Simple Mode needed

[Wilhelm]

Its more a container for managing Setlists
- Setlist Manager?


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[Sonnyboy666]

Another question from me. Does anybody think that the term "Repertoire" in the main menu isn't clear enough? Does anyone get stuck at that first menu containing Repertoire, Schedule, Finance, etc.? If "Repertoire" were renamed to "Music," would your bandmates while setting up for a gig know automatically to click that?

That's a good idea. For me "Repertoire" is okay, but for someone using the App the first time, Music might be a better term.

[chris@katsukurimedia]

Repertoire is the correct term and most know the word, but yeah it is a bit out of place in day to day language. I could see that changing to another term. Music doesn’t sound like exactly the right word though. I’ll think.

But a quick idea I had was to simply rearrange the Rep menu with some headers. I know you mentioned moving “songs” down the list a bit, so how about something like:

Perform [Header]
Set Lists
Smart Lists

DIVIDER

Edit [Header]
Songs
Layouts
Etc... (Everything else already there)

Even just that would go a long way I think.

[arlo]

Repertoire is the correct term and most know the word, but yeah it is a bit out of place in day to day language. I could see that changing to another term. Music doesn’t sound like exactly the right word though. I’ll think.

I know what you mean. Within the context of BandHelper, "music" might make sense, but outside of that context, most people equate "music" with "recordings." So if a marketing blurb said, "BandHelper is an app to manage all your band's music," people would probably think it's like iTunes. I'd have to say more, like "BandHelper is an app to manage all the music your band plays (lyrics, chords, recordings)." That would be a little clunkier than "BandHelper is an app to manage your band's repertoire."

But a quick idea I had was to simply rearrange the Rep menu with some headers. I know you mentioned moving “songs” down the list a bit, so how about something like:

I really like that. It wouldn't be a big change and wouldn't remove functionality, but would be a gentle hint about where to go. The sections wouldn't even need headings, just groupings, like the list of set lists has groups for undated set lists, dated set lists and the year-by-year archives.

Another option, not mutually exclusive with this, would be to hide the additional menu items for read-only users.

[arlo]

Getting rid of the final menu before the set list view, where you select your layout, would require not only moving the layout selection elsewhere, but moving the Edit Details, Edit Songs, Share Set List and Share Songs buttons elsewhere. One way to do this is make them part of each list item, as in the first screen shot below. Clicking the set list name, instead of one of these buttons, could go directly to the set list view.

I've been thinking of making separate view and edit versions of each page in the app, to make it less edit-oriented overall, in which case I could use the same idea in all the menus. So the Layouts list would look like the second screen shot (with separate buttons for Edit Details and Edit Layout), and the Songs list would look like the third screen shot, as would most of the lists.

One disadvantage to this approach is that the buttons that are already in the lists, like the recording and document buttons in the Songs list and the MIDI buttons in the MIDI Presets list, would move to the view pages for those items. So accessing one of those functions would take an extra click, and you wouldn't be able to scan the list for missing items like you can now.

Another disadvantage is that I'll have to design icons that are easily understandable for things like "Share Set List" and "Edit Layouts." Those are text buttons now. When doing tech support, it might be harder to tell people what buttons to click when the button names aren't displayed.

And it might feel kind of overwhelming to have all those rows of buttons, which is why I made these mockups. This is the approach the website takes, but in the website, the rows are spread across most of the page, rather than squeezed into the left column ... and on the website, buttons can be smaller and still easily clickable.

The advantage would be saving a click whenever you want to use one of the set list, smart list, layout or stage plot edit functions. You wouldn't have to click the title, then click the edit option, as you do now. And saving a click whenever you want to view a set list, assuming you're okay with the last-used layout.

Thoughts?

[arlo]

After mocking up the edit buttons in my last post, I'm not liking that approach -- it seems to create as many problems as it solves. But now I'm working on grouping the menus, with the most common items in a separate group at the top, and I'm really liking this. It feels clean and easily understandable, with no disadvantages. See the first and second screen shot below.

Building on that idea, I could add a "Shortcuts" section to those menus, which would automatically show the items you'd most likely be selecting on the next page. Clicking those would skip the next page. For example, the Repertoire menu could show the set list for the next event, and clicking that could go straight to the set list view, skipping the list of set lists and the layout / edit / share selection. So that would eliminate what are likely the two least intuitive steps when clicking a shortcut, but all those options would still be accessible by clicking the Set Lists menu item as before. So I think the only downside here is cluttering up the menu with the shortcuts. See the third and fourth screen shots below.

If I added this shortcuts function, it could be a little different in each module. For Repertoire, I imagine it could show the set list for the next event, plus any set lists or smart lists that you designate. So you could basically build a custom list of set lists or smart lists for your band, and most users could just select from that and never see the full lists of set lists or smart lists. I think this would get pretty close to the "simple mode" originally proposed by this thread, without actually requiring a separate mode. So band leaders could benefit from the shortcuts, too. 

So my main question now is whether adding the shortcuts section would be worth it, or whether it would be cleaner and easier to navigate the menus without it.

[arlo]

Here are some attempts to show shortcuts on the module menus in a less cluttered way ... or rather, to strike a visual balance between the shortcuts and the regular menu items.

The first pair of screen shots just moves the shortcuts section after the primary menu items.

The second pair moves them there and removes the Shortcuts heading.

The third pair places the shortcuts within the same group as their corresponding menu item.

[Wilhelm]

Why not use the empty right field for shortcuts?

Greets
Wilhelm


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[arlo]

Why not use the empty right field for shortcuts?

The right side is not available on phones, and is never used for navigation.

[Wilhelm]

Ok good point



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[arlo]

Check out the new app versions that were released today. The main menus for each module are grouped with the one or two items that your bandmates will need at the top. That change is visible for everyone now.

You can also enable a hidden change to beta test it. Click Help > Utilities > Enable Menu Shortcuts. Then go to the Repertoire menu and the set list for the next event will appear in a Shortcuts section at the top. Clicking this will take you directly to the set list view, using your last-used layout. If you want to add shortcuts to more set lists (say, the next three) you can adjust Settings > Appearance > Menu Shortcuts > Set Lists. And if you want to add undated set lists or smart lists to the shortcuts, you can go to Repertoire > Set Lists > [set list name] > Edit Details or Repertoire > Smart Lists > [smart list name] > Edit and turn on Add to Shortcuts.

So, if you're using dated set lists or you've designated your undated set lists or smart lists as shortcuts, the click path to the set list view would be: Repertoire > [set list name]. But you can still get to other set lists, or the set list share functions, by using the original menu items below the shortcuts section.

Similarly, the Events menu shows shortcuts for the next upcoming events, and the Contacts module shows shortcuts for the most overdue actions. The Finance module simply shows a shortcut to add a transaction.

I think this is a worthwhile addition, and my only question now is exactly how to visually present the shortcuts. I need to strike a balance between the shortcuts and the other menu items, so novice users won't look past the shortcuts but advanced users won't miss the other options below.

By the way, eventually this will be turned on for everyone and the Enable Menu Shortcuts utility will go away. But you would still be able to hide the shortcuts function by lowering the Settings > Appearance > Menu Shortcuts options to 0.

And this is not directly related to this function but will be useful when viewing set lists with shortcuts: if you want to change to a different layout, you can now click the Edit Layout button in the bottom toolbar and it will include the list of available layouts, so you can jump directly to a different layout without leaving the set list view.

[Chris]

Hi arlo,

really like the idea of the shortcuts-section and just turned it on as you explained.
Still, the upcoming gig is not showing if I do not activate the "ADD_TO_SHORTCUT"-function in the setlist-details.
Did I misunderstand the addition of this function as I thought, the next "x" setlists (while "x" is defined in the settings) will automatically be shown in the shortcuts-section...

Best Regards,
Chris

[arlo]

Does your set list have a date (for Basic accounts) or is it attached to an event (for Pro accounts)? Those dates determine what the next set lists are.

[Chris]

Hi arlo,

the setlist I am referring to indeed has the date of this Saturday so it should be in the shortcuts I guess.
Still, neither on my iPad nor iPhone, it is shown. Unless I check the “Add_to_Shortcuts”-trigger of course

[arlo]

Can you submit a help ticket?