Open Comment - Greyed Out Menu Options

Discussion in 'Paragon Drive Backup Product Line' started by Arvy, Jan 12, 2012.

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  1. Arvy

    Arvy Registered Member

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    Having created several archives using my bootable WinPE environment, when I then open the installed HDM11 application in Windows 7, they are not listed in the database shown in its Archives tab. That database is initially empty, of course, as would be expected. HOWEVER, all of the main menu options for Archives, including the option to "Add an Archive to the Database", are greyed out! There's only a tiny little + icon in the screen divider that does work, but it's very small and inconspicuous.

    When I notified Paragon support about this, their reply was as follows:
    To me, that makes no sense at all. By disabling (greying out) that item in the main menu, it makes the option for adding a newly created archive appear unavailable. Seems like very user-UNfriendly and non-standard interface design in my opinion. I certainly hope that Paragon's developers aren't going to be like those stubborn Acronis fools who insist on doing things their own non-standard way even when it's stupid and wrong.

    The opinions of fellow users on the issue would be welcome.
     
  2. Robin A.

    Robin A. Registered Member

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    Paragon´s interfaces are not the best, it is a known fact.
     
  3. Arvy

    Arvy Registered Member

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    That's understandable with any relatively new software product. What is not acceptable, IMO, is refusal to address such issues with an open mind and to consider user suggestions for improvements. I mean, seriously, if the mere presence of a tiny alterative + icon is the criterion for disabling the main menu item, then it should ALWAYS be disabled. Just a very silly excuse for not doing it right!
     
  4. seekforever

    seekforever Registered Member

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    If the only reason it is greyed out is because it is somewhere else then it is very poor alright. A greyed item in a menu should only mean that the facility is not available because it is not operational in the current context of the program not because there is another place to select it.
     
  5. Arvy

    Arvy Registered Member

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    Well, that's the answer they gave me as quoted above, although I obviously can't vouch for its being the real reason. There was also some other verbiage about that menu option not being available until the Archives tab is selected which I don't quite buy either, but it's irrelevant after Achives tab is selected in any case. The function itself is certainly NOT disabled nor unavailable as it works just fine if you see and use the little + icon.

    Frankly, it all sounds a lot like the excuses I used to get from Acronis for the "necessity" of permanently crippling my OS hardware abstraction layer with no option for cleanly removing the invader. I didn't accept that prehistoric programming nonsense either, which is a major reason for my being here.
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2012
  6. Arvy

    Arvy Registered Member

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    UPDATE: In fairness, I should note that a subsequent response from Pargon support says that my comments have now been passed along to the developers for consideration. I pointed out that some other users here also seem to think that there's room for interface improvements. So we'll just have to wait and see what, if anything, happens with future releases I guess.
     
  7. SIW2

    SIW2 Registered Member

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    They like a bit of feedback .
     
  8. Arvy

    Arvy Registered Member

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    I hope so. It really was intended as a constructive criticism and suggestion for interface improvement.
     
  9. Scott_Y

    Scott_Y Registered Member

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    @ Arvy
    Just for the record, the Archive menu options are indeed greyed out if the Archive tab is not selected in B&R 2012 and 2011, so likely also in HDM. That doesn't quite make sense because it isn't obvious to the user that they must also open the archive tab to activate the menu options. I think it would be more standard to have the archive functions always available in the menu, and automatically opening the archive tab when one of the menu items is clicked.

    (And by the way, B&R has decent toolbar icons in the archive tab (add to archive, delete, etc.), not the tiny plus symbol you mentioned in HDM. So maybe there is hope for a future version of HDM :^)
     
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2012
  10. Arvy

    Arvy Registered Member

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    I agree, Scott. So far as I can see, the Paragon products are almost identical other than their ranges of feature inclusions. I'm hopeful that the persistence of people like yourself in pursuing such issues will have an impact over the longer term. Thank you.
     
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