I always felt the UI of Marble is a bit clumsy and too hierarchical. So I made a mockup of a new UI where most important functions are readily available and the rest are reachable through a menu button, similar to Dolphin.





Let me know what you think...

Tuukka wrote:Let me know what you think...

Nice mockup! I also believe, that the Marble UI would benefit of some VD rework.

I like most, how you implemented the routing feature in the UI - looks nice and is functional IMO.
One thing that is missing, is a chance to adjust the projection. As that is an import feature of a GIS, I think it would make sense to place it on top level, next to the design scrollbar. A bit of rethink needs the placement of elements in the map. Marble actually renders an outline map on top left and a scalebar bottom left. Both would be overlapped by expandable features in your UI. Perhaps it would make sense to place the scalebar in the bottom section, next to the postion label. And the outline map under (or above) the north star.

donK23 wrote:

Tuukka wrote:Let me know what you think...

Nice mockup! I also believe, that the Marble UI would benefit of some VD rework.

I like most, how you implemented the routing feature in the UI - looks nice and is functional IMO.
One thing that is missing, is a chance to adjust the projection. As that is an import feature of a GIS, I think it would make sense to place it on top level, next to the design scrollbar. A bit of rethink needs the placement of elements in the map. Marble actually renders an outline map on top left and a scalebar bottom left. Both would be overlapped by expandable features in your UI. Perhaps it would make sense to place the scalebar in the bottom section, next to the postion label. And the outline map under (or above) the north star.

Good point about the outline map and scale bar. I removed them from the mockup for the reasons you mentioned. The scale bar could perhaps be positioned on the bottom if it were centered to not overlap with the legend. The overlay map could indeed be next the the north star, or stay at the left corner and be covered when the map view list is expanded (not a big issue IMO). Actually, I never use the overlay map and I'm not so sure of its utility, so perhaps it doesn't need to be shown by default?

GIS is a new concept to me and I don't know the reasons why map projection would be important to be adjustable (Marble is supposed to be a globe, so it's just orthograpic projection right?)... Maybe this is something that calls for some consideration about what is the target audience for Marble (something worth thinking about -- for example Krita became hugely succesful after they decided they want to be an artists' tool). For me it's just a replacement for Google maps...

Tuukka wrote:GIS is a new concept to me and I don't know the reasons why map projection would be important to be adjustable (Marble is supposed to be a globe, so it's just orthograpic projection right?)... Maybe this is something that calls for some consideration about what is the target audience for Marble (something worth thinking about -- for example Krita became hugely succesful after they decided they want to be an artists' tool). For me it's just a replacement for Google maps...

Perhaps someone from the Marble team will join the discussion and can briefly lay out what are the main goals of development and for which target audience.
But, as far as I know, Marble should also be applicable for educational purposes - for example, to use it as a digital atlas. And that feature needs a plain projection or at least an easy accessible possibility to switch to it. Also when it comes to customize maps with the overlay features, it can also be useful to switch the projections. IMO adjustment of projection is well resolved in the actual version, so its easy to switch from the globe view to a specific projection (plain or Mercator).

For these few options and the main projection defined, I think the two buttons are quite useable and a good starting point for further developments of this specific UI element. But, some VD rework would be a benefit for that particular feature and for the application as a whole

donK23 wrote:

Tuukka wrote:GIS is a new concept to me and I don't know the reasons why map projection would be important to be adjustable (Marble is supposed to be a globe, so it's just orthograpic projection right?)... Maybe this is something that calls for some consideration about what is the target audience for Marble (something worth thinking about -- for example Krita became hugely succesful after they decided they want to be an artists' tool). For me it's just a replacement for Google maps...

Perhaps someone from the Marble team will join the discussion and can briefly lay out what are the main goals of development and for which target audience.
But, as far as I know, Marble should also be applicable for educational purposes - for example, to use it as a digital atlas. And that feature needs a plain projection or at least an easy accessible possibility to switch to it. Also when it comes to customize maps with the overlay features, it can also be useful to switch the projections. IMO adjustment of projection is well resolved in the actual version, so its easy to switch from the globe view to a specific projection (plain or Mercator).

For these few options and the main projection defined, I think the two buttons are quite useable and a good starting point for further developments of this specific UI element. But, some VD rework would be a benefit for that particular feature and for the application as a whole

Oh I didn't see the projection selector before... I was thinking that Marble may not even have that feature... Ok so in that case it might be something to put on the toolbars (top or bottom). It can indeed be quite educational to compare a globe and the typical mercator projection. Perhaps the bottom right corner could be a suitable place for it...

donK23 wrote:Perhaps someone from the Marble team will join the discussion and can briefly lay out what are the main goals of development and for which target audience.
But, as far as I know, Marble should also be applicable for educational purposes - for example, to use it as a digital atlas.

Yup, this is very important: Actually, Marble started out as an purely educational tool (that's why it's still part of the KDE Edu(cational) group). The routing stuff was added later because it of course makes sense to have in a mapping tool.
The educational origins must never be forgotten when redesigning its UI.