[RFC] Combine Related functionality (UI Cleanup)

[Sumanai]

I am well aware that this is actually the search page, but I do not perceive them as the search page, since I do not introduce a search query.

[hanakin]

exactly because the presentation style is broken/disjointed currently

[PayBas]

Index

5.png (59.43 KiB) Viewed 802 times

Viewtopic

6.png (64.81 KiB) Viewed 802 times

[Louis7777]

^Looks good PayBas +1

A few side notes:

• Make Advanced Search bold
• Use the dropdown that the topic tools have? (the current one looks a bit like search suggestions or autocomplete)
• The cogwheel should take the user to the Advanced Search if JavaScript is disabled or even better it could display a css dropdown.
• Perhaps "View your posts" shouldn't be there at all. We already have such link in UCP and in member profile.

I have a question.The search at the top allows the user to search in all forums while the quick search next to the topic tools allows the user to search in the specific topic/forum. How will we keep the functionality of both?

[Meis2M]

+1

[keith10456]

^Looks good PayBas +1

A few side notes:

• Perhaps "View your posts" shouldn't be there at all. We already have such link in UCP and in member profile.

"View your posts" should be there. Members shouldn't have to go to the UCP or their profile page to view their posts. All of those extra steps are unnecessary.

[hanakin]

^Looks good PayBas +1

A few side notes:

• Make Advanced Search bold
• Use the dropdown that the topic tools have? (the current one looks a bit like search suggestions or autocomplete)
• The cogwheel should take the user to the Advanced Search if JavaScript is disabled or even better it could display a css dropdown.
• Perhaps "View your posts" shouldn't be there at all. We already have such link in UCP and in member profile.

I have a question.The search at the top allows the user to search in all forums while the quick search next to the topic tools allows the user to search in the specific topic/forum. How will we keep the functionality of both?

• No Advanced search should not be bold,but agree it needs seperation form the other links. I would get ride of the bottom borders on the lis and add a divider between the advanced search and the rest.
• Cog wheel is perfect as is settings of a search is what it defines. Which is exactly what you are trying to do perform a search with some sort of settings, the drop down icon from the tools menu does nothing to tell you what kind of functionality is being performed.
• "View Your posts belongs their we are removing it from everywhere else and merging it into where it makes sense.

As for your question I have been thinking about that and we can add a link in their to search the current forums and have the default be global. So type in your search and if you want it globally click the search icon, if you want it in the current forums click the cog wheel and select current forums

Screen Shot 2014-05-26 at 8.13.38 PM.png (14.53 KiB) Viewed 14443 times

[Louis7777]

Cog wheel is perfect as is settings of a search is what it defines. Which is exactly what you are trying to do perform a search with some sort of settings, the drop down icon from the tools menu does nothing to tell you what kind of functionality is being performed.

I think I may have not understood what is supposed to happen when you click on the cogwheel.

So let's see... you click it the dropdown appears and then you click on "View new posts" and then you are taken to a new page where you view the new posts. The same as when you click on "View new posts" the way it is now. Right?

If that's so, then the cogwheel is not settings for the search. It would behave as settings if you selected "View new posts" and then typed something in the search field to get results of new posts.

As for your question I have been thinking about that and we can add a link in their to search the current forums and have the default be global. So type in your search and if you want it globally click the search icon, if you want it in the current forums click the cog wheel and select current forums

So if you are at viewforum you could select "Search Current Forum" and switch from general/global to specific search. And the option should change too right? It should change to "Search in all forums" or something like that to allow you to switch back.

And if you are at viewtopic the option should be "Search Current Topic".

Finally, the search's placeholder text should change accordingly. What do you think?

[PayBas]

Let's not get too focused on which exact icons and labels we should use (that's trivial to change). But rather on the important questions:

1. Do we want to combine the current search forms (merging the header search and topic/forum/results search) into one.
   1. If so: it would make most sense to have the functionality change from "search" to "search this topic"/"search these results"/etc
   2. But what would be the most elegant solution to switch back to searching the "whole" forum when in viewtopic/viewform mode
2. What kind of functionality it should have:
   1. Replacing "View your posts"
   2. Replacing: predefined searches ("View unanswered posts", "View unread posts", "View new posts", "View active topics")
   3. Possible extra items
3. What the best location in the template would be, given that not all pages have a second search form. And ideally you would want the "search this topic" to be close to the content.

[Louis7777]

Let's not get too focused on which exact icons and labels we should use (that's trivial to change). But rather on the important questions:

1. Do we want to combine the current search forms (merging the header search and topic/forum/results search) into one.
   1. If so: it would make most sense to have the functionality change from "search" to "search this topic"/"search these results"/etc
   2. But what would be the most elegant solution to switch back to searching the "whole" forum when in viewtopic/viewform mode
2. What kind of functionality it should have:
   1. Replacing "View your posts"
   2. Replacing: predefined searches ("View unanswered posts", "View unread posts", "View new posts", "View active topics")
   3. Possible extra items
3. What the best location in the template would be, given that not all pages have a second search form. And ideally you would want the "search this topic" to be close to the content.

1 and 3 are easy to answer. Yes and... at top right like you previously demonstrated?

1a. Maybe have "search" as default, option to switch to "search this forum" at viewforum and option to switch to "search this topic" at viewtopic.
1b. Maybe something like what hanakin demonstrated.