Bug 93295 - UI: Use chart wizard to also modify charts
Summary: UI: Use chart wizard to also modify charts
Status: NEW
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Chart (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
unspecified
Hardware: All All
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks: Chart-Wizard
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Reported: 2015-08-09 09:48 UTC by Magalaan
Modified: 2020-03-09 13:29 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

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Description Magalaan 2015-08-09 09:48:20 UTC
PROPOSAL:
1 - use chart wizard also to modify existing charts
2 - run chart wizard after selecting a chart and clicking the chart-button
3 - run chart wizard after double clicking on a unselected chart
4 - run show edit-mode (as usual) after double clicking on a selected chart

WHY:
# 1 & 2 : 
The chart wizard is not only helpful to quickly create charts. It is also a great help to quickly modify them.

This MS Office compliant. In MS Excel you can select a chart and click on the chart-button to modify that chart. 

# 3 & 4: 
Double clicking on the chart should restart the wizard again for modification. The chart-edit-mode automatically comes available when you start the wizard.  

But by showing the wizard first, it becomes much easier for the common user, which is 95% of Office users. The wizard is self-explaining, while the edit mode demands some study. Most of the time people do not have the time to study things, they need to get a job done. 

The edit mode is a unfamiliar environment. I could not find the chart-type button, because I mistook "chart-area" for a label. So I kept creating a new chart from scratch with the wizard, to change the type. This even happens to an office professional like me, because in a hurry I do not have time to figure things out. 

It is only now I decided to propose this change that I took the time to really get to know the edit-mode. It is well done, once you get to know it. But again Office applications are often used under time pressure. And then a wizard is a life saver because you can create and modify a chart with almost no thinking.
Comment 1 Yousuf Philips (jay) (retired) 2015-09-06 03:31:25 UTC
(In reply to Magalaan from comment #0)
> PROPOSAL:
> 1 - use chart wizard also to modify existing charts
> 2 - run chart wizard after selecting a chart and clicking the chart-button
> 3 - run chart wizard after double clicking on a unselected chart
> 4 - run show edit-mode (as usual) after double clicking on a selected chart
> 
> WHY:
> # 1 & 2 : 
> The chart wizard is not only helpful to quickly create charts. It is also a
> great help to quickly modify them.
> 
> This MS Office compliant. In MS Excel you can select a chart and click on
> the chart-button to modify that chart. 

When a chart is to be inserted, there a number of features of a chart that a user can choose from on the initial creation of a chart, which is why the chart wizard is of benefit. But after a chart is already inserted, the chart wizard is limited in what parts of chart can be modified, which is why chart edit mode is needed.

Clicking the chart button in MS Office only opens a dialog to change the chart type, so maybe the chart button should still be active when selecting a chart and clicking on it should open up chart edit mode.

> # 3 & 4: 
> Double clicking on the chart should restart the wizard again for
> modification. The chart-edit-mode automatically comes available when you
> start the wizard.  
> 
> But by showing the wizard first, it becomes much easier for the common user,
> which is 95% of Office users. The wizard is self-explaining, while the edit
> mode demands some study. Most of the time people do not have the time to
> study things, they need to get a job done. 

As stated above the wizard is limited in its functionality when compared to chart edit mode.

> The edit mode is a unfamiliar environment. I could not find the chart-type
> button, because I mistook "chart-area" for a label. So I kept creating a new
> chart from scratch with the wizard, to change the type. This even happens to
> an office professional like me, because in a hurry I do not have time to
> figure things out. 

Yes i found it quite an unfamiliar environment when i first tried it, which is why i changed its toolbars in 5.0 to include most of the functionality an average user would need access to. Of course my experience with it was as a complete beginner as i hadnt used a spreadsheet app before, but a similar edit mode is found in excel and other apps.

> It is only now I decided to propose this change that I took the time to
> really get to know the edit-mode. It is well done, once you get to know it.
> But again Office applications are often used under time pressure. And then a
> wizard is a life saver because you can create and modify a chart with almost
> no thinking.

Work is underway to make things easier, as a chart sidebar will be implemented in the next release.
Comment 2 Xisco Faulí 2020-03-09 13:29:02 UTC
Please add keyword 'needsUXEval' and CC 'libreoffice-ux-advise@lists.freedesktop.org' if input from UX is needed.