Slicer3:UIDesign:WorkingProblems:SlicerFlexibleLayout:UXP2

User experience design for Slicer flexible layouts -- DRAFT2

Back to Flexible Layouts Overview

Same functionality for both users and developers

• Developers may want to specify a default layout for their module, which includes viewers and multiple UIs.
• End-Users may want to select from a suite of default specialized layouts OR define their own custom layout.
• Both users and developers should be able to choose from among the same options.
• Users and developers will use different tools, and have different UXP.
• Assume that developers will use Qt Designer.
• Users will use a Slicer "custom layout" interface.
• Options include:
  • Set up an initial layout grid
  • Split panes in grid horizontally
  • Split panes in grid vertically
  • Delete panes in grid
  • Add tabs to panes in grid
  • Assign views to panes in grid
  • Assign guis to panes in grid

Below is design draft 2 for Slicer custom layout interface:

Creating a new custom layout

In a custom layout tool, a user creates a new named (e.g. MyCustomLayout) layout and first selects the number of rows and columns they want to begin with by either

• clicking and dragging on a template or
• entering parameters into entry widgets

Selecting an initial grid

Splitting a "pane" in the grid

Deleting a "pane" in the grid

Adding tabs to a "pane" in the grid

• Assume tab indicators don't show up unless we have >=2 defined. (any pane is implicitly a single tab w/o indicator).

Assigning Content to a "pane" in the grid

• If a pane has tabs in it, then the boundary of the pane doesn't highlight on mouse-over anymore -- instead the individual tab indicators themselves highlight.
• We'll need to experiment with this so it's easy for user to select among tabs when assigning content -- may need different style of indicators and different way of selecting among them.
• Can try the following:
  • Moving in X across the pane indexes tab column.
  • Moving in Y across the pane indexes tab row.