FEATURE REQUEST: Switch folder options drop down and expand folder drop down placement in feed list
Just a suggestion, but I was thinking that the folder expand drop down button and the folder options drop down button should possibly be switched in terms of location. Typically the expand feature on most file trees is to the left of the icon, and any options are to the right.
It’s a very minor detail, but I just thought it would make things easier to navigate.
Oh boy, not so easy. That folder/feed context menu is the only way to get to a bunch of options, so it needs to be discoverable. I really hate the folder collapse button, but I just added it, since I switched out clicking on a folder for the River of News view. I have no idea where this would go and still feel good.
As a note, I hate how Google Reader shows the context menu on the right on hover. So, good luck figuring out a better way to get this in.
Also, you can right-click on a folder/feed and have the menu come up. That may help you, intuitively.
I have to agree with the feature request. I still find myself clicking on the wrong side of a folder bar to expand or to open the dropdown menu.
Maybe it’s the fact that when you go from hovering over the folder to hovering over the triangle on the left, the triangle goes from pointing right to pointing down. Although it does sort of indicate a menu, for those of us using OSX, it looks exactly like what an expanded directory looks like in Finder. It’s just a bit jarring to have to ‘switch’ mentalities when opening up NewsBlur
I don’t have an elegant solution, but I do feel like it’s a bit of a problem.
Just to add my voice to those previously requesting this, it would definitely feel more natural to me and (I think) more consistent with other visual folder structures to have the expand/collapse on the left. Not sure why it would be too much of an issue to swap them left/right vs right left, maybe it could be a setting so that those who have become used to it don’t need to re-adapt. As for making it discoverable, how about a small settings/cog image which appears on the folder/feed you are currently hovering over to make it more obvious that there are settings available?
+1 for this, even as a Windows user the current placement feels odd. Here’s a small userstyle I made that switches the icon positions and changes the expand icon to the usual dropdown-arrow.
Works directly in Firefox with Stylish, should be possible to use it in browsers too. It’s not perfect but good enough for now, there are probably a few glitches.
It’s really important to do this, as currently it breaks every UX standard across every OS/App that has an expanding folder tree, ever.
It’s completely counter-intuitive and really makes no sense.
If you’re worried about the discoverability of the context menu for each folder, just put an always-visible down arrow on the right-hand side where the current folder expand is, something like this appallingly bad mock-up.
I will also mention that in folder-based navigation, an arrow icon is usually used to expand or collapse the folder. Generally, it seems like the arrow icon should point right if the folder is closed, and rotate to pointing down if the folder is open. I realize that a plus sign icon is also a traditional way to do it, but the arrow still feels more natural, even though I’ve been using Windows since the days of 3.1.
A gear icon seems to be the current standard for settings, so perhaps you could change the folder menu icon to that? Or you could possibly eliminate the icon entirely for users who have the right-click override turned on, since it’s very natural (to me, anyway) to just right-click on the folder name to see the available options.
