- "Social Network" should be an "Import" and not "Open". Every source impossible to write should be "import", like web 2.0 APIs etc.
- "File" and "Edit" menu items are such essential landmarks that we shouldn't get rid of them. Basically, File is hosting "open" and Edit is hosting "copy/paste". Even Google Chrome (that has such a non-conventional menu) keeps an "Edit" section for copy/paste. We do not have copy/paste for the moment, but I guess when we will have it, we will need this menu.
- In your non conventional suggestion, the "Data" menu is actually a "File" menu, except that it is named "Data"...
- Your non-conventional menu is more compact, that is a very good point. I want more!
- The "Gephi" menu is a good idea, quite modern. A complementary improvement might be to use menu subsections (we find it typically in Firefox 4). I'm thinking of "file" and "edit" subsections in the "Gephi" menu.
- It is also common to have a menu dedicated to obvious objects you manipulate. It might be a good idea to keep a "Graph" menu, but only for functions specific to graphs (not a "file"-like menu like in your first suggestion). One may find that everything is related to graphs in Gephi, but I remind that Photoshop as well has an "Image" menu... If we have a Graph menu, it will take many options from your "Data"/"File" menu, and then the remaining "File" options might go inside the "Gephi" menu ("File" will become an unnamed subsection, like in Chrome and Firefox 4).
- And also... I would put "language" in options (you'll go in options to find it, so nobody will miss it). I think your idea to give a good place to doc & help is interesting. Putting it just below the "start" panel creates an interesting association (and a bit provocative). The same way I would replace "rename workspace" by "properties" (of the workspace) because it might gather other similar function later (such as a color, a description...).
So, this a proposition following these guidelines :
Gephi
-- Start (welcome window)
-- Online doc and support
---
-- Open
-- Open recent...
-- Save
---
Edit (just a label)
-- Copy
-- Cut
-- Paste
---
-- View
------------- Guided
------------- Expert
-- Full Screen
---
-- Options
-- Manage Plugins
-- Check for Updates
-- About
---
-- Quit
Workspace
-- New (workspace)
-- Select
---
-- Duplicate
-- Clean
-- Delete
--
-- Properties
Graph
-- New (graph)
-- Generate
---
-- Import
-- Export
------------- Graph File
------------- Spreadsheet
------------- SVG/PDF File
------------- Database
---
-- PropertiesStatistics:Posted by jacomyma — 03 Feb 2011 15:09
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