In list view, the search fields at the top of each column appear to have no character size, so they default to the browser default. I would like to make them smaller, so users can see more columns on the page without scrolling sideways.

I know this is hard-coded somewhere. Is it possible to change?

Hi there,

It's on line 1194 of include/entriesdisplay.php. Right now, no sizes are specified so yes, it's using the browser defaults.

Mea cupla for the lack of templates. I could argue in my defense that separation of logic and style is not all it's cracked up to be (half the time when I've had to modify templates, I end up having to modify code too, since the module itself is not providing enough detail in what it sends to the template), and PHP is itself a templating language of a sort, and well structured PHP code ought to be just about as easy as a smarty template to read and modify, but all that is only part of the whole picture.

(And it's not like Formulize overflows with such clean code anyway!).

An interesting read on the subject:

http://alistapart.com/articles/separation/

About the whole number-of-columns-visible-at-once issue...it would be nice if the size of the scrolling box could be adjusted, preferrably by clicking and dragging on the borders, but I think that would require a pretty heavy duty javascript-based rewrite of the interface. We have always had an idea for a "Configuration" or "Preferences" popup where you could specify a preferred width for the scrolling box. On a widescreen monitor it's particularly annoying that it's hard coded for a 1024x768 screen.

I have these fantasies of a completely AJAX-based rewrite of Formulize. It may yet come to pass since there's a lot of low level things that may be best addressed by a core architecture re-write (plus we would like to make it platform agnostic so you could run it on Drupal or other systems). I think all open source projects that start as a fork of something else reach such a point, where the legacy inherited from the parent is ultimately too limiting.

--Julian

Thx jegelstaff

Around 1205 I added the 'size=10' and I now can see 5 columns, user, first name, last name, address, email and one custom entry. That's fine really. To see anything else I can live with the scroll. Plus the save view feature allows me to view selected columns.


I have no worries about module-wide templates. All the screens look very neat IMHO. The only issue I have is the entriesdisplay.php screen is a stumbling block for new users. I added the line "Press the 'Add one entry' button to complete this form. A list of the forms you have submitted will be shown below".

Around line 670:

I also highlighted the 'Add one entry' button by giving the input an orange background colour and border.

Around line 700:


This seems to steer people in the right direction.

Very good suggestions, thanks. That screen is a bit daunting to novices, no question. Perhaps we need an "entriesdisplaylite" page, that would only have:

* Add entry options
* Delete entry options if you have permission
* links to edit entries
* Quick searching and sorting (no advanced search)
The current view dropdown, including published views, but no saved views (or save/delete view buttons)

We'll have to think about that.

--Julian

The problem I have found is, people see the link in the menu, e.g. 'Application Form' and when they click it, they expect to see a form. The trouble is... they do!. They see the fields at the top of the columns and start to complete them.

I kinda sympathise with that, so I added the comment.

I agree it would be better if the column search fields would only appear with an 'advanced search' as you suggest.

I would certainly move the 'add one entry' and 'add multiple entries' buttons over to the left so they are the first buttons people encounter. I would rename them 'Add one form' and 'Add several forms' and make them distinctive, maybe put them in a grey block or something. My quick colour hack doesn't work in Safari on the Macintosh which overides CSS buttons with it's default glass-style buttons.

I don't see a problem having the other feature buttons on the right. Once they have submitted the first form it all falls into place.

FYI: Many of these issues have been addressed now in the imminent 2.2 release.

The width of the boxes has not been reduced, but that's because the first box now contains the text "Type search terms here" and you need the width for that text to all appear. The text disappears if you start typing a search term in any box.

Also, the add an entry, add multiple entries, update your entry and add proxy entry buttons have been moved to the left, just under the title of the form, and have the heading "Fill in this form:" in bold, just like "Current View:". The other buttons have been given the heading "Actions:".

And also, when there are no entries to display, ie: the form is empty, or your search terms don't return any results, then a message appears where the entries are normally drawn in and it says "No entries were found in the current view that match the current search terms (if any)."

I hope these improvements help solve some of the usability issues you have run into. Thank you very much for your suggestions. That's what open source is all about!

--Julian