XnView Software

XnTriq wrote: XnView is many things to many people. Some may even prefer PhotoScape-style grids.

Sure, but that's quite off topic. this is a creator tool meant to create a composition.(this would most probably be a candidate for a plug-in.)

In any case I have a feeling that this discussion is sterile, until Pierre chimes in with a statement regarding the possibility of any development regarding the browse grid view.
My feeling is that variable width is unlikely to happen. (but who knows)
I do have high hopes for the following suggested improvements to the current grid system though:

• have the grid fit the view (http://newsgroup.xnview.com/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=16300)
• if an adjustable global thumb ratio is to be provided, implement a simple row border drag for live adjustment of the ratio.

I think the masonry approach mentioned by XnTriq would be particularly suited for a thumb panel mode we haven't mentioned in this thread yet: "Group By" mode.

"Group by" is quite tricky to do in place because it needs to support also collapsing and expanding groups. Is in fact implemented by using a multi-column tree and not a masonry engine.

In our concrete case, having an in-place 'group by' can raise big usability problems because usually the groups can be quite big. A photo report (either professional either casual) can quickly reach at several tenths / hundreds of photos.

That's why grouping is kept in DAMs outside of the thumbnail area, usually in grouped trees (folders + categories + calendars etc.) which act as filters on the thumbs.

Bellow is a much better (IMHO) implementation based on the concept above from ACDSee Pro 7:
Also, you can see in the bottom-left corner a popup window with a nice navigator inside in order to quickly scroll through the calendar.

Sorry m. Th. ! I vigorously disagree that such a design is "much better". I want UIs that are less modal, not more so. That design is modal as to grouping category.

In your example there is no way to see images from adjacent groups simultaneously while still in grouped display. It is useful for drag/drop between the categories, but abysmal for browsing and visual search.

The giant here is again Picasa. If one hasn't fully explored the Picasa thumbs panel and tree UI, then some of what is discussed here has insufficient context.

There are certain scenarios (see my previous posts) where I'd like to be able to temporarily switch the browser's layout, even if that comes at the price of a less efficient use of the available screen space.

Masonry ([url=http://masonry.desandro.com/faq.html#difference-between-isotope-and-masonry]FAQ[/url]) wrote:Masonry, Isotope, and Packery are all similar in that they are layout libraries. Many of their options and methods are the same.
Masonry does cascading grid “masonry” layouts. Packery does bin-packing layouts, which allow it to be used for draggable interactions.
Isotope does sorting and filtering. Isotope uses masonry layouts, as well as other layouts.

Isotope ([url=http://isotope.metafizzy.co/docs/introduction.html]Introduction[/url]) wrote:

• Layout modes: Intelligent, dynamic layouts that can’t be achieved with CSS alone.
• Filtering: Hide and reveal item elements easily with jQuery selectors.
• Sorting: Re-order item elements with sorting. Sorting data can be extracted from just about anything.
• Interoperability: features can be utilized together for a cohesive experience.
• Progressive enhancement: Isotope's animation engine takes advantage of the best browser features when available — CSS transitions and transforms, GPU acceleration — but will also fall back to JavaScript animation for lesser browsers.

Packery ([url=http://packery.metafizzy.co/index.html#what-is-packery]What is Packery?[/url]) wrote:Packery is a JavaScript layout library that uses a bin-packing algorithm. This is a fancy way of saying “it fills empty gaps.” Packery layouts can be intelligently ordered or organically wild. Elements can be stamped in place, fit in an ideal spot, or dragged around.

These alternative and innovative ways of browsing images (Tumblr, Pinterest etc.) will find their way into desktop applications — sooner rather than later. Pierre's always been an early adopter (-;

• Code inComplete: Binary Tree Bin Packing Algorithm

I want UIs that are less modal, not more so.

Me too.

That design is modal as to grouping category.

Are you sure?

The list / catalog is modeless - you can click / scroll / change the grouping criteria like in eg. Folders / Categories Tree in real time without needing to open and close any form. It is not a popup neither a separate form. It is a docked tree. But I need to upload a video to show it. It is like in the Zoner's (worse implementation than ACDSee's IMHO) of Catalog (have a look above the Folders Tree in Zoner's GUI).

In your example there is no way to see images from adjacent groups simultaneously while still in grouped display

Ctrl+Click. - ...selects non-adjacent items.
Shift+Click. - ...selects a range.

XnTriq wrote:

oops66 ([url=http://newsgroup.xnview.com/viewtopic.php?p=77687#p77687]Suggestion - Add a customized thumbnails size option setting[/url]) wrote:Even if it's already possible into the xnview.ini file :

Code: Select all

...
[Browser]
...
thumbWidth=150
thumbHeight=113
...

... Thank you Pierre, "the GUI: custom size thumbs" is very useful with this new MP0.64 version