Add file in a resume - interface consistency

[Dominique-Alain JAN]

Version : 1.8RC

In Content->Resume

Context :
You want to add files as attachment for different points of your resumé (certificate, letter of recommendation, etc.).

What is expected :
You fill in the form for an entry in your job history and at the botton you have a link or a button to add a document either from your personal file zone or from your computer if the document is not already in the formal.

How it works in 1.8RC:

A) At the bottom of the form you get the option to add a file with a "Browse" button. This button only lets you go and upload a file from your computer not from your personal file zone.

B) The plus sign link (+) under the "Browse" button lets you add many "Browse" button without actually having uploaded a file with the previous "Browse" button.

C) The plus sign link (+) disappears (but it is still clickable) when 'mouseovered' once.

D) When the form is then saved and accessed again for editing, the add file interface has changed and a button "Add file" is displayed instead of the *Browse" and plus (+) sign.

Conclusion: the interface for adding and managing attachment to resumé is not consistent and may be confusing for certain users and then should be revised.

[Aaron Wells (u-aaronw)]

Hi Dominique,

Thanks for the bug report! It is inconsistent, but it's the best we were able to do within the available time. Apparently the full Mahara filepicker was somewhat hard to fit into that page, due to the dynamic nature of it. So for now we've got this clunky workaround of using the older [+] attacher.

I'd definitely like to get that replaced with the proper Mahara filebrowser, but it looks like it will need to wait for 1.9.

Cheers,
Aaron

[Robert Lyon (robertl-9)]

Hi Aaron, Dominique,

The inconsistent file adding problems is due to the 'Add' option being loaded onto the same page.
So in resume/achievements.php we end up with 3 instances of the form (for certifications, books, and professional memberships) and the filepicker is not designed to work with more than one instance on a page.

So the options going forward are:
1) make the filepicker work with more than once instance on a page (hard option)
or
2) make the 'Add' option like the 'Edit' option where it loads in a new page, or even config form like popup where there can be only one filepicker at a time.

In the time being we could remove the add attachment option so that the only way to add an attachment is via the edit form? would this be worth doing?

Cheers

Bob

[Aaron Wells (u-aaronw)]

I think currently, the full filepicker shows up when you got to the "edit" screen.

Would it be easy to make it so that the "add" option takes you to the "edit" screen, rather than filling stuff in, inline? Because that's another option. Although then we'd make it harder to add multiple items, in order to make it easier to put attachments on them. So I'm not sure whether it's a worthwhile tradeoff or not.

Cheers,
Aaron

[Son Nguyen (ngson2000)]

Hi

I think making the 'Add' option like the 'Edit' option but loading in a popup window would be the best trade-off.

Cheers,
Son

[Kristina Hoeppner (kris-hoeppner)]

I took off the milestone and moved it (back?) to wishlist. This does not only concern the resume attachments, but other areas in Mahara as well where we don't always have the same file picker. Thus, an overall solution should be found instead of individual ones that are slightly different again.

[Aaron Wells (u-aaronw)]

It would be great for our devs if we could make the filepicker easier to embed into things. Currently, it's kind of a hassle, which is what leads to these ad-hoc solutions.