Missing Codecs: Add/Remove has no explanation, is confusing

[Murray Cumming]

When, for instance, I try to open a video in Totem for which I don't have the necessary codecs installed, such as the MMS thing here:
http://www.spacex.com/webcast.php
, Totem shows the "Add/Remove Applications" window, with
- no explanation of why I am being asked to add or remove applications.
- no clue that I probably want to click the little checkbox and then press OK to make the video run.

It's a big confusing window that seems totally disconnected from what I wanted to do. Most people will just think it's a big confusing error.

Note that I am incredibly happy that the functionality is there. I just think it needs to be clearer.

[Murray Cumming (murrayc)]

Also, there's both an Apply and an OK button. I can't see the use of Apply here. People will just assume that they must click Apply before OK, and worry that the change didn't happen if they forgot to click Apply, and generally be unsure of things and annoyed.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

The libgimme-codec has been replaced with gstreamer which has an API for that now, the dialog should probably be display by gnome-app-install

[Murray Cumming (murrayc)]

The title of the bug should be changed to make this clearer, now that this has been reassigned to a more general product. But I can't seem to do that with Launchpad.

[Murray Cumming (murrayc)]

Ah, I can.

[Sebastian Heinlein (glatzor)]

On the apply button issue:
Many user install application step by step and not all at once. This gives the user a more secure feeling and is more dial up friendly. E.g there have been several complains when we removed the apply button from the update-manager. Finally the HIG suggests apply|cancel|ok for explicit apply dialogs. So please take the discussion to the GNOME usability list.

[Murray Cumming (murrayc)]

> Many user install application step by step and not all at once.

Yes, that's good, but this dialog is inappropriate as reused for this purpose without modification.

> Finally the HIG suggests apply|cancel|ok for explicit apply dialogs

You mean this:
http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gup/hig/2.0/windows-utility.html#windows-explicit-apply

It's not clear to me that this is an "explicit apply" window. I think the HIG is talking about windows in which you can't instantly apply each widget in the dialog. Furthermore, the HIG is only a guideline.

[Steve Dodd (anarchetic)]

I noticed this issue trying to play an AAC file on a fresh Feisty Beta install. The dialog shown doesn't indicate that *all* the packages shown are required; a user might think - as I did - that they were being asked to choose between alternatives (as it happens, only the last option is required, but I guess the system isn't yet fine-grained enough for gnome-codec-install to figure that out.)

I'd second Murray's implication that the average user could do with a little more hand-holding in this area. *I'm* pretty technical, but the codec jungle is an area I try to avoid whenever possible!

[Michael Vogt (mvo)]

This should be fixed with the 0.3.28 release. It will show a dialog upfront that explains what is going to happen.

Cheers,
 Michael