• Usability

Problem Summary

The dialog structure for uploading a file and adding a link to it in wiki page is much better than it was, thanks to the introduction of the File icon in the toolbar of the wiki editor. But it is still cumbersome and error prone. Here is the process below and the usability issues that I found at various spots.

1. Click on the File icon
2. Pick File Gallery/Archive in Type
3. Click on Pick a file link
4. Click on the Upload File
5. Click on the Browse button
6. Click on Upload button
7. Browse the file system and pick the file.
8. Once the file is uploaded, click on its name.
9. Click on Insert button

Besides the fact that this is long, there are many places where it is misleading to the user (details later). I had to try this more than a dozen times, clicking on different items, to figure out how it works. And I had help from some experts on the mailing list!

Fortunately, there are a number of very small fixes that we could implement to address those issues. See below for a discussion of the various issues and proposed fixes.

Issue 1: Type should have a reasonable default

Currently, the type is set to empty. It really should be set to either File Gallery/Archive or Attachment by default. Personally, I would favour File Gallery/Archive, because I think it's generally a bad idea to attach files to a wiki page, because it limits your ability to link to those files from other pages. But the point is: the value should default to what users most commonly use.

In some cases, the picklist only has one option in it anyways (ex: if the feature for attaching files to wiki pages is off). In those cases, then the picklist should DEFINITELY default to that single value.

Issue 2: Pick a file link looks more like a caption than something you can click on

I never realized that I could click on it to choose the file. Someone had to actually point that out to me. Others on the mailing list have said that they need to point this out to users all the time.

Issue 3: Too easy to miss the Upload button

Once you click on pick a file link, you are presented with the general screen for navigating and managing the File Gallery. But at this point in time, you are only intersted in uploading or choosing a file from the gallery, and seeing this complex dialog is very disorienting. In my case, I managed to miss the fac that there was an Upload button on that screen, and I thought I had mad a mistake and someone pressed the wrong button or link in the previous screen. I had to go back to the previous screen several times and click on different things, and finally come back to clicking pick a file, and then I saw the Upload button.

Issue 4: Not clear that you have to click on the file name after uploading

In Step 8, there is nothing that tells you you need to click on the file name after you uploaded it. I went through the whole process several times and it never occured to me that I had to do this until someone from the mailing list told me.

Note that there is a message to that effec that appears if you hover the mouse over the file's name. That message really should be visible at all times, not just when you hover over the file name.

Issue 5: Insert button is not clear.

In Step 9, you are back at the original pop up, and you need to click on the Insert button, otherwise the link to the uploaded file does not get inserted.

Again, I had to do the process several times before realizing I had to do this. My natural tendancy was to close the popup, either by Xing it or clicking on the Close button. The result is that the file does not get inserted on the page.

I think the problem is that the two buttons at the bottom say:

Close Insert

And you naturally tend to click on the first of these two, i.e. Close.

This bug has been demonstrated on show2.tiki.org

Please demonstrate your bug on show2.tiki.org

This bug has been demonstrated on show.tikiwiki.org

Please demonstrate your bug on show.tikiwiki.org