Template Manager UI Specification
Author:
Jiri Rechtacek
Version: 1.1 -
[Added New Folder, Move Up, Move Down buttons, changes in labels in the File Chooser]
Date: August 13, 2005
NetBeans IDE has a powerful support for file templates. User can create a new file from a number of preinstalled templates,
she can create a new template or modify some already existing one. UI for modification
of templates is a part of current Options dialog. It contains tree of all templates (not file templates only).
User can invoke Open action on template's pop-up menu to open template in editor. But this piece of UI needs some redesign.
Main problems:
- 1. Tree of templates is part of Options Dialog, but template is opened outside of Options Dialog - in Editor. This solution is not intuitive.
- 2. Tree of templates contains all templates, not only file templates. Some nodes does not supports Open action. Sometimes the opened file is empty (for dummy file templates).
- 3. New Options Dialog will not contain templates customizer, so there should be some replacement for this feature.
Template Manager should support following operations:
- Open a template for editing
- Add a new template
- Create a new category of templates
- Remove an existing template
- Make duplicate of an existing template
- Rename of a template
- Change order of templates
- Cut/Copy/Paste template within template categories
Template contains some texts, tags etc. which are subject of user's modification (i.e. license, signature), an user can edit them.
Scenario:
- Use Open in Editor button in Template Manager which opens the selected templates in editor area.
User can extend set of templates with an existing files suitable as templates for any future usage.
Scenario:
- User has an file in own opened projects and wants to make it as template
- Use action Save as template... in popup menu on selected file
- This use-case is already supported in existing system
- Not a subject of this UI spec.
- User has some templates in own storage (from any previous projects, from any IDE etc.)
- Open a File Chooser from Template Manager and browse user disk
- Choose a file which will be copied as template within other Templates
When an user wants to add more templates then would like to create new category/folder of new templates.
Scenario:
- Use New Folder button in Template Manager,
- or choose New Folder action on popup menu on folder node.
A folder named "New Folder" is created in active folder and inplace editor is invoked on them.
Some template could be useless for user's needs.
Scenario:
- Use Delete button in Template Manager,
- or choose Delete action on popup menu on template node,
- or invoke Delete via keyboard.
User can discover an template as useful for more needs, wants to make its clone, edit them and use it for different actions.
Scenario:
- Use Duplicate button in Template Manager which make a duplicate of the selected template aside to original.
- Then an user can edit this duplicate for her needs.
Rename of a template, would especially useful for newly added templates or for duplicates.
Scenario:
- Use Rename button in Template Manager which open inplace editor over selected template,
- or use the shortcut F2 on selected template,
- or use usual in-place editor in tries.
An user would like change order of templates, i.e. new template move to the top of corresponding folder.
Scenario:
- Use Move Up(or Move Down) button in Template Manager which does move the selected template up or down.
- or use Drag & Drop over templates.
Use can move and copied templates between template categories.
Scenario:
- Use usual Cut/Copy/Paste actions from popup menu on template node.
Template Manager can be invoked from Tools menu by Template Manager menu item. A modal dialog will be opened.
- Templates - browse all registered templates
- Add button - opens File Chooser for Add use-case, the chosen file will copied into a selected category or in the root if no category is selected
- New Folder button - creates New Folder in selected category or in the root if no category is selected, then inplace editor is invokes over New Folder
- Duplicate button - make a clone of the selected in same category as the original is (Duplicate use-case)
- Rename button - starts in-place editor over the selected template (Rename use-case)
- Move Up button - moves the selected template up (Change order of templates)
- Move Down button - moves the selected template down (Change order of templates)
- Delete button - deletes the selected template, Delete use-case
- Open in Editor button - opens the selected template (or more if a multiple selection) in editor area and closes the dialog, see Open use-case
- Close button - simple close of the dialog
The popup menu over template node contains:
- The plain file chooser w/o icons.
