[pmwiki-users] Re: Supporting different modes in default pmwiki

[Bronwyn Boltwood]

On 8/7/05, Bronwyn Boltwood <arndis at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 8/7/05, chr at home.se <chr at home.se> wrote:
> > Maybe I should phrase myself differently. Think of this as allocating the
> > screen real estate differently in the different modes. In reader mode,
> > *most* of the area is for reading pages and finding what you are looking
> > for. We'd have a single big alluring button/link called EDIT. In author
> > mode, we'd have several links for editing various pages and perhaps links
> > to markup documentation etc. Or maybe links to methods for spell checking
> > the current page.
> 
> Correct me if I'm wrong: The mode expresses the user's current
> emphasis.  The interface should change accordingly, so that it is
> *easier* to find and use controls relevant to the current emphasis,
> while irrelevant controls are de-emphasized or even hidden.  Examples:
> 
> - Visitor: mostly reading, with occasional editing.  Needs navigation,
> search, and big attractive "Edit Page" control.
> - Author: spends as much time editing as reading.  Still need search
> and navigation, but perhaps a little less prominently.  One or more
> easy to find "Edit Page" controls and links to appropriate
> documentation, but *also* page history and uploading.
> - Admin: Primary activities are editing and administrative tasks such
> as updating navigation or user interface pages, copying or moving
> pages.  Needs plenty of navigation pages that collect links most
> useful for certain tasks or topics, e.g. wiki customization, skin
> development, recipe development, and lots of access to documentation
> and site maintenance pages like Site.Sidebar.

I forgot a very useful mode: 
- Stealth: like visitor mode, but with no editing.  Completely focused
on reading except for a discreet "Login" control.  Perfect for sites
that use PmWiki as a CMS, and wish to look like an ordinary website. 
Such sites usually are not publicly editable anyway.

Bronwyn