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 testing a new interface 
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Posted on: Fri Jan 19, 2024 8:14 pm




Posts: 3296
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 11:58 pm
 testing a new interface
I really like the Wordle interface, and thought I'd try to do something similar for Calcudoku:
there's a test version online at https://www.calcudoku.org/spa,

let me know what you think [love]


Last edited by pnm on Thu Feb 22, 2024 1:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.



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Posted on: Sat Jan 20, 2024 11:01 pm




Posts: 253
Joined: Tue May 24, 2011 4:55 pm
Post Re: testing a new interface
I like the simplicity of the Wordle interface too. It's quite suitable for small-grid puzzles like 4x4 calcudokus, which don't take a whole lot of time to (try to) solve and are often solved on handheld devices. That kind of design also works well for simple animated puzzles like the 2048 game.

However, for solving calcudokus (especially larger ones) on a desktop or laptop computer (I use a laptop on a docking station that's connected to a nice, large external monitor), I much prefer the current interface, which has:
  • pretty design & colours
  • nice, crisp design of the puzzles themselves (and they're resizeable [love])
  • easy access to granular settings and an abundance of information through drop-down menus and navigation bars - just like God intended every good website to be [biggrin]

But I realise that old-fashioned pc's are probably a dying breed, now mostly used for work and filing tax returns, while people increasingly prefer handheld devices for recreational use.

Just out of curiosity: Did you intentionally omit the option of using a keyboard from the test version because it's aimed at handheld devices? When using a computer with a (physical) keyboard, having to click with your mouse on a number and then on a cell to fill it in feels very tedious [sad] But I can imagine that it's a much smoother experience if you're using the touchscreen on a handheld device [smile]

(edited to add:)
When users of the test version click the "hamburger" sign in the upper left corner, a panel opens to the left which contains some useful links and the information that, "You can solve the 4x4 puzzles here, and then go back to the main site to automatically get the points." That is indeed so, but the mechanism which enables this also automatically re-submits the solution every time the puzzle in question is opened after that, which in turn triggers the message, "Congratulations (…) You've solved this puzzle before though."
This happens even after I've:
  • logged out from calcudoku.org
  • opened an empty tab
  • closed the calcudoku.org tab and every other tab except the empty one
  • used '"Clear All History" (Ctrl+Shift+Del, Enter) in (my older version of) Firefox with the time range Everything and every box checked (Browsing & download history, Active logins, Form & search history, Cookies, Cache, Site settings, Offline website data)
  • closed and restarted the browser
  • logged into calcudoku.org (because the current day's easy 4x4 is displayed by default).
The "Congratulations" message doesn't appear immediately when the main page is opened but just after I log in, so it seems like the re-submissions happen because of a setting connected to the user profile rather than because of a cookie.


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Posted on: Sun Jan 21, 2024 5:29 pm




Posts: 3296
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 11:58 pm
Post Re: testing a new interface
Thanks for the feedback :-)

bram wrote:
Just out of curiosity: Did you intentionally omit the option of using a keyboard from the test version because it's aimed at handheld devices?

No, the keyboard should work when using the site on a PC, will check..

Quote:
That is indeed so, but the mechanism which enables this also automatically re-submits the solution every time the puzzle in question is opened after that, which in turn triggers the message, "Congratulations (…) You've solved this puzzle before though." This happens even after I've:

That "feature" is a bit clunky, maybe I should just remove it (it actually saves the solution,
as if you had clicked the "save" icon on the actual site).


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Posted on: Tue Jan 23, 2024 3:57 pm




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Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 11:58 pm
Post Re: testing a new interface
I opened the interface to everyone now [love]


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Posted on: Wed Jan 24, 2024 6:36 pm




Posts: 691
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 9:20 pm
Post Re: testing a new interface
There are some things I like about the current interface that I can't seem to do with this new interface.

A). I like the ability to save a puzzle part way through solving it.. I would hate having to start over at the beginning. I also like knowing the time when I saved a puzzle. When doing a large puzzle, I can lose track of time when solving it. I like being able to know how long it has been since I save a puzzle.

B). I like having the ability to highlight a cell. With larger puzzles, it makes it easier for me to know the numbers that have been used in a row or column.

C). When I use the pencil function in the current interface, I can use the keyboard to put the correct number in a particular cell. I don't have to switch out of pencil mode. On larger puzzles, I will find it awkward to switch in and out of pencil mode.


Last edited by eclipsegirl on Thu Jan 25, 2024 9:54 am, edited 1 time in total.



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Posted on: Wed Jan 24, 2024 6:56 pm




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Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 11:58 pm
Post Re: testing a new interface
eclipsegirl wrote:
There are some things I like about the current interface that I can't seem to do with this new interface.


Thanks for the feedback [thumbsup]

I'm thinking this (for now) will be an interface for smaller puzzles anyway (up to 6x6).


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Posted on: Thu Jan 25, 2024 1:11 am




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Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 9:20 pm
Post Re: testing a new interface
I would like the ability to save a difficult 6 x 6.


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Posted on: Thu Jan 25, 2024 11:40 am




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Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 11:58 pm
Post Re: testing a new interface
eclipsegirl wrote:
I would like the ability to save a difficult 6 x 6.


Hm, that makes sense...


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Posted on: Thu Jan 25, 2024 2:44 pm




Posts: 275
Joined: Thu May 12, 2011 11:51 pm
Post Re: testing a new interface
I just tried it for the first time. I don't think that I've fully figured out how to best use it, but, in general, I don't like it and don't expect to. I hope that we will have the option of keeping the current interface.


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Posted on: Thu Jan 25, 2024 4:41 pm




Posts: 176
Location: Canada
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2011 7:40 pm
Post Re: testing a new interface
sjs34 wrote:
I just tried it for the first time. I don't think that I've fully figured out how to best use it, but, in general, I don't like it and don't expect to. I hope that we will have the option of keeping the current interface.


I agree with sjs34.


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