[Zope-CMF] inconsistent/confusing UI

[marc lindahl]

Last night I was getting a new user up on a CMF site and noted some of the
difficulties he was having.  Basically came down to inconsistent UI
elements.  Here's what I saw, and my initial thoughts for some solutions:

1. Problem adding content.  After pressing 'New...' and getting the list of
content types, he selected the type and was looking for what to do next.  He
didn't 'get' the 'ID' field at all.  Thought maybe it was his user name.

Proposed solution: either explanation of what ID means or a different name
for the field.  Also, perhaps a small explanation in the form, by the ID
field, explaining the procedure (select content type from above list and
enter ID (name) and click 'Add')

2. Problem uploading file.  Once he created a file object, couldn't figure
out how to upload content.  There seemed to be many stumbling blocks in
File.

  a. actions_box shows options of "Download" and "Edit" - inconsistent.

    proposed solution: for File, rename Edit "Upload".

  b. initial screen for file upload is "Metadata Edit" - perhaps too
advanced, but definitely missing the main next step, which is to upload the
file.

   proposed solution: make a unified screen for 'File' to edit metadata AND
upload file.

  c. metadata edit form buttons have confusing names (Change and View,
Change and Edit).  The word 'Change' is not clear.

  proposed solution: use the word 'Update' instead of 'Change'.

 d. Edit form button 'Change' is confusing.

  proposed solution: use the words 'Upload File' just as in the regular Zope
file -- also corresponds to changing the name in actions_box to Upload.

3. the process of publishing was actually easily understood by the user -
contrary to what I had expected.

These may seem like minor niggles, but this poor guy spent like an hour
trying to upload one file, and gave up without succeeding.  A couple of
simple name changes would fix this.

There's probably other places where this is a problem.  Is there a central
place for planning/designing the nomenclature for the default CMF?  I think
that might go a long way towards both a more consistent and usable UI and a
documentation 'glossary' which could be part of some online help for CMF
users.

Thoughts, anyone?