Make it Sexy

[Rick]

Alright, so it’s no secret that the Bible software market on the Mac is getting a bit more competitive. I’m a loyal fan of Accordance and definitely want to toss in my two cents. Now, I know that “competition” isn’t a very holy attribute, but at the end of the day, Accordance won’t make it if people start writing checks to other companies. I think the “we are who we are” mentality is nice and all, but if Accordance is going to stick around, they should be willing to creatively evolve with as much innovation possible.

 

One small way I think this could happen is by bringing Accordance’s user interface (UI) up to modern standards. Currently, it has the look and feel of a System 9 app. Besides, we all know that one of the largest values of Apple customers is aesthetics. And as Christians, we should be like our Lord who is constantly creating objects of divine beauty, right? When I load up Accordance now, I see duplicate buttons, inconstant menu styles, and wasted toolbar space.

 

Accordance is very much like photo software. Both require a lot of screen real estate. Every pixel matters. Also, both Accordance and photo applications contain many, many tools; Accordance tools for loading modules, and photos tools for editing. Some great photo applications whose UI I admire are Aperture and Pixelmator. Yet at the same time, Accordance is like database software, such as iTunes, Mail, and iCal. These database applications have powerful search abilities and are able to display results quickly with options to narrow results even further. They also must display massive amounts of text and information. I just want to challenge the Accordance staff to take some queues from some leading photo and database applications to make Accordance look a bit more--dare I say--sexy. Here are a few of my suggestions based on what I see in Aperture, iPhoto, Pixelmator, Mail, iTunes, and iCal:

 

Use HUDs instead of Palettes

Both have the same function, but one is way more beautiful than the other. HUDs are used in many Apple applications, and Pixelmator does a wonderful job implementing them as well.

 

Use a Toolbar instead of the Resource Pallet

I love Aperture’s toolbar because it gives me quick access to bringing up HUDs, exporting my photos, and viewing options. However, I can also hide is by clicking that little rice-looking button in the upper right corner of the window. For Accordance, I think this would be a nice, next location for the Resource Pallet.

 

Better Search Experience

Have you ever lost an email in Mail and done a search for it? You click in the search bar, type in the author of the email, and boom: your mailbox gets replaced with your search results along with a few options to narrow the search down. A similar thing happens in iPhoto, Aperture, and iTunes. I currently like Accordance’s search, but I think there’s a lot of room for it to look better.

 

Use an iTunes-like Source Menu

Now, this would be super controversial, I know. But what if Accordance had a Source Menu like iTunes, iPhoto, and Mail? (The Source Menu is the list of Playlists at the left side of your iTunes window.) Just as iTunes has the Source Menu split into sections (Library, Shared, Devices, Playlists, etc.), Accordance could use one to quickly switch from workspaces, modules, notes, and texts. You could even implement Custom Folders ,Smart Folders, and Custom Searches.

 

Create Safari-like tabs

Accordance’s take on workspace tabs is just plane ugly. Please make it look like Safari’s tabs. Aperture makes good use of tabs as well.

 

Full-Screen mode

Both Pixelmator and Aperture have a Full Screen mode. You click on a button, and the program darkens the background, pushes back the menu bar, and fills every pixel with your photo. I’d love it if Accordance had a similar feature. Fill my screen with the app so I can see as much text as possible!

 

Anyway, these are just a few quick suggestions, and I’m sure you guys have thought about most of them before. I just want to challenge you to seriously think about revamping the Accordance UI. I know “change” is a bad word to a lot of people, but fear of it has left Accordance sitting in the UI guidelines of System 9... which is hardly familiar to the current Mac user.

 

I know you’re working on a Universal Binary of Accordance. While you’re flexing your coding skills, maybe you should take it as an opportunity to work on the UI as well. So, to the software engineer responsible for Accordance UI, download a trail of Aperture for free off Apple’s website, toss some family photos into it, and figure out how easy and fun it is to use; then, take some notes on its UI. Also return to your most used apps like Mail and iTunes to see how they do search and folder organization. To others in the Accordance forums, do you resonate with this? Do you have other suggestions as well?

[Robb B]

One small way I think this could happen is by bringing Accordance

[David Lang]

Rick,

 

I'm all for improving the Accordance interface and making it sexy, but I'm always a little baffled when I read statements about Accordance's interface needing to be "brought up to modern standards" and its current "look and feel" being that of a system 9 app. Those kinds of statements could justifiably have been made about version 5 of Accordance, which was admittedly a rather ungainly hybrid of OS 9 and OS X interface conventions. But the Accordance interface has long been dictated by OS X interface conventions and design principles.

 

The challenge we face in trying to keep up with so called "modern" interface standards is that they are a constantly shifting target. OS X is actually pretty schizophrenic when it comes to look and feel. Do we use a pinstriped Aqua interface, a brushed metal look, the latest shiny black reflective look, or what? With each new OS release, Apple comes out with nifty new interface elements, but it is challenging to figure out what the rules are for bringing those elements together into a cohesive whole. Apple is actually changing things faster than it can publish clearly defined interface guidelines, and sometimes Apple breaks the guidelines it establishes! Add to that the fact that we could spend a lot of time retrofitting the interface with the latest look, only to find that it will become pass

[Robb B]

With respect to the look of the Workspace tabs, those were recently updated to reflect Leopard's look and feel, so what exactly about them is ugly. I have heard complaints about the close icon on the tabs, and I believe we're planning to make it a little smaller and more like that on the tabs in Safari. Beyond that, I'm not sure how else to improve them.

 

It's really hard to pin down what doesn't look quite right with the tabs right now. I think what I notice most is how the tabs seem to free-float above the search window and are not connected to it in a meaningful way. Because the selected tab is highlighted, it's not a big deal. Another thing might be to have the tabs start off on the far left rather than centered. That's how Safari currently works. Maybe that would be more consistent to some users. The last thing would be to have the tab bar extend all the way across the window instead of the current set up where it leaves some padding on the right and left. I haven't seen a mock-up of any of these suggestions. They might look really terrible in practice, but I thought I'd throw some ideas out there.

[Ed Cross]

Robb,

 

The problem with the tabs is they look more like buttons than tabs as you pointed out, I think because they are detached. I have attached a example of a look similar to Safari, but personally I think this is all eye candy more than anything else. And like you, I'd prefer that the Accordance developers spend more time on improved functionality than the eye candy. Improved user tools and the ability to be able to edit user Bibles within Accordance so we could use them for reference formatted user tools would be great. Importing into User notes would definitely be great.

 

I have a number of books that will never make it into the Accordances book selection, I would love to be able to add these along with my own materials.

 

The universal binary also is far more important than some eye candy adjustments.

 

As far as other features that some think could be change I think the floating toolbars are much better as they allow for user customization as far as location on the screen and the ability to detach a tab into it's own workspace is also a great feature for those of us with 30 inch displays.

 

Overall, I think the current look of the program is very good, and most suggestions are going to be personal preferences rather than any earth shaking new look. Keep up the good work Accordance.

 

Pastor Ed Cross

[Rick]

Hello all,

 

Wow, I didn't think people would actually read my original post! Thanks for reading and replying, all of you. I love the tip of making the resource pallet horizontal, and I've also loved reading the intentionality of why decisions were made. It's obvious that there's a lot more thought put into things than I had imagined! Thanks for your serious reply. Also, I apologize for my blunt way of expressing ideas. It's been awhile since I wrote that, and now that I review it, I realize I didn't write it in a way that should have been taken seriously. Thanks for doing so anyways.

 

I also want to say that Accordance 8 is a pleasure to use and it feels way more smooth than the previous version. I think it answers a lot of my original complaints. Also, David's reply was full of great solutions and I wish I had taken the time to discover them myself!

 

Again, thanks for putting up with me! Oh, and I really like Ed's mock-up of Tabs. Nice Job!

[Sean R.]

I appreciated the way earlier versions of Accordance dealt with tabs. A clear visual connection existed between the tab and that tab's contents. I'm currently watching the Training DVD and I keep thinking, "I wish Accordance still dealt with tabs that way

[Helen Brown]

We liked the older tabs too, but Leopard hated them! We will have another try for the next rev, but this was the best that we could come up with at the time.

[ajbuch]

I like the instant details as a floating pallet, though, and would not want it attached to any windows.

 

I was just thinking the opposite recently, ie that it would be great to have an option to have the Instant Details as part of the window. There's a fair amount of space below the tabs to the right of the buttons for choosing module, search by words/verse &c. That space is also very handy to glance up to when reading the text below. Of course, I can place the floating window there, but my Accordance windows are in different positions in different workspaces and so there's not one absolute position that works.

[Guntis]

I was just thinking the opposite recently, ie that it would be great to have an option to have the Instant Details as part of the window. There's a fair amount of space below the tabs to the right of the buttons for choosing module, search by words/verse &c. That space is also very handy to glance up to when reading the text below.

 

Actually this is really good idea! I found that on my 17" laptop I can place Instant Details palette at the top of the screen, and then I can enlarge main window till the bottom of the screen. Yes, if Accordance could somehow incorporate this palette in the main interface, it would be great.

[mballai]

I spent several years of my life as a programmer, and the last thing one wants on an interface is something slicked up for novelty's sake. If it requires much new thought for an existing user, it could be intimidating for a new user. Anything new needs a functional justification. Being attractive or handsome might get you a date, but it's not much help to stay married.

[dgzylstra]

I too agree that there needs to be good reason for making interface changes to a well-established software package. That being said, however, I think there are a lot of changes that could be made that would be relatively small, but would do wonders for freeing up screen real estate. I think that Rick's original comparison between Accordance and a photo app is relatively good. It is a good one because the best photo apps (and the best apps period, in my opinion) get the UI "out of the way" as much as possible. If you think about a good old fashioned ink & paper book, one of the great things about them is that the UI is so simple that it doesn't interfere in any way with what you're mainly trying to do (which is read). A good photo app does the same thing, and Accordance, in my humble opinion, ought to work towards that goal too.

 

That is one of the reasons that the direction Apple is using in some of their apps (like Safari, for example) is a good one. There the buttons are all uniform and simple in appearance--no flashy colours, no glossy bubbles, smaller interface items wherever possible, monochromatic colour theme to "stay out of the way"... by doing this Apple makes it so that it's easy to focus on the content, rather than the interface. Google's Chrome browser is doing this even better with their new interface--simple and minimal is best for those things.

 

One more example of this is the difference between Pages and MS Word. Pages has only a handful of icons on the toolbar, but much of the functionality of Word--they've just done a better job of keeping out of the way of the user (although Office:mac 2008 is better here than 2004 was).

 

Again, this is all my opinion, so take it for what it's worth...not meaning to offend anyone for sure.

 

Some very simple suggestions for making this happen with a typical accordance window?

1) Make the window "frame" the kind of darker grey that you find in Safari or iTunes --makes it less "in your face"

2) Make the tabs align at the left to start off (people in the west naturally read from left to right, so make it the tab appear on the left where people naturally look first.

3) Make the tabs come from the top down, like they do in Safari (less difference between UI elements in OS X is generally, but not always, better)

4) Change the Text drop-down menu into a kind of bookmarks bar drop-down (no button, just the word with a drop-down arrow behind it). This saves a bit more screen real estate and is again less distracting. Do the same with the History button on the right.

5) Decrease the height of the search text window. It should only be the size of one line of text.

6) Move the smaller search box into the same line as the text drop-down. Integrate the "spotlight" search icon into the search box, as in Safari's search box. Get rid of the "Words/Verses" buttons and put that selection into the search box before you start typing (just like the greyed word "Google" appears in your search box in Safari, have "Words" appear in the search box in Accordance and use the drop-down arrow beside the search icon to select "words" or "verses"

7) Change the "Linked" windows icon that appears beside the history button--not sure a better suggestion, but it's not very intuitive now.

 

If just the above changes were made, I bet you could reclaim almost 1/10 of your screen space for displaying text.

 

8) Not sure what to do with the actual text-panes area except for a couple of tweaks. I like the increase flexibility introduce here in ver. 8, but I would simplify icons where possible. Make the font size adjustment icons simple black and white, for example, like many other Apple programs. Get rid of the glossy buttons and have simple words with drop-down arrows....that kind of thing.

9) make the "status" bar at the bottom about half the size. Decrease the size of the navigation icons down there and make them simple black outlines of the triangles. Get rid of the glossy bubble buttons at the bottom, and get rid of the "Go To" button altogether. Why do we need it? Just have that box there, when people type, they can just press enter, like they would in any other text-box.

 

Sorry about the long descriptions, but I'm not savvy enough to make a mockup for all of you, so I figured I'd have to describe. A good picture would've covered all this quite well, though, so if any of you have the skills maybe a mockup would be nice?

 

 

...Okay. Not sure anyone's interested anymore, but I was messin' around with some photo editing stuff (Pixelmator--pretty cool app), and I came up with this version of some of the "improvements" I might make to the Accordance UI. Accordance folks take it for what it's worth and use it as you like! Oh, the transparent controls on the bottom left above the "Cross References" indicates controls that would only appear when you mouse over that section of the page.