[Libreoffice-ux-advise] [Libreoffice] Suggestion and patch for "Confirmation of save format" dialog

[Rafael Rocha Daud]

Hi Regina, Astron and others,

This proposal (which I lost track whose is):

===
This document may contain formatting or content that cannot be saved in
   *Microsoft Word 97/200/XP/2003* (DOC) file format.

Use the ODx format to make sure all formatting and content is saved
correctly.

[Save in DOC Format] [Save in ODx Format]

[x] Ask when not saving as ODF"
===


seems very sane to me. The word "keep" also leads to the conservative 
user approach, which could be shortly described as: "oh my god, what are 
those file formats! Perhaps I should just keep everything as is and not 
touch a thing", so I believe it leads to the use of the DOC format (or 
whatever).

Another additional option (not sure if needed) could be: [Save in DOC 
Format anyway]; [Use ODx Format].
It highlights the difference, even though we could live without the 
"anyway" world, which by the way is very hard to translate to a single 
word in many languages.

I believe a short explanation about the ODF format could also be very 
welcome, saying e. g. "ODF or OpenDocument is an ISO/IEC international 
standard, adopted by many organizations and governments around the 
world, and also the prefered format for open source office 
applications". Even though this would sound very ideological and 
propaganda-wise. The wording could improve that.

Rafael./


Em 10-08-2011 16:00, libreoffice-ux-advise-request at lists.freedesktop.org 
escreveu:
> I wrote accidentally only to Astron. Here now to the list too. In
> addition find Astrons answer below.
>
> Hi Astron,
>
> Astron schrieb:
>> >  Hi,
>> >  ===
>> >  This document may contain formatting or content that cannot be saved in
>> >  *Microsoft Word 97/200/XP/2003* (DOC) file format.
>> >  Do you want to keep this file format for this document?
>> >
>> >  Use the ODx format to make sure all formatting and content is saved correctly.
>> >
>> >  [Keep DOC Format] [Save in ODx Format]
>> >
>> >  [x] Ask when not saving as ODF"
>> >  ===
>> >
>> >  (ODx should be replaced by each application's specific OpenDocument format.)
>> >
>> >  Advantages:
>> >  * no new strings necessary for the application names (like "Microsoft
>> >  Word") (I only guess here)
>> >  * the word "keep" is mentioned in the question as well as on the
>> >  button (not sure it sounds good in the question, though ? please
>> >  advise)
> The word "keep" is the reason for the current misunderstanding in the
> dialog. It should be changed. Reasoning: The dialog comes up, if you are
> working on a document, which is in ODF- Format and  you will save it in
> an alien format. So for the user "keep" means "keep the current ODF-Format".
>
> My proposal:
> ===
> This document may contain formatting or content that cannot be saved in
>    *Microsoft Word 97/200/XP/2003* (DOC) file format.
>
> Use the ODx format to make sure all formatting and content is saved
> correctly.
>
> [Save in DOC Format] [Save in ODx Format]
>
> [x] Ask when not saving as ODF"
> ===
>
> The question "Do you want to keep this file format for this document?"
> is not necessary at all, because the buttons do not have Yes/No, but say
> directly what they do.
>
> So the buttons are understandable without reading the text above it. But
> if an user wonders, why the dialog comes up, he can read the explanation.
>
> If it is not possible to put 'DOC' (or the another special alien
> formats) into the button, then the neutral Text "Save in Alien Format"
> can be used.
>
> Kind regards
> Regina
>
> ======
> Answer I got:
>
> Hi, Regina, I think you've accidentally replied to me only (this list
> has the feature [other people's words, not mine] that you don't
> automatically reply to the list). It's probably best if you re-send it
> to the list.
>
> Here's a bit of feedback:
> * I think the whole idea was to avoid being unspecific in the buttons,
> so "Save in Alien Format" is IMHO not good (and also sounds technical)
> * I am not an absolute UI expert (merely an interested user), but I
> think it is obligatory to have a question in "confirmation alerts",
> although e.g. Gnome HIG (I am GNOME user, so I always refer to this
> HIG) doesn't explicitly mention a question, it is present in all (two)
> examples [1].
> * You are right that "keep" might not be the best fitting word in many
> cases this dialogue is used (but I didn't see "save" as a better
> replacement (read on)). However, the user still affirms a choice, so I
> don't know for sure.
> * I am unsure if using the same verb for both buttons makes them too
> interchangeable (although of course the file format should be the
> important thing)
>
> (Please feel free to copy my feedback into your mail to the list.)
>
> Regards,
> Astron.