[Done] Post-install page improvements (was: Some feedback..)

[someone]

Then perhaps: "community created subscription" or "subscription made by volunteers from the community"?

Or is this too indirect? And nobody reads this text anyway...

[DaveR]

As I mentioned at my point number 2, I suspect that some people don't recognise the subscription webpage as part of the installation - if they notice it at all.

Perhaps the add-on installation process could allow those add-ons which require it to display an alert - "To complete the installation you need to ..." The user would have to OK it.

I don't know how many add-ons need post-installation configuration - but I can think of some that could use it to draw attention to their options - "You can change the X by going to the control panel, under tools" - or similar. Add-ons that don't need configuration should be discouraged from using the alert.

I assume that this would require a change to the extension manager - but maybe worthwhile.

Dave

I can't think of a better word than 'subscriptions' either!

[Wladimir Palant]

Dave, improvements to installation process are already being discussed by Mozilla, they would like to integrate such post-install pages somehow. However, for now opening it as a page (as opposed to a modal dialog that interrupts the user in what he is doing) should be the best thing we can do. Which is why I suggested changing the text so that it clearly states - this is the final step of the installation. And maybe the ABP icon there should be replaced by the one I have in the upper right corner on this site (en/) or a variation of it - to make sure the dialog is more easily recognized as belonging to Adblock Plus.

[Wladimir Palant]

The implementation is mostly done, now is a good time to nitpick on details (especially text). The next development build will contain these changes but I'll post some screenshots already.

What the user will see after installation (for German users "EasyList Germany" will be preselected, for Korean users "Corset" is the default):


Result of selecting "Add different subscription" from the drop-down list of clicking the button with the same name:


Message when clicking "Cancel":


Same things as a "real" dialog - when choosing "Add filter subscription" in Adblock Plus Preferences:


The entire list of recommendations:


The links change according to the subscription selected, link target is visible in tooltip:


Comments, corrections, improvements? I am not entirely sure what to do with the other subscription dialog that still comes up if you want to edit a filter subscription or click an abp: link. It should probably be merged into this dialog. However, it has an "Update automatically" checkbox - we probably want to keep that one when editing subscriptions. But I don't want it on first run, it is probably pointless/confusing when adding a new subscription as well.

Edit: Updated the last three screenshots, the look changed a little already.

[Erunno]

Since EasyList Germany is only a supplemental subscription to the main list and many international advertisement services get used on German sites as well, choosing solely ELG as default for German users is not enough. EasyList + EasyList Germany would be more appropriate in my opinion. Plus, I also miss a short explanation to what a subscription does for the user ("effective" seems a little vague to me).

I am by no means a usability expert so my opinion should be taken with a large dose of salt but here goes:

1) Two entry points for doing the same thing (i.e. adding a subscription manually) is confusing in opinion as it is not clear if and what is different.
2) The dropdown menu combines both an item choice as well as serving as a way to change the content area which mixes two different concepts into one widget which I guess can also be confusing.
3) Does "Add subscription" allow me to select several subscriptions consecutively or will it activate the one currently visible in the dropdown widget and close the window?
4) The difference between "add subscription" and "add a different subscription" is not clear, maybe the wording has to be adjusted (add subscription manually).

[Michael]

Since EasyList Germany is only a supplemental subscription to the main list and many international advertisement services get used on German sites as well, choosing solely ELG as default for German users is not enough. EasyList + EasyList Germany would be more appropriate in my opinion.

This image would appear to indicate that EasyList Germany and EasyList are added together:

[Erunno]

[Wladimir Palant]

@Erunno: All recommendations are good for general use, not only for the respective region - that's one of the prerequisites for becoming a recommendation. EasyList Germany is indeed combined with EasyList.

The problem with explanations: nobody bothers to read them, especially if they get long. That's why that text should be as short as possible and contain only the absolutely necessary points. I don't see how one would describe the point of filter subscriptions in a short text.

I think that users who want to add some subscription will first look through the list - once they don't find it "Add a different subscription" should be the obvious choice. That's why it is there, people shouldn't need to look for other UI widgets when they hit this issue. The widget I am not sure about is actually the button that serves the same purpose, I originally wanted to remove it. However, I think that removing it will confuse experienced Adblock Plus users who *know* that their subscription is not in the list and won't think to look there (not to mention that keyboard users won't like digging through the drop-down list, Alt+F is better).

[Erunno]

I originally wanted to remove it. However, I think that removing it will confuse experienced Adblock Plus users who *know* that their subscription is not in the list and won't think to look there.

If they are experienced I assume that they'll know that you can add subscriptions manually from the ABP settings. And your reasoning for keeping the "Add another subscription" in the dropdown widget is comprehensible, so I'll retract my objection.

[Wladimir Palant]

Erunno, you get exactly the same thing if you add a subscription from ABP preferences. That's actually what the last three screenshots are. And the dialog that shows up when you click an abp: link or edit a subscription should be merged into this one soon.

[Erunno]

I'm sorry for making such a fool of myself, I should have read the captions more carefully (that is: at all). I completely misunderstood the purpose of the redesign as I mistakenly thought the only the first-run screen would get a face-lift to accommodate for those users who aren't likely to ever touch the ABP settings again after installation.

[Michael]

Although I am no expert in art and design, I would recommend applying the background logo from the start page to the subscriptions dialog in order to create a unified look. It at least fills up the empty space that needs to be there for the input fields when someone adds a custom subscription.

[Hubird]

After trying out the changes made to the latest development build I am not sure if the part circled in red is of much use



When I clicked "Add a different subscription" I expected to be taken to

http://adblockplus.org/en/subscriptions

but to get to that page now seems more complicated than need be, ssurely the subscriptions page is of more use than a space to type the name and url of a subscription (who would know the url of the subscription they wanted ).

[Wladimir Palant]

@Michael: The logo was originally there (and required the dialog to be larger than it currently is). You can see the original screenshots here:

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/2134 ... ption4.png
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/9403/a ... ption5.png
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9818 ... ption6.png

My impression was that this actually looked worse and the logo was out of place for a regular dialog like this. I can of course make the dialog resize itself when people choose "Add a different subscription" instead of reserving the space from the start, maybe this will be better.

@Hubird: I agree, manual entry isn't very useful for the first-run page - but it is what people will mostly expect when going to "Add subscription" from preferences. Not sure what would be a better solution here other than making the two variations of that dialog behave differently (undesirable).

[Wladimir Palant]

Discussion on the choice of recommendations was moved here: forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4927. Please stay on topic.