The new components menu is cumbersome

The new components menu is cumbersome. I have to scroll up and down to select different component categories. In the previous menu, I could view all categories at once and simply click the one I wanted.

The new vertical layout could work if the category graphics were shorter. Then all the component categories would show up at once.

There's no reason to have the categories that tall. They only need to show the words distortion, amp, reverb, etc. The wasted space just requires more scrolling. Around 66%-75% of the scrolling distance is wasted space.

 

Here's what it could look like

Here's a rough draft of what the components menu could look like without all the wasted space. You can immediately see it is MUCH MORE FUNCTIONAL.

This is an easy fix and I don't see how you could argue my revised version isn't better. Please get rid of the unnecessary scrolling NI.

P.S. Another suggestion. Why do you require a double click to expand and collapse the categories? Just make it a single click and you can get rid of the drop down arrow as well.

 

+1

This even gets worse when the component preset pane is shown. It might look cool but it is scrolling hell galore when building presets and a huge step backward from the one click interface in prior versions.

Please NI, make this view optional or at least shrink those huge captions.

 

I don't know I like it the way it is. A lot better than what you suggested even. Seems like I have the same thoughts as NI. But yeah I think to make almost all parties happy an alternative solution should be implemented with the next update.

 

I like that it's all bigger, since I use a touch screen tablet, but I'm all for single click interfaces. That would be way better. also, click & drag scrolling on the category boxes would be helpful.

 

Bah, I didn't think of that. It might be why NI went with the larger format. Alot of guitarists would probably find Guitar Rig with a touchscreen appealing.

But for the rest of us (most of us at this point) without your fancy new-fangled touchscreen , an option for a smaller format would be nice.

 

I really hate the new components menu, scroll, expand, scroll again, collapse, scroll to the next category ... it's just horrendous. This is reallly a mandatory fix for me.

Even if you are using a touchscreen, all the scrolling, expanding, collapsing is probably worse than just having to target smaller component categories. Imagine if all the component categories were on one screen, how easy touchscreening would be. Distortion, expand, select, collapse. Amp expand, select collapse. Reverb, expand select collapse. Done.

Instead you have to expand distortion, scroll down more since the menu dropped even further, pick your distortion, now collapse distortion. Now scroll up, expand the amps, select an amp. Where's the reverb, oh that's right I have to scroll to the bottom. Collapse the amps. Scroll down. Expand Reverb, Scroll down again because the menu dropped down again, pick your reverb. Ugh, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.

Another tip: in addition to expanding/collapsing with a single click, when expanding a category, the view should automatically snap to one that shows all the components in that category. So when I expand distortion, I should see ALL the distortions, I shouldn't have to scroll again. Once I collapse distortions, it should snap back to a view that shows all categories. This way it would be expand, select, collapse, literally as easy as 123.

 

Agreed, the old components menu was MUCH easier to use ...

I wonder why NI wants to replace an excellent menu system for something this awkward ...

 

Revised picture of what it could look like

I revised the picture of what it could look like to take into account people with touchscreens. The categories all fit without any scrolling, but are still big enough for touchscreen users. As I mentioned before, this should be incorporated with a snap/tab type view. So once I click on Tools for instance, it should not require me to scroll down again to see the Tools. It should open up a Tools only window (with room for preset view as well). Collapsing Tools should return you to the categories menu.

 

I know why they did it, to put Traktor's 12, Reflektor, Rammstein, under the new "Products" tab. But because of this, there is no longer room to have the component categories listed horizontally like they used to be.
i.e. Amps, Cabinets, Distortions, ...

Now it has to be vertical
Amps
Cabinets
Distortions
...

But just to fit in the Products tab, the act of adding any component has become a hassle. We really don't need the Products tab, it's in the browser menu anyway. I would be very happy if NI ignored everything I wrote here and just went back to the pre-4.1 component system. But I have a feeling that's not going to happen, so I've tried to suggest something that retains the Products tab.
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One more point, the greatest advantage Guitar Rig had over Amplitube was the interface was SO MUCH easier to use. Amplitube 3 sounds good, but still suffers from a clunky interface. If Guitar Rig goes the same route, it will lose any advantage it had.

 

If they just had added a second row to the old component categories... ...would have been way too easy.




I don't know but there is some sort of curse among GR 4. Everythings a bit below optimum since version 4.

 

Agreed ...

 

they should just include a zoom button, like in any internet browser, that let's you make the categories bigger or smaller.

 

Yeah, that works. Let's hope NI actually does something. Unlike other changes that I disliked at first, but got used to, the more I use GR 4.1, the more I hate the new component menu.

 

They could just make the whole thing wider....I mean really. LCD displays are getting wider every day and yet most programmers still program vertically. I really don't like the new components menu. It's clunky at best.

 

^
That is actually something that annoys me too. It would really be awesome if there would be a 1080p or at least 720p option.

 

At least give us the ability to use the old style. I really dont like this new setup at all.

 

For me, the new menudesign, along with other general user interface changes like being forced to always doubleclick and the bad readability of some of the knob values keep me from updating to GR4. I really would like to buy some of the new stuff like Rammfire etc. but I won't invest any more money in a product that is being reverse developed from the usability point of view. (And the reason is only to be compatible with the new version of Kore which I don't give a &%$§& about!)
:angry:

 

As much as I agree, asking to bring back the past is never a convincing argument for a software company. They think "users will get used to it, and in time will see how much better it is." I work with software design teams and I hear this all the time. Most designers like to make their mark; sometimes perhaps at odds with what works best for most people. I'm all for innovation, and think I see what goals NI had in mind here. But I don't think it works very well. While I too don't like the big labels I'd be OK with them if the scrolling and up/down buttons provided incredibly intuitive and efficient navigation. But they don't.

For example, I expand "Distortions" -- Distortions is now my focus. Then when I click the down arrow button (bottom of scroll bar) I expect my view to scroll up starting *from* the Distortions (my last focus). Instead Amplier list is expanded and the Distortions section is push below the fold. But. . .it doesn't do this in all cases. Under some conditions it will actually behave as I expect (multiple actions performed by the down-arrow button depending on the current conditions). Good UI design dictates consistent actions to be performed by the UI elements, with in most cases a one-to-one mapping of element to action -- generally one element should not perform multiple actions (see "The Design of Everyday Things" by interface guru Donald Norman).

Also, get rid of the graphic in the category header (e.g. in Amplifier you see part of an amplifier panel). As it is (a) it's visually cluttered, (b) you now have two graphical metaphors with two different semantics now expressed here 1) the general notion of the category (e.g. a "generic" amplifier panel represents the category of amplifiers, and 2) the specific amplifier panel graphics that appear in the list represent a *specific* amplifier. Sure, one's bigger than the others, but when you combine the visual clutter plus the mixed semantics correct and efficient interaction is slowed -- it's subconscious. You can argue "everyone knows the difference" and yes, we all consciously understand it. But good UI blends into the background and shouldn't require ANY conscious thought to operate. The time to disambiguate may be short, but it's there, and it's an impediment to the UI becoming seamlessly intuitive.

I've other issues with the new UI (ever since 4.0) but I'll lastly mention Attributes. The operative model for Attributes and the filtering paradigm that results from it is really wacky. No, I didn't RTFM, and I shouldn't have to. I figured it out, but man. . .it's a clumsy UI.

The company I work for requires UI design to be tested by users before it's accepted. It's a kick to sometimes see designers dumbfounded by the "stupid user" who can't seem to manage their brilliant interface. Even if NI is trying to make it useful for touchscreens and to add support for "Products" it still needs a lot of work. I do think it can be made useful and acceptable for most *all* users if they continue to work on it.

 

Like many users when I upgraded from GR3 to GR4 there were some changes to get used to, and I did.

But it's been almost two months and I hate the new components menu more than ever. Every single time I have to select a component it's a pain in the ass. Expand, scroll down, collapse, scroll up, expand, collapse, scroll, scroll scroll.

I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. PLEASE PLEASE FIX THIS NI.