Sets. I've not yet figured out how to link the term "Clip Sets" to the menu that is shown on the popup. I may change "[Clips 1-20]" to "[Clip Set 1-20]" to fix this issue.

After a few days of final tweaks, I expect an official release.

ArsClip Popup Visual Goals

The latest Public Beta of ArsClip has been changed to meet the new popup visual goals. It turns out there are only 2 general rules under these goals.

-Less important features should be emphasized less.

This is almost the entire goal. This goal also makes more important features more emphasized, but places priority on removing visual clutter.

Examples:
Non-clickable column icons are less important and, therefore, should be emphasized less. All other columns icons, except for those in submenus, have been removed.

Menu items may change when highlighted to be less subtle. The currently highlighted menu is more important and should not have the same emphasis as other menu items. The menu may also react as the mouse is moved over certain features of a menu.


-All menus should have a look that describes how it works

There are two types of menu items: pasting menus and helper menus.

Pasting menus are the main feature of the program and this includes Permanent Clips and Macros. These menus have their own style and are mostly a single flat color.

Helper menus have a slight color gradient and use a different shade of color. Expandable helper menus have the same style but also include 3D shading and a glyph that reacts when the menu is hovered or expanded.

Helper menus that open a window when clicked are now marked with ellipses and a trailing icon. These menus result in closing the popup and are marked to describe this. The visual is more meaningful than just ellipses alone.

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Submenus can be an exception to these general rules. Since these menus are only shown selectively, they are already less emphasized. Menus under an Expandable menu are the only menu to use a unique column color that helps mark the items as a group.