Clearly identify to the user what is happening during the install process

Working on this at DrupalCon Munich code sprint

Added version number and step number to the first screen. Step numbers added to further screens. Current step number is stored in install_state

The Drupal guidelines outline that use of the word "Drupal" is not to be used in this type of instance.
It is too brand specific. See documentation : http://drupal.org/node/604342

Perhaps a better road to go down would be to print out the install profile that is being installed? (Standard, Minimal, etc), or print the Version number to screen like you are doing.

Formated concatenated code to comply with Drupal standards. Removed whitespace

Awesome, thanks for the patch! This looks like a nice addition.

My 2 cents:

+++ b/core/includes/install.core.incundefined
@@ -917,7 +917,8 @@ function install_settings_form($form, &$form_state, &$install_state) {
+  drupal_set_title(st('Step ' . $install_state['parameters']['step_number'] . ' - Database configuration'));

@@ -1082,9 +1083,10 @@ function install_select_profile(&$install_state) {
+        drupal_set_title(st('Step ' . $install_state['parameters']['step_number'] . ' - Select an installation profile'));

@@ -1252,7 +1254,8 @@ function install_select_language(&$install_state) {
+        drupal_set_title(st('Install Drupal '.VERSION.': Step ' . $install_state['parameters']['step_number'] . ' - Choose language'));

When calling st(), you should actually use placeholders like @foo for plain-text or %foo for emphasis. See http://api.drupal.org/api/drupal/core%21includes%21bootstrap.inc/functio... for more info. So I think these strings should be changed to "Step @step" instead.

David is also correct that we try and avoid using the word "Drupal" in user-facing strings, in favour of a dynamic install profile name.

Tagging for usability team review. I'm not sure if this is "too much information" to show on that first screen, or if there's a better way of displaying this info.

No worries :) that's my first patch!

Thanks for the feedback, really appreciate it. Was thinking something along those lines but couldn't quite work it out.

I'm happy to work on this still and then if the usability team have any feedback, would love to be involved in implementing their suggestions. Not sure if I'm allowed though? Haha not sure how it all works.

this is available for someone to create an updated patch that addresses @webchick's concerns (placeholders)

afaik, we do try and avoid using the word Drupal.

tagging with Novice and un assigning, since it's been a while. (@mikespence if you want to pick this one up again, no worries. just reassign it to yourself. :) )

working on this..

the patch does not apply with 8.x HEAD, i'm not sure why exactly at the moment.

i can continue working on it tomorrow.

here is the patch so far...

last "patch" was a complete mess.. i think the rebase got messed up!

i will continue to work on this today..

i didn't like that the original patch was re-assigning a value to a variable just for the sake of displaying that variable (seemed wasteful of resources) so i have implemented an alternative method..

here is the revised patch (work in progress -- the "Added by joates" comments are just to help me locate my code and will be removed when the patch is finished)..

the 'display_name' of the current step in the installation process is already available in the code (no need to wrap st() each time you want to display it because it's already done), i have a small utility function that just looks up the display name for the current task and concatenates that with a progressive counter of the tasks.

it's working pretty well, except some additional tasks are counted and the final task seems to be out of order, in that it jumps from step 4 (Set up database) to step 7 (Installation profile) and then back to step 5 (Configure site).. i'm thinking about implementing a weighted solution for the tasks, and a boolean to define if they are to be included in the progressive count.

screenshot..

@emmajane..

my utility functions creates the opportunity to modify the page title when the ['task_counter'] == 1 but after considering the guidelines in #4 i'm unsure of how this page *can* be suitably "branded" ..

any thoughts on this ?

Perhaps a better road to go down would be to print out the install profile that is being installed? (Standard, Minimal, etc)

@davidhunter

Problem: that is not known at Step 1, because it is selected at Step 2 ;-)

running patch thru the testbot, just to see if anything scary is flagged..

progressive task counter is working but there is a bug when the final task is displayed (it says Step 4 when it should be Step 6 !!)

btw: if you have the newest dreditor extension this can be tested really quickly with the new "simplytest.me" button :))

0. no patch

1. lang selection with patch

2. do the number of steps change when another language (any language other than english) is selected? I think there are 8 when in non-english install. Nope 9.

3. I would suggest either, not numbering the steps (in the title),
or
also numbering them in the vertical list.

4. oh, it's an ol already

5. what it would look like if the css to hide the numbers was removed.

5.5 I imagine that hiding the numbers was discussed in an old issue, we should find the issue and link to it.

6. note, simplytest.me seems to skip showing step 3 (verify requirements) That happens with or without this patch.

@YesCT

thanks for doing those tests!

2) it should adapt to any number of tasks (because the task_counter is derived from the list of displayed tasks)

3) thats just how it is requested in the issue summary

4) i think having a numeric progression indicator in the title compliments the (tickable) full-task list, numbering both might be overdoing it ?

5) that looks pretty bad (imho)

i think the issue that needs to be addressed is how to apply "branding" to the Step 1 install page without mentioning "Drupal", i fully agree with emmajane that (at least) the initial page (Step 1) needs to clearly identify what is actually going to happen :))

once thats decided (#13) it's very easy to implement.

I re-read the problem/motivation

The first install screen doesn't actually tell you what you're installing.

I dont think that adding step numbers helps with that. :)

And, well, if we dont add the step numbers to the tickable list (which might be right, cause it is busy that way), then the only thing this is doing is to add step numbers to the page titles... and we dont want them numbered, so ... I'm not sure there is anything to fix.

Back to the problem/motivation:

I think the thing that happened right before people come to the install tells them what they are installing. Like downloading drupal 7, or commerce kick start.

How do distributions replace the druplicon there anyway?

Maybe, after selecting the profile, the profile name can be added to the page title? (See #14) Is that what is wanted, to add something to the page title to tell people what they are installing? Or do we want something on the very first page of the install to tell them what they are installing?

Crazy thought: rename the profiles, so we can use them to say what we are installing? distros I'm assuming can choose to show or not show some profiles? So call it Drupal 8 standard, Drupal 8 minimal. Of course that is still step 2.

branding was discussed in other issues like... #547068: D7UX: use Seven for installation / updates where using the word mark was discussed.

--
getting the right step number for the final step still needs work as mentioned in #15. And if others think the step number in the title helps, I'm not opposed. Tagging needs usability review to see what usability folks say.

working patch...

@YesCT

[edit re: your comment]

the only thing this is doing is to add step numbers to the page titles... and we dont want them numbered, so ... I'm not sure there is anything to fix.

this provides us with a logical way to refine the page title depending on which task is currently being executed.
(it doesn't necessarily have to say "Step".. the point is that now there exists the option to manage the display of the page title at each stage of the installation)
[/edit]

@emmajane thanks for your feedback

- - - - - - - - - - - -

btw: the final page/screen of the installation clearly states "Drupal installation complete" and "Congratulations, you installed Drupal!" -- so why is it OK the use the word "Drupal" here and not on the initial screen ?
What if you didn't want to install Drupal and you didn't know that a big blue water drop means Drupal.. then you have to go through 7 screens (or more with language translations) before you actually find out what you just did.

final screen..

i missed the "Updating translations" page title..
(i will fix that next time around ;-)

also this may be a separate issue but the word "Step" is not translated (although i am wrapping it with st() -- i guess it is not in the .po file that gets downloaded when a user switches language)

+++ b/core/includes/install.core.incundefined
@@ -1676,9 +1686,15 @@ function install_profile_modules(&$install_state) {
+  $installation_name = st('Installing @drupal', array('@drupal' => drupal_install_profile_distribution_name()));

i should change @drupal to @profile_name

another patch..
(fixes the missing step noticed in #23)

After installing patch descriptive-page-title-for-install-screens-1591538-25 from joates on a fresh drupal 8.x-dev install, I had the following mixed results.
- it does say, "step 1 - choose language" with seven steps below
- didn't seem to translate the word steps (hope I didn't do it wrong but I verified the code changed and installed twice)
- 9 steps complete at the end with the translated you've just installed Drupal

Confirming andymartha that this patch applies and adds "Step" and the numbers, including with translations.

There are separate translation issues:

- I confirmed that "Step"/"Steps" aren't in the .po file, as joates mentioned in #23 and andymartha noticed above.

- Step 6 doesn't have a translated title; it just says "Updating translations." With patch and without patch:

- On Step 7, the Drupal messages were not translated and there was an error. With patch and without patch:

These are all separate translation issues, so I'm not sure if they should be addressed prior to this patch being committed or not. In any case, in terms of what this patch is meant to do, it's doing it. So I'm marking this as RTBC, but we might want to move it to postponed until the translation issues are fixed.

I agree the new strings will be translated when the 8.x translations are created (which will be after string freeze).
No need to delay this waiting for that.

However, I think the numbering of the steps is only one small part of this issue. Perhaps it could be committed as step toward the larger goal, but this will need to stay open (or address in another issue) to:

Say want is about to happen on the first install page (Installing Drupal 8, or Installing DistroName)
and/or
Rename the profiles to include Drupal 8 minimal, Drupal 8 standard (to distinguish them from other profiles that other distributions might make available).

(See #19)

@joates thanks for sticking with this!

Going forward, be sure to include interdiffs when posting new patches. :) http://xjm.drupalgardens.com/blog/interdiffs-how-make-them-and-why-they-...

tagging.

I am not so sure about adding "Steps" in the title, its usually the wizzard indicator that lets you know where you are in the process while the title is only used for explaining what the page is about.

Updated issue summary, adding related issues

just to clarify the current status..

Tagged:
• Needs design review
• Needs usability review

We have the functionality in place to display something meaningful to the user in the page title,
(Re issue title: Clearly identify to the user what is happening during the install process)

"Step 1, through Step X" is what it displays now (proof of concept if you like :)
We really need to know "what" we should be displaying instead of "Step"

[added]
and probably how/if the message can/should change as the installation progresses.
(because at each individual step of the process we have an opportunity to discover additional information -- e.g. step 2 is choose a profile, at step 1 we don't have that information, in fact we don't even have it *at* step 2.. the earliest we can include that information is at step 3 !!) -- and the step indexes change with translations added but that's not an issue because it's handled automatically, except that it then becomes the 4th step before we can actually communicate back to the user which profile/distro is actually being prepared.

@YesCT

be sure to include interdiffs

yes i should have, will try to remember that next time :))

Cross posting this issue here: #1337554: Develop and use separate branding for the installer

I think it affects some of the initial issues raised and some of the proposals. For example, the ‘Drupal’ logo answers the question ‘what am I installing?’

Still don't think we need to add step number to the page title, it's not the page title's job to provide status information. People don't read the page title anyway. But most importantly, I haven't read a rationale for *why* we need to do this in the first place.

Updated issue summary.

25: descriptive-page-title-for-install-screens-1591538-25.patch queued for re-testing.

Here is a re-roll of patch in #25

I have attached the screenshots for the above patch.
Here is a screenshot before applying this patch.

When I chose the language as Espanol, I notice that some terms do not get translated. here is a screenshot:

After applying the patch, the word "Step" isn't getting translated.

After patch and choosing the language as Espanol:

Patch does apply and it looks good. Nice addition!

1. +++ b/core/includes/install.core.inc
   @@ -2099,7 +2112,8 @@ function _install_prepare_import($langcode) {
   +  drupal_set_title($install_page_title);
   
   @@ -1993,9 +1999,15 @@ function install_profile_modules(&$install_state) {
   +    //'title' => t('Installing @drupal', array('@drupal' => drupal_install_profile_distribution_name())),
   

   Commented out code left in

2. +++ b/core/includes/install.core.inc
   @@ -2758,3 +2772,43 @@ function install_configure_form_submit($form, &$form_state) {
   +}
   \ No newline at end of file
   

   Should end with a newline

Looks like this issue still needs some UX discussion. I'm not sure if the steps are particularly useful in the title considering we have a step indicator on desktop and mobile.

This issue was created before #1337554: Develop and use separate branding for the installer.

I think the redesign of the install process actually fixed the problem here, with the word "Drupal" and the current step being very prominent. Feel free to reopen and update the issue summary if you think there are more improvements required.