[UX] FreeCAD getting started wizard

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Kunda1
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Re: [UX] FreeCAD getting started wizard

Post by Kunda1 »

TeslaCoil wrote: Sun Aug 28, 2022 3:28 pm By reducing the complexity of the interface, we run into a problem: We turn a complex tool into a simpler one; but in doing so, don't we end up changing the tool completely?
Pushing back on this point because the way I'm reading this it seems to say that by giving the user the option to choose a beginner UI that they won't venture beyond the tools displayed because we've placed a limitation on them. To me it seems that as a user naturally starts to get better at a program they start exploring other parts of it. It's not like we're hiding the rest of FreeCAD functionalities without their consent. The wizard gives them this option and informs them that FreeCAD is very wide in scope.
80/20 Rule: 80% of time spent using 20% of the application.

Edit: as for radical change of the UI... I think realthunder has shown great promise in this area. We don't need to make enormous changes at once. This wizard proposal is another step toward change. Small steps at a time.
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TeslaCoil
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Re: [UX] FreeCAD getting started wizard

Post by TeslaCoil »

Thanks for making me aware of realthunder.

I agree with you on the 80/20. The problem is that each person uses a slightly different 20% of the program.

Having worked in commercial game design, I feel the the radical solution to the problem of complexity-in-FreeCAD-for-beginners is to introduce UI elements incrementally. This retains complexity, but eliminates the feeling of being overwhelmed, or limited.

I am not aware of any other CAD software taking this approach. The idea would be to slowly add UI elements to the toolbar as you would slowly introduce the 'abilities' of a character in a videogame.

In many videogames, learning to 'use' the character must be seamlessly integrated into the 'narrative' experienced by the player. In other words: learning the control system is, itself, fun.

What I am suggesting is that instead of a standard wizard that reduces complexity by stripping down the toolbar to a speculative minimum, we go even further and consider the idea of starting the beginner-user with literally just one or two icons on the toolbar. These are then used to complete certain basic tasks in a built-in tutorial successfully before more icons appear, revealing more functions.

I'm proposing, for example, that the tutorials for FreeCAD are fully integrated into the software itself, and that the software 'reveals' its UI complexity slowly; in symbiosis with the user's increasing skill as they progress through 'training'.

Really, all software should teach itself to the user.

"Congratulations, you have mastered drawing rectangles! You have won: The Circle Tool!" etc.
I'm half serious on the last bit.

There is no shame in making it fun to engage in the learning process. It is also psychologically interesting to have the user perceive the increasing complexity of the UI as a 'reward' for their work, rather than a burden.

This approach also avoids the user getting too comfortable in a stripped-down 'Disneyfied' version of FreeCAD. Instead, the software expands with their skill.
Haavard
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Re: [UX] FreeCAD getting started wizard

Post by Haavard »

TeslaCoil wrote: Sun Aug 28, 2022 7:08 pm I'm proposing, for example, that the tutorials for FreeCAD are fully integrated into the software itself, and that the software 'reveals' its UI complexity slowly; in symbiosis with the user's increasing skill as they progress through 'training'.
This would not be anywhere near a "Getting startet wizard", that would be a full interactive "Learn FreeCAD" course. Waay outside of this thread, and with the lacking number of programmers and software engineers working on FreeCAD, a huge waste of resources in my opinion. A well made video tutorial would probably be 80% as effective, and require 100 times less work to make.

However if you have a lot of spare time on your hands, go ahead! :D
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Kunda1
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Re: [UX] FreeCAD getting started wizard

Post by Kunda1 »

TeslaCoil wrote: Sun Aug 28, 2022 7:08 pm I am not aware of any other CAD software taking this approach. The idea would be to slowly add UI elements to the toolbar as you would slowly introduce the 'abilities' of a character in a videogame.
Yea, I really like this idea. A sort of gamification and making learning fun. But, I'm going to agree with @Haavard:
This would not be anywhere near a "Getting startet wizard", that would be a full interactive "Learn FreeCAD" course.
Nevertheless, I think that it would be extremely cool to have some sort of addon that can do this. I know MOOC_Workbench was designed as an interactive way to learn FreeCAD. The problem is that it was coded in French and never took off with english speakers.

@TeslaCoil i like the idea nevertheless. It's not too far fetched. I mean..we're building a CAD system here... talk about ambitious :lol: . There is even an effort to build a PDM, check out https://github.com/grd/FreePDM :lol:
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Re: [UX] FreeCAD getting started wizard

Post by drmacro »

TeslaCoil wrote: Sun Aug 28, 2022 7:08 pm ...
This is actually a good idea for a process for learning.

But, I see a only a percentage of the people picking up FreeCAD that bother with tutorials or even the wiki. (I'm talking about what I've observed on multiple social media, not just here in the FreeCAD forums.)

Maybe given something like this that percentage would change, maybe not.

What I see, regularly, are people who want to use the "click til it works" method or they assume, because of expectations built on other software, that they understand the way FreeCAD works. In either case, this is a frustrating way to learn complex software. And, in many new user cases, they are attempting to learn design, 3 dimensional thinking, and the software simultaneously and their starter project is designing the entire JWST.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan: Spock: "...His pattern indicates two-dimensional thinking."
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Kunda1
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Re: [UX] FreeCAD getting started wizard

Post by Kunda1 »

Ok, so @TeslaCoil feel free to make a new thread regarding gamification. But lets bring this thread back on track now.
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Haavard
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Re: [UX] FreeCAD getting started wizard

Post by Haavard »

The github repo is updated with a "Simple Mechanical" configuration proposal.
I also added a few extra pages to the wizard mockup.

Here is my first draft proposal for a simple MCAD config.
https://github.com/howie-j/FreeCAD-Wiza ... hanical.md

Full detailed description in the link, but here are some key points:
  • Different layout based on screen size/resolution: Medium icons and combo view on small displays, large icons and split combo/tree view on large displays
  • Toolbar is a single line
  • New, open and save is back, same is a measure tool icon
  • Some personal preferences added, subject to change

TODO:
  • It would be nice with a large-ish help button that take you to the wiki for the currenlty active workbench
  • Reference plane in PartDesign should be a dropdown menu
  • Techdraw and FEM is not properly configured
  • A better measure tool with a single icon should be included in master. My suggestion is Asm4_Measure.

Screenshot:
1080p_partdesign.png
1080p_partdesign.png (149.71 KiB) Viewed 1992 times
Edit 20220830_003100: added some todo points
ghostbuster
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Re: [UX] FreeCAD getting started wizard

Post by ghostbuster »

As someone who just picked up Freecad for the first time, with a small amount of previous 3D experience (3ds max for game models back somewhere around v4/v5, and a single undergrad course on Solidworks) it took me the better part of an hour to learn that, to design a simple mechanical part for 3D printing, my best bet is *likely* the workbench combo of Sketcher + PartDesign.

I managed to get it done, and I think the only tools I used were sketching a rectangle, sketching a circle, adding some constraints, and extruding / making a pad. If there was a wizard that hid everything else from me and gave me recommendations on what my workflow should roughly look like (switch to sketcher wb, sketch it, switch to part design wb, make it 3d) then it would have saved me a lot of frustration getting from 0 to 1.

If there is an easy way to "unhide" the stuff that the wizard hides then I don't see how it could hurt power users. Call the current experience "Expert mode" and then anyone who's already made a tutorial / video just needs to add one sentence at the beginning that "These instructions are for expert mode".
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Kunda1
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Re: [UX] FreeCAD getting started wizard

Post by Kunda1 »

Sorry for being away from this thread for a while. How can I help ?
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Haavard
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Re: [UX] FreeCAD getting started wizard

Post by Haavard »

Kunda1 wrote: Wed Oct 26, 2022 12:15 pm Sorry for being away from this thread for a while. How can I help ?
Thanks for the reminder :) You could give the configuration i posted earlier a try, and give feedback if you want?

If someone want to make their own proposal, just create a PR to my repo in the same format as my configuration (preferably with a descriptive .md-file).
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