Survey: Themler's UI Usability

Where can I find the font encoding. Eg. latin-ext.

Thank you for your question.

For now you can click to small arrow, see image below.

But we will add "Font Options..." in the next update.

Thanks,
Oleg

I was watching the Themler and once you started to make an UI more closer to the Artisteer, I took an oportunity to buy a licence. So far, I am a bit confused, because I am stearing into the blank page (html template) and while I was able to start with Artisteer right ahead, I miss the simplicity with the Themler. The UI got better, but still not there. So here we go:

• In Artisteer, everything important was in the top tabs. Here the header can be found in a Layout, but not in Insert section
• Not sure the whole Layout section is not kind of obsolete. Instead of Sidebars, I would prefer if columns zones could be done by simply using row/columns, and the ability to merge particular cells in a vertical/horizontal manner.
• Header preview is just some B&W mockup, not a real thing, difficult to imagine, what will come up from that. Suggest header was quicker (just pressing the button) to get some basics to work with.
• I miss all the nice effects from Artisteer - background abstracts, glares, textures, which could be nicely blended in Artisteer
• Will it be possible, in future, to open an Artisteer project, locally, in Themler for Desktop?
• Left column List view display is kind of useless. I created two rows by 2 columns, colored them, added some text, and the preview can't display it properly. Tree view is usable and more useful.

Need more time to play with Themler. I know that the product has to be more complex in order to allow things Artisteer was never able to do, but I believe you can still improve, at least adding back the above mentioned effects.

Left column List view display is kind of useless. I created two rows
by 2 columns, colored them, added some text, and the preview can't
display it properly. Tree view is usable and more useful.

Agree.

Left sidebar with small previews is really useless. Just taking valuable space.
I know it can be toggled away but still, could be used for something more usefull.

• "More options" options could be, without problems with space, moved to top sidebar (as new top menu link/tab).
• File top menu link/tab could be removed from top menu and make space for something else ("More options" ?). It is used once in 1000 + clicks.
• "More styles" i personally use much and those options are somehow behind many clicks. It would be better to put all "More styles" under select dropdown. This way it could be inside top sidebar, say far left side, and when we change options in select dropdown dependent settings and options are shown in top sidebar same as for layout, design tab.

As for the more top menu arguments, here's what Artisteer provides:

Home, Edit, Colors&Fonts, Layout, Content, Bacground, Sheet, Header, Slider, Menu, Blocks, Vertical Menu, Controls, Footer

And even more - if you click particular section, top ribbon changes to the corresponding tab content. On the other hand - Themler contains many more widgets, etc., many ppl don't build typical websites - menu, slider, content, footer anymore, so it needs some more thoughts ....

Left sidebar with small previews is really useless. Just taking valuable space.
I know it can be toggled away but still, could be used for something more usefull.

Agree 🤔

Add option to insert row above/down, not only column before/after..

Please make Image >> Lightbox easier to find (Possibly under styles >> Image). It took me ages to locate it.

If somebody missed how to change header section:

Last edited 05 January 2016 by Support Team

See below how to find WP Widget Area.
Sorry about this, the next update will improve this.

If somebody missed how to change header section:

1) We don't want to be able to only change a prefabricated header sections, we want to be able to easily build our own ones.

2) By header (at least from Artisteer times), I do understand horizontal menu (or not), image or slider, logotype and/or shapes. What your sections contain, are mostly a full-screen sections, which hardly can be called a header. You only seem to offer certain type of section, definitely not headers. There is no single pre-made section in an Artisteer style way ...

Thank you, for your comments.
It is really important for us.

Headers with absolute positioning is really most simple task. Of course it is already possibly to do. We will try to simplify UI to make it more clear and easy to use.

Hi,

I'm personally no fan of the new UI. I'm having a lot of trouble finding stuff in the new UI.
Also, the left sidebar was very useful in the previous version. Now it's always visible but it really doesn't contain anything useful. It just takes up space. Like, right now, I'm looking where to style the controls. It used to be in the left sidebar panel... Now it takes me forever to find it. I have to go to "Design" --> "More styles" to find where to change the font color for input forms....

One of the things I really can't find, for instance, is the link to apply the default style to a drupal region, or to set a new style as the default.

I appreciate the hard work you guys put in but to me the UI is a step backwards and the long awaited problems with Drupal templates were supposed to be fixed in this update yet it still doesn't work. So where Themler was already just 25% usable for Drupal developers, it's now also a lot less intuitive to design templates with...

Before prompting me to report issues with Drupal templates seperately; I've reported the problems with Drupal templates in this private topic and attached 2 themes but I haven't had a reply for over a week: https://answers.themler.com/questions/51439/custom-drupal-templates-not-working. Maybe that issue is being overlooked, I would appreciate an update.

Hi , I like the new ui, it has great promise, but there are still a number of things that can be done more streamlined...

I am missing the option to change a section . currently you can only load a section from zip, but you can't actually change a section to one from the online themler library. in the older version you had it. this means that now you have to delete a section, and add a new one, which is an unecessary step i think.

the additional css and html look really small when they are in the right side, i don't know why, but i preferred them on the left side....its a matter or preference ofcourse.

another thing i think is strange about the ui, is that a lot of styles are reffered to as "image style". for instance, i put a map control, and i have an option called "image style" to put some presets... but it needs to actually be "map style" , because there is no image there! this happenes on other controls also, and i am used to it, but i think it will be more logical to call it in another name... its more logical to delete the word "image" and just put "style" in there .

I am really missing a tab for alignment options. for instance, you said a few months ago you will add the option to center elements in absolute containers , and currently there is no option for it, which makes users have to edit the left:0px right:0px margin-right:auto margin-left:auto each time, which is realy tidious, plus if someone doesn't do it, he will have lots of problems in responsive mode if he doesn't know this fix.

Other than that i really like the new version....
Thanks for your time :)

1) We don't want to be able to only change a prefabricated header
sections, we want to be able to easily build our own ones.

Totally agree.

I think that Themler must be more powerful and for advanced users too.
Now Themler's direction: constructor with sections... think it's wrong.
Need instruments and manuals for creation sections, not ready sections.

Last edited 06 January 2016 by Vitaliy WD

hello..

i like the previous style of themler... this new (old artister) is very confusing to me... i think you guys better combine the previous and this old new style for better usability.

thanks...

I love the sections for when you have to knock a quick page together and would normally just go buy a $30 theme to save time, you can do it almost as quickly as bothering to chose a theme and without spending another dime thanks to Themler.

However... I have to agree 100% with the posts asking for more control over the header area - my attempts to customize this nicely have just led to frustration and thinking 'fk it, I'll fix the css and code up when it's live' which is hardly the point.

And... it would be great to have some instructional walk-through videos or articles about how to make the sections you're now releasing so we can put our own ideas into action.

Some of the released sections need CSS tweaks also when live as they just don't work right on mobile... that's definitely a big fail.

Just played a little with new UI.

Beta prefix in this update - good.
Possibility to update from stable to beta through circle in UI - not good :)

I think there is a lot of work to get stable and working UI.
A much more working to get this UI comfortable (UX).

To get some options - need very much clicks to achieve the target.

For example, if need to change margin in H1 title we need go to:
Design → More Styles → H1 Title → Paragraph Options... → click on Style icon in right sidebar → click on Arrange Options icon → click Padding and Margin icon → set margin (done!) :)

And BTW if need to clear margin - Clear button not work :)

Add Joomla Module Position under the More icon... etc. There is manu UX problems...

More of things is not comfortable (UX)... But look fresh and great (UI design).

Summing up: many ( - ) and one ( + ).
Minus ( - ) - very bad UX
Plus ( + ) - UI design

Main plus ( + ) in Old UI - Left Sidebar with scroll possibility (there was an opportunity to put a lot of options inside and no need many clicks).

So... maybe need to stay on Old UI and do not let to users get this Beta update... I see the option in profile about Beta updates receive - good idea, but too late, if it's unchecked we can get update from Old UI to New Beta UI anyway... :)