Should we change book page language selector?

[mekarpeles]

url: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL82560W/Harry_Potter_and_the_Goblet_of_Fire

Currently, we show which other editions exist with previews in other languages, near the metadata "omnibar" This makes sense because the omnibar shows the current edition's language

However (a) it may be more appropriate near the editions table, where one may change which edition is selected and (b) the format/UI may be more useful as e.g. a dropdown menu/selector.

This issue asks for designs from the community, and discussion on both the UI and the position of this language preview data.

Description, Patron Story

Relevant Designs

Feedback Questions

Decisions

Stakeholders

[vamshipy]

hi, do you want to have a languages tab beside the show entries tab and remove the "preview in other languages" feature.. would like to work on this

[jimchamp]

@vamshipy we don't know. This is a call for designs. Feel free to link to a Figma mock-up with your proposal.

[vamshipy]

url: https://www.figma.com/proto/IWC7lt00agCGaYSSzhzg2T/Untitled?type=design&node-id=1-2&t=OxMcSnuNCxvgnIFF-1&scaling=min-zoom&page-id=0%3A1&mode=design(url) ...is this what you want it to look like

[mekarpeles]

I think we're agreed that language selector should move into the Editions table area, as opposed to below the omnibar.

Near the editions table, maybe we show 1st 3 languages in the list (arbitrarily) and then a dropdown for the rest: Languages: [ All v]

Bonus if dropdown is searchable

[Moksh45]

Hi @mekarpeles, I'm interested in working on this issue. I believe we need to incorporate a language drop-down menu to display the available languages for the book. Users should be able to select a specific language edition from this menu, which will then be retrieved. and, we should include functionality to search for a particular language. Could someone please confirm if I'm approaching this issue correctly? I'll also add a simple image after completion to visualize how it will look.

[jimchamp]

I've added this to the agenda of our next community design call, on the 16th. We'll gather feedback on these designs during that meeting, and update this thread with the decisions.

[DebbieSan]

Hi @Moksh45 @jimchamp, since we didn't have enough time to discuss this issue within our call this week, I am giving my feedback here.

The language selector on a dropdown menu makes sense as proposed by Moksh45.

However, in regards to the search functionality suggested, are we going to add the functionality to search for the appropriate language within the dropdown menu? The search box to the right already searches for editions in another language. For example, if you type " French", it will find an edition in French, if I am correct. Would having another search in this area be a) redundant to the point of distracting, b)confusing or c)redundant to the point of useful to patrons as they will have multiple areas to search for a language?

Otherwise, this dropdown seems simple yet easier to use than the current design, wtg!

Cheers :)

[Moksh45]

Hi @DebbieSan, thank you for sharing your feedback. It's great to see the positive response to the proposed language selector on the dropdown menu. Regarding the search functionality suggestion, it's important to consider user experience and efficiency.

Adding a search functionality specifically for languages within the dropdown menu could potentially enhance user convenience, especially if there are a large number of language options available. However, it's crucial to assess whether this additional feature would indeed add value or if it might lead to redundancy or confusion.

To determine the best approach, we could consider conducting user testing or gathering feedback from a sample group to understand their preferences and usability expectations. This way, we can ensure that any enhancements made align with user needs and preferences while maintaining simplicity and ease of use.

Thank you for raising this point

Cheers! 😄

[Realmbird]

@jimchamp could I work on this? I am new and found this on good first issue and no one was assigned.

[Realmbird]

If I understand the problem is this what we are supposed to make We are trying to make dropdown on side of editions so they can query the language of the book? Thought images on top of previous design is better so people know which language is which even if they accidentally choose wrong language

[mekarpeles]

@Moksh45 if you're interested, I think your solution makes sense to run with for now!

[Realmbird]

@mekarpeles is moksh still working on it want to work on design issue after design meet

[mekarpeles]

Go for it

[mekarpeles]

After discussion during 06-07 design call, we converged on a design that will include 3 components:

1. Show [10 | v] results per page
2. [x] ebooks only?
3. Language [ All | Albania | Chinese | English | ... | v]

And for point 3, re: designs, cc: @kylie-kiaying if you feel inspired to contribute designs based on this :) some design possibilities are either:

1. "All" and then hide the rest as dropdown options -- single select
2. show a few languages somehow and then a dropdown with all / rest, e.g.

[1]

[2]

The finished design with all 3 facets could have a design feel that looks something like:

Constraints

No flags in the dropdown please as different languages may have ambiguous flags and it's more complicated than we're willing to do.

Next Steps

The next steps should be a PR that tests out this concept as a prototype given our current system.

Eventually we want to switch the editions table to use solr so we can get all languages, not just those that appear from e.g. the first 10 ebooks, see #7451

[aarasawa]

Can I work on this?

[jimchamp]

Thanks for your patience, @aarasawa. Do you still want to work on this?

[aarasawa]

@jimchamp yes, I would

[jimchamp]

@aarasawa, you've been assigned. The root editions table template can be found here. The existing language preview list can be found here.