There is the possibility, in the back-office, to change the screen
used to display a category detail in the front store.
The default is the "categorydetail" in the
component://ecommerce/widget/CatalogScreens.xml file. This is the
screen that renders the category as a simple list (as it was).
I did create an additional screen "categorydetailmatrix" in the same
file and created seed data to have it loaded.
If you want to change this simply delete the entry
<ProductCategory productCategoryId="PROMOTIONS"
productCategoryTypeId="CATALOG_CATEGORY"
detailScreen="component://ecommerce/widget/CatalogScreens.xml#categorydetailmatrix"/>
in the specialpurpose\ecommerce\data\DemoProduct.xml file and the old
screen will be used again.
If you want to do a test without changing the seed data delete the
"Detail screen" field here
https://localhost:8443/catalog/control/EditCategory?CATALOG_TOP_CATEGORY=PROMOTIONS&productCategoryId=PROMOTIONS
Hope this helps.
-Bruno
2009/10/15 Ryan Foster <[email protected]>:
> I'll let you have the last on this, as we are in complete agreement on those
> points. You are right about one thing definitely, a lot of your very valid
> concerns about the ecommerce web store OOTB have been lost in the noise.
>
> Anil and his group (of which I have been a part of), have been making small,
> incremental improvements to the ecommerce front-end, but I would love to see
> the kind of awesome community collaboration that drove the 9.04 release.
> Between the design collaboration with Ean and his guys, and Hans, Jacques,
> Bruno and so many others pitching in on the dev side, we ended up with a
> public facing site, documentation site, nightly builds and logs site, and
> demo application site that was cohesive, consistent, modern, and relevant.
> People took notice, and they were impressed. In fact, the only thing
> missing from all this was a polished, re-designed, store front demo.
>
> We have beat this to death. I think we as a community need to say now let's
> pull the trigger. Redesign the ecommerce front-end. Make a big change.
> Make people notice.
>
> To quote Forrest Gump (in my best rural Alabama southern drawl): "And that's
> really all I got to say about that."
>
> Ryan Foster
> HotWax Media
> 801.671.0769
> [email protected]
>
>
>
>
> On Oct 15, 2009, at 10:24 AM, Ruth Hoffman wrote:
>
>> Hi Ryan:
>>
>> Not that I need to get in the last word...
>>
>> I like your tag lines! Your design points are valid and, for what it is
>> worth, are now new data points for my consideration going forward.
>>
>> I'm all about innovation. My original point was not that innovation,
>> progress or change for that matter isn't good. My original point - which got
>> lost in the noise - was that building something and then deploying that
>> "something" without thorough testing is not good. In fact, the consequences
>> of doing that in this very competitive market, could be disastrous. First
>> impressions whether we like it or not, are lasting. And when seemingly
>> simple things don't work as one would expect - for example on the ecommerce
>> web store OOTB - that is not good.
>>
>> Anyhow, I think we beat this to death. Thanks for the discussion.
>>
>> Best Regards,
>> Ruth
>>
>> Ryan Foster wrote:
>>>
>>> Inline...
>>>
>>> Ryan Foster
>>> HotWax Media
>>> 801.671.0769
>>> [email protected]
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Oct 14, 2009, at 3:12 PM, Ruth Hoffman wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello Ryan:
>>>> Thanks so much for taking the time to inform the list. I personally
>>>> think that front-end website design and implementation is far more
>>>> difficult
>>>> to master then is commonly acknowledged. I applaud your efforts. At no time
>>>> was I trying to disparage or dismiss any of the OFBiz work that you or your
>>>> colleagues have contributed.
>>>
>>> No offense taken. Like I said, I was just trying to offer some
>>> additional insight into the discussion.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Please see my other comments inline:
>>>>
>>>> Ryan Foster wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Since my colleagues and I were largely responsible for the initial
>>>>> design of BizznessTime, which borrows very heavily from Brainfood's public
>>>>> facing site design (thanks guys!), I feel a certain amount of obligation
>>>>> to
>>>>> defend my position. Let me first start off by saying thank you all very
>>>>> much for this discussion on user interface in general and for the feedback
>>>>> on the BizznessTime theme. I sometimes feel like a lone wolf in a sea of
>>>>> developers immensely more talented than me when it comes to back-end
>>>>> programming, so I think a small amount of front-end discussion is
>>>>> refreshing. I take a huge amount of pride in my work, and I welcome any
>>>>> and
>>>>> all feedback, positive or negative, that will allow me to enhance the user
>>>>> experience
>>>>
>>>> IMO, the "theme" concept is an excellent addition to OFBiz.
>>>>>
>>>>> Secondly, many of the key elements of the design were clearly and
>>>>> carefully thought out, and are based on the work, research, and testing of
>>>>> respected organizations and individuals in user experience and interaction
>>>>> design:
>>>>>
>>>> Obviously the design was clearly and carefully thought out. That was
>>>> never in question. Again, I applaud your efforts. Thank you.
>>>>>
>>>>> In regards to the school of thought that all of the important content
>>>>> should be "above the fold" and that users shouldn't be required, do not
>>>>> like
>>>>> to scroll, will not scroll, etc; there has been extensive research that
>>>>> tends to suggest that this school of thought is outdated. Jacob Nielsen
>>>>> discussed this back in 1997(!). See the following links for support:
>>>>
>>>> Thanks for the references. I have not seen any of these specifically,
>>>> although I have seen other statistical reports that are all over the map as
>>>> far as analyzing results. Just an FYI: All of the content writers and site
>>>> designers that I work with insist that best practice is to have the most
>>>> compelling information above the fold. These people are in the trenches
>>>> day-in and day-out and are not selling a service. Just another data point.
>>>
>>> Yes, important information should near the top of the page, I am not
>>> disputing this. What I am saying is "There is no fold", and there hasn't
>>> been one for quite some time. This term was ported from newspaper print
>>> design in an attempt to explain a new medium and technology in terms that
>>> were familiar to designers entering this new media arena. But the internet
>>> is not new anymore, and between Rich Media enabled mobile phones,
>>> integrated/on demand television, kiosk displays, laptops, and 42-inch cinema
>>> screen monitors, it is simply not relevant to modern web design and
>>> development anymore. Honestly, between online websites, news portals,
>>> cross-channel aggregation, bloggers, and RSS feeds, I am not sure that
>>> newspapers even use the term "above the fold" anymore! :)
>>>
>>> FYI: Last time I checked, content writing and web design were service
>>> based businesses. I am also currently closing out a 15 hour day of
>>> designing/building websites and writing content for my clients, so I think
>>> that qualifies me as being in the trenches.
>>>
>>>>> http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9712a.html
>>>>> http://blog.clicktale.com/2006/12/23/unfolding-the-fold/
>>>>>
>>>>> http://blog.clicktale.com/2007/10/05/clicktale-scrolling-research-report-v20-part-1-visibility-and-scroll-reach/
>>>>>
>>>>> http://blog.clicktale.com/2007/12/04/clicktale-scrolling-research-report-v20-part-2-visitor-attention-and-web-page-exposure/
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2006/08/02/utilizing-the-cut-off-look-to-encourage-users-to-scroll/
>>>>> http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/blasting-the-myth-of
>>>>>
>>>>> Next, as far as the applications drop down menu, this concept is again
>>>>> based on modern web trends and current research. Companies such as
>>>>> Target,
>>>>> Walmart, Microsoft, OfficeMax, OfficeDepot, EMC, MTV, Ruby on Rails, etc.
>>>>> use so called "Mega Dropdowns" in their sites and applications. Our
>>>>> friends
>>>>> in the community over at Alexander Interactive have been cited numerous
>>>>> times for the navigation they developed for ActionEnvelope. I agree that
>>>>> showing the menu on hover rather than on click would be an enhancement,
>>>>> but
>>>>> I also don't think that having to click is a bad thing either. Again, see
>>>>> the following resources:
>>>>>
>>>> It remains to be seen just how successful the "Mega Dropdowns" are. Just
>>>> because Target, Microsoft and Walmart use them, doesn't mean they work in
>>>> terms of site usability. That is not to say that some menu dropdowns are
>>>> not
>>>> useful. I use them often.
>>>>
>>>> I would argue that a better example of a site to emulate is that of a
>>>> company that does all of its business on the Web - like Amazon. Yes, they
>>>> use dropdowns, but they are clearly marked as being dropdowns and not
>>>> obscured by other site elements.
>>>
>>> I wouldn't so easily discount the millions of dollars that these sites
>>> generate just because they have a brick-and-mortar presence. But that is
>>> not really the point. You will never make any progress if you just copy
>>> someone else's model.
>>>
>>> "Don't emulate - innovate. Then test."
>>>
>>> Oooh, that sounds kind of catchy. Is it too early to copyright that? ;)
>>>
>>> Actually a more appropriate A/B phrase would be:
>>>
>>> "Emulate. Innovate. Test."
>>>
>>> There we go, that sounds more like a tagline...
>>>
>>>>
>>>>> http://www.uipattern.com/mega-drop-downs/
>>>>> http://www.useit.com/alertbox/mega-dropdown-menus.html
>>>>> http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/03/30/mega-drop-down-menus/
>>>>>
>>>>> http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1647-mega-drop-down-navigation-at-basecamp-and-rails-guides-site
>>>>> http://guides.rubyonrails.org/
>>>>>
>>>>> Finally, as far as the statement "lets not forget who our audience is",
>>>>> I am acutely aware of who are audience is. We have developed several
>>>>> client
>>>>> branded themes based on the BizznessTime theme, and have received very
>>>>> positive feedback. When our clients are happy, I am happy. You are right
>>>>> that fancier isn't always better, there is research suggesting that
>>>>> doesn't
>>>>> matter. It may not be better, but people think that it is:
>>>>>
>>>> You have taken the out-of-the-box themes and branded them. You were able
>>>> to do that because you know how to modify and change themes. A new user
>>>> (one
>>>> who downloads a nightly build) will not know how to do this. That is my
>>>> target audience.
>>>
>>> I think that is where our disconnect is. That might be your target
>>> audience, but that is generally not mine, my colleague's, or my employer's
>>> target audience. The decision maker in an enterprise is usually not the
>>> person who downloads a nightly build. My focus and intent is to design an
>>> application that a CEO, CTO, Operations Manager, etc. can look at and feel
>>> confident that his/her 10, 100, 1000, etc. employees will be able to
>>> comfortably and effectively use it, and that it will power a site that
>>> his/her (hopefully) millions of customers will use and return to
>>> consistently. They are the ones that will ultimately drive the support and
>>> distribution of OFBiz.
>>>
>>>>> http://www.alistapart.com/articles/indefenseofeyecandy
>>>>
>>>> Big fan of alistapart.com. Can't go wrong following that lead.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/news/report3_credibilityresearch/stanfordPTL.pdf
>>>>>
>>>>> http://ist.psu.edu/faculty_pages/jjansen/academic/pres/chi2007/jansen_branding_of_search_engines.pdf
>>>>> http://sigchi.org/chi97/proceedings/paper/nt.htm
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.experiencedynamics.com/sites/default/files/spillers-emotiondesign-proceedings.pdf
>>>>>
>>>>> I do agree with many points that have been made so far, and again, I
>>>>> appreciate the feedback. The font-size is a little too big. The padding
>>>>> in
>>>>> and around the inputs and submit buttons can be dialed back a bit. I am
>>>>> working on a patch right now that incorporates this feedback, as well as
>>>>> additional feedback and discoveries from the themes we have built based on
>>>>> the original BizznessTime theme.
>>>>
>>>> I will continue to give feedback as long as you listen.
>>>> And again, thanks for your efforts.
>>>> Ruth
>>>
>>> Keep it coming Ruth. I appreciate you taking the time.
>>>
>>>>> I apologize for the very long-winded email, but I just wanted to give
>>>>> the community some insight into my thought process and design
>>>>> methodologies.
>>>>> I hope this helps the discussion.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>
>>>>> Ryan Foster
>>>>> HotWax Media
>>>>> 801.671.0769
>>>>> [email protected]
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Oct 13, 2009, at 8:09 AM, Ruth Hoffman wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi Tim:
>>>>>> I fully understand your point of view and the constraints we all labor
>>>>>> under. Whether the old theme sucks or not is not in question here.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> First question I have for you is what "guidelines" are you referring
>>>>>> to?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Secondly, why should a new user have to change a theme in order to use
>>>>>> OFBiz applications. If, as you say its easy to change a theme, then it
>>>>>> should be incumbent on the knowledgeable experienced OFBiz user to change
>>>>>> themes and not the new user. New users have enough on their plate just
>>>>>> learning how the applications work.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thirdly, please don't throw around "its easy" to do something without
>>>>>> siting references. You insult my intelligence and every other reader on
>>>>>> this
>>>>>> list by implying that anything concerning recent releases of OFBiz is
>>>>>> "easy".
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Regards,
>>>>>> Ruth
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>>>>> Ruth Hoffman, Author, Mentor & OFBiz Enthusiast
>>>>>> [email protected]
>>>>>> Looking for more OFBiz info, please visit my website:
>>>>>> http://www.myofbiz.com
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Tim Ruppert wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> We are all working within the constraints of _not_ redesigning the
>>>>>>> entire set of backend applications - which is really what needs to be
>>>>>>> done.
>>>>>>> The old theme sucks visually - has no spice, doesn't fit today's look
>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>> feel guidelines AT ALL, looks really old - so I'd say from someone who
>>>>>>> does
>>>>>>> this day in and day out - you're WAY off when it comes to the way that
>>>>>>> people react to it (be clear, this does not talk to using it on a day
>>>>>>> to day
>>>>>>> basis). We've been very successful in building themes off of Bizzness
>>>>>>> Time
>>>>>>> - please are reacting in a really positive way.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> There is nothing other than a visual change on the BizznessTime
>>>>>>> theme. There are no other extra widgets or the like. it's just a
>>>>>>> reorganization of the data that's there to help give it a facelift.
>>>>>>> I'm not
>>>>>>> talking to users - I'm talking to you and everyone else who has issues
>>>>>>> with
>>>>>>> it. Fix it ... or go back to the old theme in your own setup - don't
>>>>>>> doom
>>>>>>> the rest of us to have to go apply first impressions with that really
>>>>>>> lame
>>>>>>> setup.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> As for the documentation - I'm not sure - checkout Confluence - we
>>>>>>> just dug in and tried to bring the backend apps out of the early 2000s
>>>>>>> instead of letting it sit stagnant.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>>>> Ruppert
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> Tim Ruppert
>>>>>>> HotWax Media
>>>>>>> http://www.hotwaxmedia.com
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> o:801.649.6594
>>>>>>> f:801.649.6595
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Oct 13, 2009, at 7:10 AM, Ruth Hoffman wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Hello Tim:
>>>>>>>> If this a tool for convincing people to use OFBiz, then IMO, we are
>>>>>>>> way off the mark. The backend applications where the BiznessTime theme
>>>>>>>> has
>>>>>>>> been applied are designed for end-users who may not and probably do
>>>>>>>> not have
>>>>>>>> any experience with HTML or CSS. Lets not forget who our audience is
>>>>>>>> here.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> If the foundation, as you say is so solid (and I have not doubt that
>>>>>>>> it is), then reverting back to a simpler yet more accessible theme
>>>>>>>> should be
>>>>>>>> the way to go. Fancier is not always better.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On another note, could you point me to the end-user documentation
>>>>>>>> covering creating new themes. I'd be happy to try this out and post my
>>>>>>>> findings.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Regards,
>>>>>>>> Ruth
>>>>>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>>>>>>> Ruth Hoffman, Author, Mentor & OFBiz Enthusiast
>>>>>>>> [email protected]
>>>>>>>> Looking for more OFBiz info, please visit my website:
>>>>>>>> http://www.myofbiz.com
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Tim Ruppert wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> We exclusively use the BizznessTime theme with clients because it's
>>>>>>>>> WAY easier to change, skin and adapt to everyone's liking / look and
>>>>>>>>> feel.
>>>>>>>>> I think it would be a huge mistake to roll it back to the Flat Grey
>>>>>>>>> as we
>>>>>>>>> have not had any of the same problems once everyone gets over the
>>>>>>>>> initial
>>>>>>>>> shock of seeing something different.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> If the community wants to roll it back - then go for it - but it
>>>>>>>>> isn't wise. FIX the problems that you don't like in the BizznessTime
>>>>>>>>> theme,
>>>>>>>>> or create one of your own - it's easy to do - this is a much more
>>>>>>>>> solid
>>>>>>>>> foundation to build on then the old (and looking really old) theme
>>>>>>>>> that's
>>>>>>>>> been in there since the beginning. Have any of you tried to edit the
>>>>>>>>> CSS to
>>>>>>>>> make any changes that might not make it so "large"? It should be
>>>>>>>>> pretty
>>>>>>>>> easy with this setup.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Anyways, think on it and do what you will do, but remember this is
>>>>>>>>> still a tool for convincing people to use OFBiz. I'd leave this in
>>>>>>>>> place
>>>>>>>>> and change it to the ugly, ugly in your own installations before I
>>>>>>>>> wanted to
>>>>>>>>> go back to Flay Grey as a sales tool ....
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>>>>>> Ruppert
>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>> Tim Ruppert
>>>>>>>>> HotWax Media
>>>>>>>>> http://www.hotwaxmedia.com
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> o:801.649.6594
>>>>>>>>> f:801.649.6595
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On Oct 13, 2009, at 3:40 AM, Jacques Le Roux wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Hi Hans,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> So far,
>>>>>>>>>> * it seems that most people find things too large and prefer to
>>>>>>>>>> zoom out.
>>>>>>>>>> * it seems also that not much specific bugs were reported, and
>>>>>>>>>> those reported should be easily fixed (not quite sure though...)
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I repeat myself about where to report about this subject : create
>>>>>>>>>> a subtask at https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/OFBIZ-2398
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> In his 1st reply Chris Snow suggested a change. But I'm not sure
>>>>>>>>>> it's enough for doing the same thing as a zoom out
>>>>>>>>>> Maybe we could ask Ryan Foster if it's possble to shrink the size
>>>>>>>>>> (of everything ) else we may vote for the "return of Flat Grey" as
>>>>>>>>>> default
>>>>>>>>>> theme.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> What do you people think ?
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Jacques
>>>>>>>>>> PS : Hans I saw you opened a subtask for the field size issue,
>>>>>>>>>> thanks!
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> From: "Hans Bakker" <[email protected]
>>>>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>>
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Sure the Business theme looks good but.....
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> The general problem is that the characters, fields and actually
>>>>>>>>>>> everything is far too big....If i specify a field to be 2
>>>>>>>>>>> characters, at
>>>>>>>>>>> least 5 fit in....
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> So set the default to flat_gray in general properties is perhaps
>>>>>>>>>>> better.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Regards,
>>>>>>>>>>> Hans
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> On Mon, 2009-10-12 at 16:19 +0200, Jacques Le Roux wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> I'd like to know what the community thinks about Bizness Time as
>>>>>>>>>>>> default theme.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Do you use it?
>>>>>>>>>>>> Do you change for another theme ?
>>>>>>>>>>>> Which one fo you prefer?
>>>>>>>>>>>> Did you find bugs in one of the theme but not another?
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Thanks
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Jacques
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>>>> Antwebsystems.com <http://Antwebsystems.com>: Quality OFBiz
>>>>>>>>>>> services for competitive rates
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>
