Thank you very much for this great tool! After installing the browser extension I just followed its instructions, so on an issue page, it says at the beginning "please click on the create issue fork green button on this issue page". So I did it and then opened the dev env. I wasn't aware that by doing that everyone can already see that, I thought this only gets public until I make a commit (which I didn't, I just wanted to play with it to get to know it). So others were puzzled because they thought I actually wanted to contribute but didn't see anything.
Could you change the UI, have the "open dev env" at the top and these hints at the bottom with some more explanations for first-time contributors like me?

Also the other configuration options would benefit from some explanations, some questions that came into my mind:
- when to choose which install profile? (and what's the difference between "none" and "Standard"?)
- why is the default branch 9.2.0, shouldn't it be 9.2.x at the moment?
- why is there often nothing to select in the branch configuration option?

Comments

holybiber created an issue.

benjifisher’s picture

benjifisher
he/him or they/them
Primary language English
Location Boston area
commented

We discussed this issue at #3276644: Drupal Usability Meeting 2022-04-29. That issue will have a link to a recording of the meeting.

Here are some of the ideas that came up:

  • We liked the idea of adding a link next to each available patch or merge request. That makes Drupalpod easier to discover and it makes it easier to select the desired patch or merge request.
  • We did not think a second way to select the patch/MR, using a possibly long select list, would be very helpful. But we might reconsider this decision when we have more experience with the new UI.
  • We felt that a details element next to the activation link was confusing: it is not clear that the details are related to Drupalpod. Instead, expose the settings in the (modal?) element that opens when the link is activated.
  • We also liked the idea of being able to set defaults, such as Drupal core version, in the settings of the browser extension, then override the defaults as needed. But even better than setting defaults is to have Drupalpod determine the correct versions, then let us override when needed.
  • In general, if we run into incompatibilities, the sooner we find out, the better. If we can avoid trying to run Drupal 9 with PHP 5.3, or Feeds 7.x-2.x with Drupal 9, that will help a lot.
  • The same applies to the steps currently required to get access to a merge request. The sooner we find out that an extra step is required, the better. In some cases, it might be appropriate to disable the launch button with a message about what to do.
  • One thing that might be a global option is whether to have the Advanced options open or closed by default.

For the record, the attendees at today's usability meeting were @shaal, @worldlinemine, @andregp, @tmaiochi, @rkoller, and me.

tyler36’s picture

tyler36 commented

I submitted a PR a while ago to fresh the UI.
Doesn't seem to have gained any support.