Locus Map 4, discussion (alpha)

[Andrew Heard]

"Show view" ... display the cone of where you are currently watching (pointing with your device). To enable it, enable GPS and you should see it right around your current GPS location.

maybe there is a northern/ southern hemisphere bug - this cone is roughly 180 degrees from what I would expect

Magnifier: as I wrote to John. My idea is to put settings tightly related to the main screen and content on the map, closer to map screen and "Map screen content" is ideal I believe.

far from ideal - with LocusPro I toggle the magnifier with a single tap; with Locus4 the sequence is Map-screen content > Aux graphics > drag > Magnifier: toggle > back > back - that's 6 taps compared to 1! Each of these tightly related settings/ functions needs an option in the function panels if the user wants more efficient access.

"Accuracy circle", yes it's enabled by default. And sometimes not visible?

sorry - my confusion - I never use this feature. Do you think a new user really wants to see the Accuracy circle by default?

Drag & drop in the main menu ... starting drag causes some problems on my device as well, not sure why. Anyway drag it little more up & down and it will then work. Drop on the same place where you started to display "Change" dialog.

the drag & drop definitely needs some more polish. I had another experience where "info" popup would be displayed after main menu button long tap instead of allowing drag or change dialog.

Hold map center ... maybe you have your own defined timeout in config.cfg higher than 5 seconds?

no, using default 5s timeout. There is a bug here. Sometimes black dot not refreshed when map hold is set from button long tap > toggle.

bug:

• assume hold map center enabled & map centered - button (what do we call this button?) contains black dot & lock
• long tap map center button > uncheck
• button still displays lock until map is dragged
• shouldn't the lock be hidden immediately when disabled?
• same applies for reverse - map centered, hold map center disabled, long tap, enable, but lock is not displayed until map is dragged

[freischneider]

@tapio
Please use settings in the "Map-screen content" to set panels, not the one in the app settings.

The number of entries in the menu > I did not write this is implemented.

We should not use the settings in the "Map Settings". It is habitual for many and they often forget.
Tip: Remove the settings in the "Map Settings" completely. Or make it temporarily black or grayed out and only remove it later in the final version.

[freischneider]

@john_percy
yes, sorry, have to remove settings > controlling section.

About center & rotate: I spend on this many hours trying to find out a useful solution, but I'm really not able to find out a solution for a single button. Mainly because in Locus Map is not only a center & rotate, but also a combination of center & hold center & rotate, which complicates this a lot. With a single button you often and in a situation that you are not centered, but rotation is still enabled so you have to firstly center to disable rotation, which is crazy.

Anyway, I'll gladly listen for suggestions if you have any idea how to do it better. I'm also partially inspired by Android Google Maps if this info helps.

My tip: function as it is.
+ Compass needle in the circle.
+ Double click turns turning on / double click turns turning off.

[freischneider]

Menu:
when I click Menu in the lower left corner, I have the new menu.
If I drag the menu from the left edge, I have the old menu.

[john_percy]

My tip: function as it is.
+ Compass needle in the circle.
+ Double click turns turning on / double click turns turning off.

Or long tap? Which seems more consistent with the way Locus hides its goodies.



Sent from my moto g(6) plus using Tapatalk

[freischneider]

a long click is already used to activate the lock.

[john_percy]

a long click is already used to activate the lock.

Well I didn't know that!

Sent from my moto g(6) plus using Tapatalk

[balloni55]

display "map compass" inside/on top the "rotate/center button" no extra button needed,
if extra button is displayed, display it top left as before. How can i display the degree value??

There is no smal "L" icon visible if locus is running, only GPS icon.

please remove duplicate settings only one of which works

[Menion]

@Andrew Heard
"show view" > interesting. Same problem in Pro version? If so, this bug must be in the app for many many years ... and compass is ok? Weird.

"magnifier" > understand. Same problem as with "Scale lock" and "Show view" functions. All were in the bottom panel, useful for a tiny part of users, but ... when needed ... available right under fingers.

"Accuracy circle" > do not know if new users really want it. I'm just expecting this based on the fact that even in mega-simple Google Maps, this is also enabled by default (not sure if even possible to disable).

"Main menu & drag and drop" > yet is needs some extra work. Seems to be some Android problem, so it will be hard ...

"Hold map center" > works for me ok, anyway problem with "lock" system is same on my device as well, I'll fix it, thanks.

@freischneider, @balloni55
I'm just working on this "settings" problem, so in the next version. Sorry for the extra work on your side, I should make it correctly since begin.

"Double-tap on the center button" > I think that double-tap is even more hidden then long click . I really think that most expected behavior will be something similar to Google Maps that use most of the people (sure not here on the forum, but globally yes).

[Henk van der Spek]

Quote from Menion: "Accuracy circle" > do not know if new users really want it. I'm just expecting this based on the fact that even in mega-simple Google Maps, this is also enabled by default (not sure if even possible to disable)."
I see showview in Gmaps upon startup and after extreme zoom-in an accuracy circle.
They both disappear when I start navigating to a destination. So useless.
And even Locus showview is bad. Our guiding line is so much better.
And about new users: get 10 (outdoor interested) of them of different ages in a room, give them Locus on a phone and watch while asking questions and giving tasks. Should be interesting.

[Tapio]

"Configurable number of items in main menu" what is it then?

Also, see attachment. Contents of screenshots are in reverse order. I use map screen content.

[Joska]

And about new users: get 10 (outdoor interested) of them of different ages in a room, give them Locus on a phone and watch while asking questions and giving tasks. Should be interesting.

Yes, interesting indeed, and, far from being ironic, get 100 men and 100 women, you'll get a total differnt view on this discussion too. As I see, while reading the posts in this thread, I only listen to men :-) It typical, but bad too.

I'm using LM since 2 years, and all this time, I'd tried to interest my wife into using the app while cycling and hiking together. Nowadays she's using, but in a very reduced kind of. The main argument against using it, was, it's to complecated, it's not intuitiv.

So, menion's intention, to use some ideas of googlemaps, in my opinion, is a good strategy, to reach a further giant group of potential user, which like a clean and simple to use app at start. I believe, this would be good, to reach a big couple of people, which aren't digital natives. Simple and clear.

I like the possibility, un/hiding features by doubleclick,  but looking on a clean map with two buttons at startup, one like the main round button in V4, one for start/stop/beak-rec, is my main goal.
This, for me, rules for the main tasks using locusmap and solves 90% of it. May featuring a submenu by long-click.


Hope, nobody feels offended of this thoughts / ideas. And for now, good luck to the programmers and the users of locusmap4 in 2020, I'll stay curious.

Joska

P.S. because of poor english knowledge, I'd used deepl ;-) Please be patient.

[Tapio]

Many users, - relatives - including my wife, only use what they see directly.
E. g. if there is a core functionality inside a menu, submenu or wherever, they never use it or know about the existence of it.
Have already experienced it. In an ebook reader, they may never change font. Never change a wordwrap setting. My wife even never changed the ipads brightness.
If they turn wifi off, "internet is broken since a couple of days". Quote of my father-in-law.

I'm usually rather speechless. I think it is quite common that nobody looks what an app/the os is capable of.

imo the worst case user == average case user.

[Viajero Perdido]

It takes me forever to realize, something different might happen if I long-press something.  I guess to me, it's not "discoverable".

Maybe that's because I grew up with computers, where there's no concept of a long-click.  Maybe young people automatically try long-press, I don't know.  Maybe you need "Tip: long-press things to make options appear.  [Got it]"

BTW, I once had a headlamp that had 15 or 20 functions, all controlled with a single button.  Want the x mode?  Click three times fast, not three times slowly.  Needed the instruction sheet.  I hated it, got rid of it.  (But, I only ever wanted a 2-function headlamp, whereas I'm willing to learn the 101-function map app I have now.)

[Menion]

@Henk van der Spek
we do usually 2x per year personal usability testing with 6-8 people. These tests anyway discover major problems. There is no time to test the usability of tiny features like "Show view".

@tapio
in my post is also a header
"Known problems to solve (not yet always sure how or "if")"

And what is a problem with the screenshots? Order of items in function panels? They start from the main menu to right and then to the top along the right side.

@Joska
thanks for the feedback and for understanding my goal