Navigation page: arrangement of options

[rinigus]

Example user case and suggestions from https://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=1552258&postcount=356 , by Kabouik . Copied below from TMO

Would it be relevant to add a "Allow tolls" checkbox in the "Navigation" page?

I know there is already a submenu to allow or filter them out, but in fact having this option as a submenu at the very bottom of the page always makes me forget to set up. And to be honest, I also am kind of reluctant about ever changing it because my preference really depends on the trip, and I wouldn't want to start a long trip and then realize later that I forgot to re-allow tolls after a previous trip and am now engaged on a route that is going to take 1 or 2 extra hours. Therefore, I always leave it on, and today Pure Maps led me to a highway with a toll for a 5 km trip (yeah, I know, I should know my way and see it coming if my GPS is sending me to the highway in my neighbourhood, but hey, I'm bad with roads ).

Maybe it's me misusing it, but a checkbox would make the option visible without entering a submenu or scrolling down, which would remove the fear of leaving the option in the wrong setting for the next trip. I know it's already visible, but it's just not the same convenience for me and I always overlook it. It could be several checkboxes aligned horizontally, to keep the 3 current options instead of a simple binary choice, and it could come up where the language option currently is since I think that one does not need to be changed or checked very often (and even if set wrong, it won't alter the trip). Would the following order make sense to you?

Navigation page title
## From
# To - On the right hand side, there could be a double-arrow icon to invert From/To instead of the option in the Pulley menu

Type subcategory title
# Select type list (what is a VMO by the way?)
Alternatively, perhaps unicode characters would work here to skip the list menu again and just show all possible choices horizontally, but it may be hard to easily distinguish bus and public transportation:
🚗 🚲 🚌 🚂 🚆 🚶 🏍 🛵
Note that, if Pure Maps allows combining several vehicle types in the future (like bike + bus + train), this alternative to the list would easily work with multi-selection.

Routing options subcategory title
# Prefer the shortest itinerary checkbox
# Tolls: Allow - Avoid (checkboxes, or buttons, or a slider, or just the two keywords and bold font for the active one; but both could be accessed without entering into a list view); not selecting any would be the same as the current "No preference (default)"
# Highways: Avoid - Prefer | Icon on the right side of the screen to force the selected setting (this way it's not necessary to have 5 independent choices)
# Ferrys: Avoid - Prefer | Force this choice icon

General
# Language selection

I know it's not very sexy as I present it here, but I'm just throwing an idea that has to be improved. I love Pure Maps and use it all the time, but I have trouble with the current list submenus because they require extra taps or force reading in situations where it's not so easy (like when waiting on the roadside), but maybe I'm the only one and if that's the case, sorry for the noise!

[Edit] Maybe a simpler workaround would be to add some options in the general Pure Maps settings to let the user define if Tolls/Highways/Ferrys options set in the Navigation page should be persistent between trips or reset at each new trip (and, in the latter case, the user should be able to choose what is the default for every new trip).

[Kabouik]

Thanks for pasting it here @rinigus.

Regarding your comment about options designed with 5 choices by Valhalla: having two checkboxes or keywords to select (bold font) plus a toggle on the right to force the choice would allow the same flexibility with just three interactive buttons, thereby allowing to show them all horizontally without a submenu list.

For instance, the current options for Highways are *Avoid, Try to avoid, No preference, Why not, Prefer (default)". All this could be set up with the following checkboxes:

Avoid

Avoid - Prefer; [X] Force setting

Try to avoid

Avoid - Prefer; [ ] Force setting

No preference

Avoid - Prefer; [ ] Force setting
or
Avoid - Prefer; [X] Force setting

Why not

Avoid - Prefer; [ ] Force setting

Prefer (default)

Avoid - Prefer; [X] Force setting

The last combination, i.e., selecting both "Avoid" and "Prefer" at the same time would be prevented by the application, and taping on a word if another one is already in bold font should select the new one and deselect the other. Now "Force setting" certainly is ambiguous, but there might be better words to clarify that the selection is either favored or enforced. Perhaps a more straightforward wording would be to do it the other way around with "[X] if possible".

Anyway, maybe the alternative suggestion in my [Edit] is actually better if showing all choices without submenu is too complicated, or deemed useless by other users.

The unicode characters, however, could certainly work in a straightforward way and allow for better support for multiple-type trips in the future. I believe they don't look bad with a slightly bigger font, yet they require no licence or graphic design:

🚗 🚲 🚌 🚂 🚆 🚶 🏍 🛵

[Pohli]

If using any icons in future releases please include a text description of each icon as a hint, maybe activated on long tap.