Update User Interface

[florianmodel]

The User Interface looks a bit outdated. Updating the UI would increase the user experience and would make this project more distinguishable from the original cFIREsim.

I made a rough draft on how the redesign could look like, see attached. We'd have two columns left for data input and right for the simulation result. The right columns could stay fixed on desktop, so it's always visible. Would jump to the bottom for mobile.

Looking forward to hear your thoughts!

[alistair-marshall]

Firstly apologies, i was waiting for your response but hadn't gotten the notification. Turns out I wasn't watching my own repository!

I do like the look and overall feel of the redesign.

I do agree that the layout could be improved to help enter data. I have a couple of comments or questions about the layout you are proposing:

• Currently we can enter multiple pensions/other income/other expenditure lists. How would this be handled in your new layout?
• Currently the system can handle multiple results (up to 10) and let the user go back and compare previous simulations. Do you have a method of saving these results in the new layout?
• The current layout is handled by bootstrap. Are you planning on using this or a different tool or would you have something completely custom? Whatever your plan, I am keen to minimise load times/performance as much as possible (I often work on a slow connection and bloat is something that annoys me).

Thanks again for your work.

[florianmodel]

Hey, thank you for your response.

Concerning your comments:

Currently we can enter multiple pensions/other income/other expenditure lists. How would this be handled in your new layout?

Two options here: Either through tabs inside the container or adding a row below the first eg. Pension.

Currently the system can handle multiple results (up to 10) and let the user go back and compare previous simulations. Do you have a method of saving these results in the new layout?

Good point. I haven't thought about the header yet, but the save & load buttons could stay there, same for the links of course. For the results, I'd go for tabs.

The current layout is handled by bootstrap. Are you planning on using this or a different tool or would you have something completely custom? Whatever your plan, I am keen to minimise load times/performance as much as possible (I often work on a slow connection and bloat is something that annoys me).

Never used bootstrap before, but it's an easy solution. Not sure if Bootstrap is really what's impacting load times, might be some other JS going on. Either way is possible. My suggestion is using bootstrap as a start, see how it works with the option to scrap it later on in the process.

Concerning the results:
The data could simulate additional things like Coast-Fire etc, so we have plenty of room for that on the right column.

Let me know what you think and if you have any further thoughts, suggestions and feedback.

[alistair-marshall]

In terms of bootstrap or not, I am not bothered either way. I just want to ensure that we don't make things worse. I am sure that the javascript libraries are not optimal and I hope to make more progress in simplifying and cleaning up the code that will make this better. I think it is worth creating a branch and having a go at making changes. Any time you think it is worth updating the main site, let me know and we can see about merging the changes in. If you have any questions, please let me know. Thanks Alistair Marshall