What to do with double-tap / is replicating an existing gesture a waste?

1

In my opinion the obvious long term answer is to make it a user defined setting that sets what the double-tap does.

I understand the tendency to be reluctant to spend time removing a feature or to code it in the first place. The backside of this is that feature potentially useful for many users (but perhaps not all) are being stopped from existing.

I believe in the 80/20 method, where 80% of the effort should be spent on 20% of the most important features. And 20% of the effort could be spent on the rest of less prioritized features, (perhaps used by 20% of the users).

Being too protective of the gestures seams like a 100/0 method, where 0% of the effort is being spent on features that are not wanted by all 100% of the users.

For example I think that replicating an existing gesture is a not necessary a waste if it becomes a shortcut for something that I do often and where there is a benefit to being able to doing it in different ways.

2

I just don’t understand wanting to ad single and double tap. So far only 2 people keep asking for Tap Tap Tap didn’t work very well before.

3

To get off all the tapping 3.118 at least for me is running smoothly no issues location adding is great. No bugs, glitches, twitches or grimlins Great Job @duane

4

@BrianLY-38 You mean 3.116?
Or is 3.118 release just in some places?
(I’m a beta-tester.)

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5

Just because some of the users, or perhaps 80% of the users don’t understand the value of a feature before it is implemented and tweaked until it works, and works better than not having it at all, does NOT mean that the feature don’t have value.

If 2 of the people active on the forum speak up about a feature, then there are probably hundreds of or more people who don’t speak up but think similar, or would appreciate something that could be an outcome of that discussion.

6

Beta release

7

Not trying to get into a pissing contest just trying to figure the value of clunky tapping VS smooth swiping. Both quotes above are big assumptions

8

When I saw your post it was not yet available for download for me, but shortly after is was. I guess it’s because it takes some time for the updates to migrate to the dirrerent mirrored Google play store servers around the world.

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9

Me neither, and I apologize sincerely if I afended you.

The point I was trying to emphasize was that that a feature can have value for others eaven if you don’t understand why. And when you said

It seamed as your opinion is that you don’t think the idea have value any more.

Yes, I’m assuming that there are (perhaps substantial) minorities of the user base that can find great value in features that a majority of the user base don’t get, and don’t care about.

I’m also asumimg that this app is capable of displaying several times more things than I’m currently interesting in or understand the value of, but I’m not spending my time arguing about that I don’t understand that, instead I’m assuming that since it’s in the app it is because it is bringing valu to some of the other users, and I’m happy with that.

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10

@Ohan Not offended was just curious never said there was no value just saying it was tried before and had issues. There are tap features in the app that work just fine. and I apologize if I came off inappropriately

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11

It’s all cool @BrianLY-38!

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12

Hi @Ohan,

Just to be clear, I’m not saying double-tap to step forward or back in time is not a good idea or the best idea.

But I take a long time to think about things. For example, I don’t think “double-tap steps back and forth in time”, I think " what is the problem we’re trying to solve and is there a better way". The problem is that sometimes, it’s not easy to step forward or back in time. There are many solutions:

  1. have a setting to change the up/down sensitivity
  2. if it’s for radar only, then the sensitivity might change for radar only.
  3. can we set sensitivity based on swipe speed.
  4. can we add a different area on the map that has a slower swipe
  5. can we swipe in a circle, like dial
  6. add a swipe at 45 degrees along with the vertical and horizontal.
  7. double tap in the sides.
  8. add back/forward buttons to the map - adds clutter

For me, double tap seems a wastes since it doesn’t actually gesture for something to happen to the place where you tap.

I usually choose something invisible first, like sensitivity based on speed. Then I something intuitive, like 4, 5, or 6, since we already swipe for time.

I also consider other aspects of replicating an existing feature. This carries other costs, like implementation cost, support and maintenance cost, it can cause confusion.

This is the obvious answer but maybe not the best. The settings page would have over a 100 settings if I just added a setting for everything. In fact, in the early days I did add everything and it was a mess! I rewrote Flowx without the settings. It’s empty and simple because I did my job :wink:

I also protect my gestures. We have:

  1. swipe to control time
  2. double-finger for zoom and panning
  3. single-tap - unused - selecting a place or object
  4. double-tap - unused
  5. long-press - unused - probably a pop-up menu showing more actions for a place or route node.

In the future, I plan things like showing all saved places on the map then tapping on them to change place, adding routes, adding airports and selecting them. And I’m sure other ideas would come along. I think we should cherish the rarity of gesture and double-tap.

If you look at it from that point of view. I agree with the 80/20 rule and the other point of view is that we’ve met 80% of the need with the current swipe action. Adding double-tap is trying to fill the remaining 20% :wink:

I guess in summary, I don’t just add an idea because it’s the first thing that comes along, I spend a long time thinking about it.

I hope that the list of ideas above is new to you and may lead you to think more broadly first instead of focusing on double-tap.

Personally, I like ideas 3, 5, and 6 but I’ll think more before trying one.

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13

First of all, thank you @duane for your detailed, informative and pedagogical answer!

Yes, verry good way of thinking!

:+1:

:+1:

Yes, I totally get you point, and I agree.

Yes, this is the best use of single tap that I’ve heard so far. Good (or perhaps long :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: , but also good :grin: ) thinking on that one! :+1:

Sounds awesome! We live in an exciting time!

This too! Awesome point #2.

Yes, in the context of these, for me just now new ideas, it’s quite easy to see that the best idé for how to utalize the rare double-tap on the map is yet to come. Good call!

Yes, I agree that you are probably right here. At least I totally agree that way more thinking and work should be done before we can assume that we are anywhere near of being close to knowing for sure, and until then letting this one wait is the better option.

:+1::+1:

Yes, thank you!

Yes, I’ll think some more too.

#club-of-thinkers

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14

5 is very interesting in the present context: tracking time advancement. I welcome improvements in this context and never thought of #5.

My thoughts in this context have been visual: add nighttime dimming on the map (or sun/moon tracking) as a visual swiping clue, text bar “taps” that intelligently advance the timescale to the next point of interest (tap on temp text to advance to the highest/lowest temps, rain fall text for next time of rain, wind gust for next highest wind gust event), and the YouTube style double-taps on map to advance some set amount … Though, I suggested this mainly as a way to make radar behave as most radar weather maps do, via an animation but it could work in the context of tracking time advancements as well. (Wow, if a right map double-tap trigger an forward animation 24hrs each time! That would be sweet. I guess a left map double-tap would have to jump back 24hrs then animate forward 24hrs. That works!)

6 is lame. 3 seems like too much push back on the user: losing the simplicity of a good app design.

I stand by my statement that Flowx needs a killer swipe improvement, but I think it comes from larger roadmap improvements not actual swipe twiddling. Though, #5 is pretty cool! Just like everything I suggest :wink:

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15

I don’t see what’s wrong with current swipe except in compare mode if you move slightly off a straight line it stops the current swipe. I don’t know maybe I’m blind and simple minded :disappointed:

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16

Agreed! That is broke.

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17

Wrong words. Nothing is “wrong” with the current swiping.

The amount of data to interact with in Flowx (as more and more data is added) is pushing the limits of accuracy/mental acuity of the lowly cell phone swipe gesture.

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18

I understand and I don’t disagree at all with adding gestures :+1:

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19

Great mind-“candy bag” full of great and interesting ideas!

Agree! Sounds cool!

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20

The more i think about this the more I like it!

And I could actually help code it so that the circle you swipe can be anywhere on the map. (Meaning not nesecerly around the center of the screen, or at any other fixed point for that matter.)

Update:
One could program it so that the speed is dependent on the size of the cirkles drawn or/and the x and/or y coordinates of the center of the screen.

Update 2:

Hm, when thinking more about it, I realize issues that needs solving (with the live checking if swipe is in a circle), and then solutions to the issues, and more issues and more solutions…

One could think that my thinking is going in circles, or “like a dail” :sweat_smile::thinking::smirk:

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