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General
KGet has “stop all“ in the menu, something that a lot of users seem to use often (according to our web research).
The “open destination“ option in a file's context menu is very useful and has long been a standard on most mac apps. Although it may be even easier for users to understand if the option were renamed to something even more clear, like “show file in file manager“ (or even insert the default file manager's name).
List title bar
"All downloads" title bar on top looks like something it is not. From its appearance, one assumes it might be a text entry area or some other interactive element. Instinctively trying to click it got no reaction. Users might also expect a progress bar or a search filter, but it really is only a title with no interactive functionality.
No text in toolbar
There is no text below the toolbar buttons. The icons are fine, but not perfectly clear on their own. (Does the play button mean start all or start selected? Stop means stop all or just selected?)
Suggestion: Add text below the icons to enhance icon recognition and recall.
Menu item File -> Open unclear
File -> Open. Unclear what will this open, a downloaded file or a file with link(s). Only after selecting it does one find it opens metalink and other “meta“ files that aggregate several files to download.
Suggestion: Explain in the menu text what will be opened. Maybe "Import Tranfers".
Missing keyboard shortcuts
Suggestion: Add the above-mentioned keyboard shortcuts to the menu items and enable them internally
Downloads don't start immediately
Downloading does not start immediately on adding from Konqueror. Yet users are accustomed to downloads starting immediately in any web browser. This should be the same in KGet to make it consistent with the behaviour before KGet is integrated with Konqueror.
Suggestion: When downloads are added from Konqueror, start them immediately.
Groups
Default group not necessary?
"Default group" entry in main window (download list):
- At first sight unclear to user what it's for, especially because it's empty then. Can lead to confusion.
- We think groups shouldn't be there by default. They might confuse users into thinking something (a download) is in the list when the list is really empty. Only users who download very large numbers of files at once need them (which we assume are not the majority, or at most half of the user base). These users should be able to easily switch them on. For all others, this is only visual clutter and could distract or even confuse.
Transfer Details
Visual alignment
The status "buttons" (markers ... "play" and "pause") in the download list are centered while e.g. the header text is left aligned. This makes the list look a little less polished than it could be. Mixing different alignment types in close proximity always looks a little sloppy. It is better to align most things on the same vertical line. (Design book author Robin Williams: "Everything [...] should be in some way aligned with other things on the page, either vertically or horizontally. Nothing should be arbitrary. This gives the reader clear lines to follow, and makes your work look more sophisticated. Under the principle of alignment, Williams cautions strongly against centering things, because she argues that left or right justified alignments form a much stronger line for the reader’s eyes to follow (with centered text you have two ragged lines instead).")
Suggestion: Left-align these status marker buttons to align with the "status" list header text.
File details view not always visible
A transfer's details are only visible if the download list is hidden. It would be better if users could see the details while still seeing the download list.
Suggestion: Introduce an a email-like view as e.g. in KMail (or iGetter). The transfer details could then be shown on request at the bottom of the interface. The groups could go into the sidebar and be hidden or shown on request. The downloads list would be available, accessible at all times. See mockup below.
File details view switching
File details “tabs”: Switching between the two views (details/list) is very inconsistent with the rest of KDE.
Suggestion: Same as in 3.2. See mockup below.
Main Application Mockup
Main Window
Plain Main Application Window, Groups and Transfer Details are hidden. simple layout, though fully functional. Could be embedded into Konqueror
Groups shown
Groups Sidebar on the left shown. It filters downloads into groups according to certain criteria, predefined and custom ones.
Transfer Details shown
Transfer Details for the item which is selected in the download list.
With Groups and Details
Full interface with groups and transfer details shown.