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[UI] Clicking on Category should show Contacts
Idea shared by kevind - 5/22/2017 at 9:44 AM
Under Consideration
The new SM16 Contacts section is nice with the Category window pane on the left, but it doesn't work as expected.

Users expect it to work like an email folder. When you click on Sent Items it shows the messages in that folder, not a dialog to rename it.

Here's this fix:
When you click a category (e.g. My Friends), display the contacts who are in that category, not a dialog to rename the category.

17 Replies

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1
Robert Emmett Replied
5/22/2017 at 10:45 AM
Employee Post
Kevin, thank you for this comment. I will bring it up with the dev / design teams. Currently, if you click on the "eye" icon next to category, it will filter the contacts according to the category.
Robert Emmett
Software Developer
SmarterTools Inc.
(877) 357-6278
www.smartertools.com
2
Great, thanks for bringing it up to the dev team.

FWIW, knew about the 'eye' but that is kind of counter-intuitive as it hides the users. So to see all the contacts in a category, you have to go to all the other categories and uncheck them. And yes, I know there's a shortcut, but users might not.
2
Robert,
 
Here's a way to solve this and make it very intuitive. Put a checkbox in front of each category (like the SM15 Contacts) and then it's very clear which categories are displayed.
 
Change the 'eye' to a gear icon for renaming the category, etc.  Or get rid of it and just have the user right-click to rename like it's done with email folders.
 
Refer back to this highly-rated thread (24 votes) for more ideas:
https://portal.smartertools.com/community/a86530/add-category-group-pane-to-contacts.aspx
2
Just wanted to keep this idea on the table. Here's my rationale:
  • Gmail Email: click on a label -> shows the messages with that label
  • Gmail Contacts: click on group -> shows the people in that group
  • SM16 Email: click email folder -> shows the messages in that folder
  • SM16 Contacts: click category -> pops up a box to rename the category???
Clicking a category should show the contacts in that category. Change the eyeball to a gear icon for the rename function. Or just have the user right-click like they do to rename a folder.
1
I agree - this is something that needs to be revisited from a UX standpoint.
1
I've just been trying to help a customer with the categories and it is currently not the most logical arrangement.
2
Hi Robert, just following up on this as I saw someone else posted a similar request. Any feedback from the dev / design teams? Thanks.
1
i agree it,i may be better.
2
Robert, I see you marked some recent posts as Under Consideration. Any chance of making this idea Under Consideration also? Looks like there is a lot of support for it. Thanks.
2
Robert Emmett Replied
1/4/2018 at 12:57 PM
Employee Post
Kevin, I will definitely marked this as Under Consideration for discussion with the design and development team. i agree that categories should be reworked to be more intuitive. Thank you for your suggestions.
Robert Emmett
Software Developer
SmarterTools Inc.
(877) 357-6278
www.smartertools.com
2
Just following up on this thread. It would be nice to incorporate this into v17 to make it more intuitive:

  • Change the eyeball to a 'gear' and click it to open the config screen (rename, etc.)
  • Click the category to toggle on/off the display of contacts in that list
Basically just swap the functionality. Do the same thing with Calendar.  This simple change will make it easier for users.

Thanks!
3
Now that v16 seems to be getting more stable (no more weekly releases), let's make a few UI improvements.

The biggest complaint we get from customers when we show them v16 is the UI.  They start shopping around and the next thing we know they're moving to O365 or G Suite.  If you could make a few mall changes like this, it will really help retain customers and motivate them to move off v15.

Thanks!
2
Getting close to the 2-year anniversary for this request, so thought I'd bring it up again as it seems like a simple update that would make the web interface more intuitive.

In Contacts, when you click a category (e.g. My Friends), display the contacts who are in that category, not a dialog to rename the category. 
Thanks,
Kevin
6
3-year anniversary. Users do not understand the Contacts UI because it's so awkward. Any chance it will get updated in the new release?

Easy fix:  When you click on a category, display the people in that category.

Suggest using eM Client, Gmail Contacts, or just about any other email program as an example of how it should work.
2
+1

Same issue in Calendar, Notes and Tasks...

I think the same solution should be used for all of them
3
Good suggestion, Gabriele!  Get rid of the eyeball in all these sections as that's not intuitive for users.

Now that MAPI is done, hopefully some UI enhancements like this one will make it onto the development list.

Thanks!
3
Users are confused on how this works, so just bumping this thread hoping it can make the next release. Thanks!

Fix: When you click on a category, display the contacts in that category, just like other email programs.

Users know when they click on a folder, they see the messages in that folder. So they expect the same behavior in Contacts, Calendar, etc.
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