Feature request/UI idea: Tools/burger/menu/etc are getting large. What about a collapsible/pinnable ribbon bar?

[tastyratz]

The tools menu items are delightfully extensive. For me, Launchbox is utility while big box is user friendly workflow.
I feel like many of the items could be grouped together and elements would work well in a ribbon format. The ribbon could be collapse or be pinned like many windows applications. The icons and menus could reduce total clicks. Tasks could be broken down per game, per system, or global. Filters, sorts, and views could be put in a view menu. A number of right-click options for a game could fit easily in the per game ribbon (or even just pinned to the right of all tabs).
Icons at the top could reduce clicks for repetitive tasks and follow a familiar windows UI element.
The tools menu is a trade off between clean and busy. A ribbon would allow some additional more pointed shortcuts without making a drop down bulkier (like jumping right to edit associated emulator, etc.).

We could also get rid of the media buttons/bars on the bottom (which seem out of place anyways and not well laid out for the use case). That could be another tab of the ribbon for anyone that uses them (or at least hideable). It becomes redundant with a ribbon.

I also feel like emulators and platforms could be combined to a single pop up window with a top tabbed interface to switch between them. Often times I find myself needing one or the other and going back and forth (or just mistakenly going to the wrong one).

I understand this is a HUGE UI change concept. As LB has grown over time it seems like buttons, items, and tasks are dropped all over the screen but I also think it’s grown into needing a more congruent centralized consolidated workflow.

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[Christian]

We are looking at the UI/UX as a whole this year pretty heavily. I’m not entirely sure some of the points in this request were being considered but they are interesting ideas.

In regard to the button bar at the bottom. If you don’t need that you can hide it via the View Menu

[tastyratz]

Fantastic! hopefully, this gives some food for thought and discussion then :-)

I definitely find myself having to go through 2-4 operations or clicks to perform any function, which can add up. Keyboard hotkeys, icons, single-click operations speed that up.
Operations are also not the first place I think to look for them (like the rather empty context menu when right-clicking platforms). While the items are organized, it's less accessible.
Clean up media does not have the option to say how many items of a specific type you want to keep like you see when importing new items.
If I want to scan a platform, I might want to right-click it and see scan, or see a scan button up top.
Scan/Audit/Clean up media are in 3 different submenus but... there is no point to a submenu if it only has 2 entries? An audit is also a scan.
Instead of scan/audit/cleanup/consolidate/ in different sections, they should be items in a single platform menu for platform operations and global for global operations, ribbon or otherwise.
Individual games are thematically different from the menu structure otherwise. It’s scan/clean up media under tools but “media” under individual right-click.

If I right-click an item and go to File Management it’s missing the item-specific options under file management from the tools menu.

Tools/Manage has some generic global options that seem to have no business there (Like Dosbox/Retroarch. Why aren't they just under the menu for that actual emulator/program? Or scripts; Emulators have startup/shutdown selections. Why are DOSBox/ScummVM/Windows scripts somewhere different?)
File management has some file options and... LB system backups? Why isn’t that under the tools>options>data>Backups menu?
Import could be consolidated to "Manually Add Game" or "Import Wizard" with an option to select import source on the first wizard pop page.

The things that are organized are organized in locations without workflow logic, the things that are expanded don't need to be and the things that could use a button, don't. I think features were added over time and just added anywhere there was space. The scroll bars are also too skinny to use reliably with 4k setup for leanback as well.

Appreciate the tip on the button bar! It's not named something I would have guessed. It's a good example of scattered options across the screen physical locations, not just menus. Buttons are across the bottom, top left-justified, top right justified, underneath the top right in the sidebar, etc.

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Also, this likely reads more critical than it’s intended. LB is still absolutely fantastic and I’m just hoping to contribute to some fresh ideas for the better as a whole. I mean all of this in the most positive and constructive way possible. I appreciate all the hard work going in and the consideration of my brain dump as well :-). I’ve thought about it a lot over time.

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Edit: There is also no way to select multiple platforms. It’s usually one or all. If I want to scan all my cartridge games, or just 4 or 5 systems, I have to do them 1 by 1. If I could control click platforms and perform some bulk operations that way it would also save a lot of time. Very often I want to do global operations minus maybe 2 platforms (like windows) or in groups like when I update my cartridge systems to newer sets.

Other UI idea. In clean up media, file path is shown but can’t be copied or right clicked to open folder in explorer if I wanted to go look myself. Anywhere there is a path I should be able to right click the path to either copy or explore.