[GRASS-dev] Final report for Mini project 2023: Improving Single-Window GUI user experience

[Linda Kladivová]

Hello everyone,



I am sending my final Mini Project report.




First, sorry for the huge delay. By the end of January, all PRs were almost 
finished but there were still some minor lacks that needed more time to 
address. Mainly the undocking functionality needed to ripen a bit. At the 
same time and later (till the end of February) I was also finishing 
preparations for my doctoral professional debate so It was quite a hectic 
period. 





The next rows include a brief version of the final report. The full version 
with permanent links on GitHub PRs and with screenshots of Single-Window GUI
improvements can be found in the project wiki [1].





Abstract:
This project follows ideas for Single-Window GUI improvements mentioned in 
the last-year Mini-project final report (please see ​
(https://trac.osgeo.org/grass/wiki/wxGUIDevelopment/RedesigningStatusbar#FinalReport)
[2]).

The core part of the project is devoted to undocking map display 
functionality. This ability is essential to users who prefer the well-known 
Multi-Window GUI arrangement. The other part focuses on improving the layout
of the Console pane. Related to the Console pane issue, the toggleable Log 
file button in the Console pane is replaced by the simple Export history 
button which can store the whole history of executed commands. The project 
also verifies if workspaces work well in Single-Window and addresses saving 
the current user layout to a workspace file. The workspace file also 
remembers and loads undocked map displays. 





The state of the art BEFORE the start of the Mini project:


   * The Single-Window GUI does not allow rearrangement to Multi-Window GUI.
   * The widget with buttons managing the Command prompt is partly hidden 
   after the GRASS launch. 
   * The Single-Window arrangement is not stored within the workspace. 
   

The state of the art AFTER Mini project:
Starting with GRASS 8.4 we can come across several Single-Window 
improvements that were implemented as part of this project. First, there is 
the new possibility to create a Multi-Window interface by undocking map 
displays. Moreover, we can store a new arrangement within workspace files. 
Last but not least, the Console layout better fits the Single-Window 
interface. 





Next Steps:
Possible improvements for Single-Window GUI: 

   * Each user should be able to choose a convenient arrangement of widgets.
   Creating, saving, and selecting perspectives could be part of a new tab 
   menu. 
   * It is necessary to change the rendering of the 3D View panel. Now the 3
   D View pane is added as another panel under the Display tab - very 
   problematic in terms of space. 
   * Modify the appearance for the dark mode. Some parts are ugly and 
   illegible (names of AuiNotebook tabs, names of panes, ugly gradients, 
   etc.).
   

Permanent links and screenshots can be found at [3] and [4].




[1] https://trac.osgeo.org/grass/wiki/wxGUIDevelopment/
ImprovingSingleWindowUX
(https://trac.osgeo.org/grass/wiki/wxGUIDevelopment/ImprovingSingleWindowUX)

[2] https://trac.osgeo.org/grass/wiki/wxGUIDevelopment/RedesigningStatusbar#
FinalReport
(https://trac.osgeo.org/grass/wiki/wxGUIDevelopment/RedesigningStatusbar#FinalReport)

[3] https://trac.osgeo.org/grass/wiki/wxGUIDevelopment/
ImprovingSingleWindowUX#FinalReport
(https://trac.osgeo.org/grass/wiki/wxGUIDevelopment/ImprovingSingleWindowUX#FinalReport)

[4] https://trac.osgeo.org/grass/wiki/wxGUIDevelopment/
ImprovingSingleWindowUX#ScreenshotsofSingle-WindowGUIimprovements
(https://trac.osgeo.org/grass/wiki/wxGUIDevelopment/ImprovingSingleWindowUX#ScreenshotsofSingle-WindowGUIimprovements)




Have a nice week.
Linda
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