[Synaptic-devel] [bug #3864] ui/usability improvments2

[nobody]

=================== BUG #3864: LATEST MODIFICATIONS ==================
http://savannah.nongnu.org/bugs/?func=detailbug&bug_id=3864&group_id=2422

Changes by: Michael Vogt <address@hidden>
Date: Tue 11/18/03 at 11:58 (GMT)

------------------ Additional Follow-up Comments ----------------------------
1. fixed IMHO (find is in package menu though)

3. fixed

2. we work on this :)



if a package can't be installed, synaptic will tell you now why not 



=================== BUG #3864: FULL BUG SNAPSHOT ===================


Submitted by: mvogt                   Project: Synaptic                     
Submitted on: Wed 06/04/03 at 10:23
Category:  None                       Severity:  3                          
Bug Group:  None                      Resolution:  None                     
Assigned to:  mvogt                   Status:  Open                         

Summary:  ui/usability improvments2

Original Submission:  I think this bug has to be splitted into several bugs:



1. About search:

Most users expect to get a video player program when they type text "video 
player" in field "Find Package" in main synaptic window. I think there should 
be an option (turned off by default) "Exact package searching" (which controls 
behaviour to search by description or by exact name in "Find Package" field in 
main synaptic window) in synaptic preferences. Btw, why search by description 
in synaptic 0.36 and apt-cache search produces different results ?

Search meniu item should be added to *Action* meniu, not to main menu. Also 
only one search action with ability search in package name and package 
description (like "Filter Packages" dialog in stormpkg program) should be added.



2. Installing recommended and/or suggested packages

With stormpkg installing recommended or suggested packages is very easy. Now 
synaptic contains option "Automaticaly select recommended packages on actions", 
which is very helpful, but this can also be improved - just do like stormpkg:

when user presses install button and "changes" dialog with packages (to be 
marked for installation) is displayed, synaptic could also show suggested 
packages in this dialog with the ability to install wanted ones - I think two 
more columns could be added - one with checkbox and second one with dependency 
type (depend, recommend or suggest).



3. Filtering and sorting

There are no way to filter packages by size or to find a package, that wastes 
more space on disk in synaptic. I think in main package view should be columns 
"Package Size" and "Installed Size" (or at least one column "Size" which means 
installed size) and posibility to sort packages by clicking on headers of these 
columns should be added.



About half a year ago deity - very good apt frontend was removed from debian 
:(((. This fronted had the ability to sort and filter packages list by size, 
section, installed or available version, and other parameters.

Try to use deity and you will see how comfortable and powerfull it is.

You can download deity from

http://files.akl.lt/veidrodis/misc_deb_packages/stable/ (gtk frontend is still 
buggy, but curses frontend is pretty stable). You can grab best ideas from 
deity and stormpkg :) 

Follow-up Comments
*******************

-------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue 11/18/03 at 11:58         By: mvogt
1. fixed IMHO (find is in package menu though)

3. fixed

2. we work on this :)



if a package can't be installed, synaptic will tell you now why not 

-------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri 10/10/03 at 14:27         By: None
"" I think there should be an option (turned off by default) ""



What is the use-case of making this option, versus just always being on?  I see 
no reason to add an unneeded option - why would anyone need to turn it off, 
ever?

-------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed 06/04/03 at 13:56         By: mvogt
the search code has improved now, there was indeed a problem with querrys like 
"video player". it should now produce basicly the same output as apt-cache 
search

-------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed 06/04/03 at 10:25         By: mvogt


Back to Synaptic, one more usability suggestion - if a package can't be 
installed/upgraded, it never says why (that I can tell). It just refuses to 
mark the application as ready to be installed/upgraded. If the reason can't be 
extracted (don't know how you're getting the output from apt, thru a lib or 
parsing output), at least a dialog like "This package cannot be 
[installed|upgraded]. This may be due to uninstallable dependencies or a broken 
package. [OK]"


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