The survey I sent to users earlier this month identified ease of use as the most important area for improvement, so I've started testing some ideas for that. To preview the changes, you can turn on Help > Utilities > Test New Interface in the iOS or Android app. The October 23 release added:
- Flatter navigation structure. The account and project selection is now combined into a single menu, and the shortcuts are moved to the main menu. This means if you add your desired set lists or smart lists to the shortcuts, you can view them with two clicks: first select your project, then select your set list. So you can basically set up a "simple mode" for your bandmates by ensuring that the set lists you're using are in the shortcuts. (Dated items will appear there automatically, or you can click the Add To Shortcuts setting on an edit page to add it items manually.) If you want to access something that isn't in the shortcuts, you can click the module name (Repertoire, Schedule, etc.) to proceed to the submenu for that module.
- Unavailable modules are hidden. Currently, the main menu items that are unavailable in Basic and Plus accounts are still visible, but faded, with an explanation that appears if you click them. In this preview, these are replaced with an Upgrade button that describes the additional modules.
The October 30 release added:
- Simpler layout selection. If someone bypasses the shortcuts on the main menu and goes into the full navigation to view a set list or smart list that isn't in the shortcuts, the list of available layouts that used to appear after selecting a set list or smart list is now replaced with a single View button, which opens the set list or smart list with the last-used layout, plus a More Layout Options button, which displays the full list as before. This is meant to address the issue of someone getting to the layout selection step and not knowing what it means to select a layout. Basically, if you know what layouts are and want to select a different one, you can do that with one extra click. If you don't know what layouts are, or are using the same layout most of the time, you can just click View and be on your way.
- Set default layout explicitly. When selecting a set list or smart list from a shortcut, BandHelper immediately displays it with your default layout, which is simply the last layout you viewed. So you could change the default layout by going to a set list or smart list not through the shortcuts, and selecting a different layout, or by changing layouts with the Layouts button in the bottom toolbar of the set list view. Now you have an additional and perhaps more intuitive way to change the default layout, which is to go to Repertoire > Layouts > [layout name] > Edit Details and click the Set as Default button. In some situations, this could be an easier way to explain to someone how to change their default layout.
The November 26 release added:
- Easier menu shortcut setup. If you go to Repertoire > Set Lists, Repertoire > Smart Lists, Checklists > Checklists, Stage Plots > Stage Plots or Files > Files, you will now see a star icon next to each list item. You can click that to add the item to the shortcuts on the main menu. (This is the same as the Favorite setting on the corresponding edit pages.) Set lists for upcoming events are automatically added to the shortcuts, and those will appear in the list with a star icon that you can't change.
- Easier title shortcut setup. If you go to Repertoire > Set Lists or Repertoire > Smart Lists, you will now see a downward-pointing triangle icon next to each list item. You can click that to add the item to the title shortcuts in the set list view. (This is the same as the Title Shortcut setting on the corresponding edit pages.) This replaces the previous functionality of including the last five viewed set lists and smart lists in the title shortcuts.
- Assign set lists to users. You can now select specific users on the set list edit page. This will determine whether the set list appears for each user in the main menu shortcuts, allowing you to further customize the shortcuts. For example, you could set up a personal practice set list and mark it as a favorite but only assign it to yourself; then it will appear in your shortcuts without cluttering up other users' shortcuts.
Please post feedback here!
Arlo, I absolutely love this new interface.
I recall I asked about hiding the pro-modules when you first switched to the new payment-model and this exactly hits the spot.
The new design makes it much easier to navigate through and also less confusing for new users!
Definitely a thumbs-up from my side here.
Interface looks great - have one item I need your help on. When I change it to "Test Interface", all seems well: I can see all 5 of my projects and it works when I go into any project.
However- on the "Projects" screen if I hit left arrow it shows me a "Projects" screen (Should Be Account Screen) and shows my account name that I can't click on and shows 1 of my projects. From there on, I can only see the one project.
To get back to all projects, I have to turn off "Test Interface". iPhone 7 Plus and iPad Air 2, both do the same.
You shouldn't see a separate Projects list anymore. Can you turn on Test New Interface from within a project, then force quit and restart the app and see if it works correctly when you start from the beginning with that setting on?
Did try that just now, also tried an iPad restart... no change.
From iPhone - first pic is normal display, second pick is normal display after left arrow, 3rd pic is left arrow after 'Test Interface' and I can't click on the Account name to get to any other project except Brooke.
Thanks!
Okay, the problem is that you registered your username with a capital letter but entered it on your mobile device in all lower-case. I'll update the project lookups on this page to not be case-sensitive. Meanwhile, you can check your username on the Account > Users page of the website and make sure it's entered the same way on the Settings > General Settings page of the app.
See the first post for a couple more changes added in today's release.
Does anyone have feedback on the "Simpler layout selection" item described above? I had another idea to mark layouts as favorites and then show all the favorited layouts after clicking Repertoire > Set Lists > [set list name], but I'm thinking the single View button plus the More Layout Options button will still be better for most users.
Are there any guesstimates when the new interface will be available on Android devices? I'm really looking forward seeing it in action.
Sometime in December would be a guesstimate. Thanks for your interest.
More Layout Options - good choice ;)
Today's release adds a few more updates, which I've added to the first post above. All these updates are now available in the Android version, too. This completes the package of usability / navigation updates I have planned for the next feature release early next year. Please turn on Help > Utilities > Test New Interface to try it out and let me know how it works for you!
I tested the Android version on two devices. The results are pretty mixed:
Galaxy Tab A (2016), aka. SM-T585, running Android 8.1.0:
- UI is easier, thanks to the improvements
- some buttons do not work at all, for example the shortcut to an upcoming set list
Nokia 8.1 running Android 10:
- after turning on the new UI, opening the app results in a black screen with spinner in the middle of the screen (there is the add account button at top, but I can't add an existing account again)
- I had to reset BandHelpers app data from the phone to get it to work again
Please tell me if I can assist in resolving the issue.
Thanks -- these issues should be fixed in the new app version 3.0.12 released today.
Thanks, seems to work better after the update. I'll test more extensively later today.
As a side note, some other issues with Android 10 seems to be fixed too, like the transpose buttons cropping weirdly.
Few suggestions for the upcoming UI enhancements:
1. When opening the app, it would be nice it the app automatically selected the last used Project instead of showing the project list every time. I'm not sure how many people jump around projects all the time, but my experience is that usually one project is the most active which I would like to "keep open" instead of selecting it every time. Maybe you should include a "switch project" button or something to keep things clear..?
2. It is convenient that I am able to enter favorite and/or upcoming setlist from the "home" page. That being said, it's not so convenient if I want to quickly edit the setlist details or share it, as I have to go to Repertoire -> Set Lists -> Find the list -> Edit/Share. Thats quite a lot of screens to go through. How about being able to access the details view directly from any view that lists Setlists, including the "home" favorites or any other view? See the attached screenshot.
3. Any view that has some kind of reordering (like songs in a set list) is VERY picky (at least on Android) about hitting exactly the right spot when trying to drag the items to different order. This happens on both phone and a 10" tablet. Many times I just get frustrated and open the BH web page to do the reordering.
1) It think it's best to start at the top of the navigation tree when the app starts. It then only takes one click to view the desired project. If the app opened to the last-used project, it could be unintuitive that to change projects you have to click the Back button; and if you don't remember what project you were using last, it could create confusion or lead to editing the wrong data.
2) This is the trade-off of using a shortcut -- it takes you one place quickly, but doesn't take you everywhere. I did try the approach you mocked up at one point, but there are five options for each set list. Putting five buttons into each table row was overwhelming to look at, and didn't leave enough room for the set list names.
3) Try touching the grip icon, waiting a moment until the row detaches, then dragging it.
Thanks for your reply.
1) I agree, but I still see some value in for example Facebook-like approach where I don't have make a selection on every login whether I want to use it as myself or as some Facebook page where I'm an admin, but instead the selection remains until I click a dropdown and select different profile. Same with Azure services, where I can switch between my own and my clients "directories" when needed, but by default I'm using my own, which I use 95% of time. I wonder if there could be an option to select a default (or "favorite") project which would automatically open by default, if set?
2) That's true; Five options would be too much. I'd rather have to buttons where the other would take me directly to the View mode and the other to SetList view that currently contains the other functions (View, Edit Details, Edit songs, Share Set List, Share songs).
3) Got it. Works much better. Thanks.
Also:
4) When switching between project, the Android version sometimes starts to populate the Sync Status list with rows saying "Uploading Changes 0/0kb" which never disappear, unless I restart the app.
1) The BandHelper website works that way, too, but that requires keeping a project display and selection button visible on every page, and the screen real estate is too valuable in the app to include that.
2) I'll think about it more, but the purpose of the shortcuts is to allow people who are primarily viewing info to not think about the editing options, so adding an editing option to the shortcuts would work against that goal.
4) Please submit a help ticket to troubleshoot that.
1) I understand. The selection could be in the "project home view" only...but of course this isn't a deal breaker in any sense. I just like to throw around ideas that might make the app more usable (in my opinion) :)
2) True that. A shortcut would make four somewhat basic tasks (Edit Details, Edit songs, Share Set List, Share songs) easier to access though.
4) I'll see if I can reproduce the bug and I'll report how to make it appear.
If there's anyone else following this thread, feel free to comment/bash/whatever these ideas. My main point is to create discussion, which may eventually lead to better user experience in the app.
The updates described above were released today as BandHelper 4.1 for iOS and 3.1 for Android. Complete details are here:
http://www.bandhelper.com/support/release_notes.html
See also this new tutorial about setting up shortcuts for yourself and your bandmates:
http://www.bandhelper.com/tutorials/app_shortcuts.html