User Interface (UI) Suggestions

[zenlando]

Just got into MT beta the last week, and lots to like here. The app is easily as intuitive and user-friendly as QT. The super narrow window borders are a great addition. Other much appreciated improvements are apparent in the charting – ability to drag and drop indictors above, below and into a chart, adjustable screening effects on indicators like Bollinger bands, ease of changing the vertical chart spacing and extra space on the horizontal, easy editing of fib lines, and graphic screening enhancements in indicators like CCI. Very nice!

 

Here are some comments and suggestions on some UI features that might be nice to have:

1. I’m guessing this is already planned, but would be good to have an MT icon symbol show up at startup in the taskbar and function like the one in QT.
2. In the portfolios/ watch lists it would also be nice to have the option of having a portfolio drop-down and edit button within the ribbon itself. Then one wouldn’t have to have the Main tab open all the time if changing watch lists often during the day.
3. I’m curious if MT will eventually use right-click contextual menus as much as QT. I’m so used to them that now making a change to a portfolio by having to go through the top menu seems very tedious. If not, maybe toolbars? (see comment below).
4. Toolbars (maybe down the road): Would be nice to have a menu of possible tool buttons that could be dragged and dropped into a toolbar. This toolbar could then be docked at the top of a chart, maybe morphing into another narrow ribbon, or likewise snap to the side or bottom. Having global settings might be nice if it was desirable to apply the same toolbar to all charts. Seems this might also lend itself nicely to some future cloud version of MT, where contextual menus wouldn’t be possible.
5. Modification to changing time frames using number keys - seems confusing to have calendar time periods followed by bars followed by calendar periods. Would prefer to have a choice to set up as either calendar time periods or bars, and then the keyed numbers control one or the other. Or if this isn’t possible, at least maybe have the bars follow the calendar time periods and not be between them?
6. For the charts it might be good to be able to have a User Defined Color Set as a default setting that can be applied to all new charts.
7. Also for charts I think it would be handy to have the zoom in/ zoom out (+/-) symbols in the ribbon itself (or top of chart) for easy access without having to open the menu every time if this was the interface one preferred for changing time frames.
8. Also down the road might be helpful to have the line that separates one indicator from another (if more than one indicator is shown above or below the chart) be able to snap into set positions when moving up or down. This would make it easier to have the lines line up if it’s desired to have same size indicator windows when charts are side by side.

[Jerry Medved]

1) There are a number of options available to the user on the SETTINGS/ Application / General screen, like if portfolios have their own icons or sub-windows have their own icons

 

2) Portfolio Edit - I added the button to the QAT.  Will be on by default for new Portfolios. For existing ones, you will need to click on the little dropdown on the right of the QAT and check it off there.

 

3) We may expand the right click options, and also make them user selectable (control which show), but not till we have the core functionality further along. Do not want to overcrowd things like we did with QT.

 

4)   Really really don't want toolbars.  You can make a toolbar out of the QAT by making it show below the ribbon instead of above. 

 

6) on the TEMPLATE tab you can click SET AS DEFAULT. That will set the current chart settings, including the color set, to be the default for all new windows.

 

7) why don't you just use + and -

[zenlando]

Thanks Jerry. Understood on 3), 4), and 6). I'm certainly not married to toolbars at all, but am a bit curious why you're so strong about not having them?  And should I assume that 5) and 8) are going to remain status quo, or are you still pondering?

 

On the others I probably need to provide some clarification:

 

1) Here all I meant was that in QT, the little $ logo symbol shows up on the far right side of the taskbar when the app is running, alongside any other logo symbols for other apps that are open (Outlook, etc.). I jsut click on that to maximize the QT windows. Just seems nice to have it over there by itself rather another one of possibly many other open windows during the day on the majority of the taskbar to the left.

 

2) I see the added button, thanks. That's helpful, but it's really not the most important part of what I was asking for. In QT I always leave the top panel open (which is actually pretty narrow). It has the portfolio dropdown and edit button right there for immediate access all the time, which I've admittedly grown accustomed to. In MT I would like to not have to open the "Main" tab everytime I want to switch to a different portfolio/ watchlist. Maybe worse yet would be to have to keep "Main" open all the time. Conceptually, the drop down menu to the right of the word "Testing" with the edit button to the right of it it would be ideal. I can appreciate that maybe that can't happen, but is there any way to accomplish what I'm talking about?

 

7) I certainly can use the +/-, or continue using the number keys as I more typically do. I guess I was thinking about TOS, and while that app is pretty uninspired in my opinion, it does have the simple zoom buttons at the bottom left of the charts which is pretty handy. Of course it offers no alternatives either :-).

 

Thanks, Dave

[Jerry Medved]

Toolbars - not crazy about them because they waste space.  And with QAT, you can actually make your own toolbar. you can either add stuff to the QAT on top, on the caption, or if you set it to show below the ribbon, then it will be the width of the entire window. It will still show even if the ribbon is hidden

 

1) Minimize to tray and having a tray icon (and some other stuff) will be implemented in the future.

 

2) Note that you can add the entire ribbon section that has the portfolio selection to the QAT as well.  We cannot the dropdown on the tabs.  Can do stuff all the way to the right, where the dashboard icon is, but then it becomes a problem when the window is narrower.  That would really break the design

 

3) you can put the +/- buttons in the QAT if you want. Frankly, I only put the buttons there as an afterthought. The +/- Keys are really the primary intended interface for this.  And sorry, but definitely not going to take too many design queues from TOS

 

5, 8) don't really want to change them at this time. 

[Jerry Medved]

BTW, you know you can add the Portfolio selection dropdown list to the QAT, right?

[vireya]

what is QAT?

[Jerry Medved]

Vireya,

 

QAT = Quick Access Toolbar - the area on the cation - on the top left of each window where you can place frequently used buttons and other components from the ribbon.  

 

For example, lets say you frequently draw Fibonacci Retracements, but don't want to have the ribbon always visible. Open the ribbon, go to DRAW tab, RIGHT Click on Fibonacci Retracements and select "Add to Quick Access Toolbar". You should now see the small button for Fib Retracements in the QAT

 

To remove, you can just right click on the button in the QAT and and select REMOVE. 

[zenlando]

Hey Jerry,

 

Thanks MUCH for the info on the QAT. I didn't realize it could do that, and that's PERFECT for what I was wanting to do. Maybe this is all semantics, as that's also exactly the kind of "toolbar" thing I was thinking about to serve my needs.

 

And a very efficient and elegant solution, I might add. You da man! :-)

 

So I've moved the portfolio drop-down there, along with some other things on both the portfolio window and charts. The only thing I've noticed is that unlike everything else I tried, the + zoom in and - zoom out shows the "add to quick access toolbar" greyed out for some reason and I can't add them. Of course I can still use the +/- keys, but is there somethng else I need to do for those if I want to add them?

 

Thanks, Dave

[Jerry Medved]

If I remember correctly, I disabled the option to add those to the QAT because the keyboard shortcuts were so simple for them. If you add everything under the sun in there, the caption will get too crowded

[zenlando]

Hey Jerry,

 

I can see your point, although I was just thinking of it as an option that could be chosen, just like the fib button or such. Seems the horizontal space of the ribbon is going to be self-limiting anyway by the overall width of any particular window, and anyone is going to have to pick and choose what's important to them...

 

Thanks, Dave

[Jerry Medved]

ok ok, will enable it