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Posted to issues@nifi.apache.org by "Andrew M. Lim (Jira)" <ji...@apache.org> on 2021/04/22 21:05:00 UTC

[jira] [Updated] (NIFI-8467) Improve UX of Add Process Group file upload

     [ https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/NIFI-8467?page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels:all-tabpanel ]

Andrew M. Lim updated NIFI-8467:
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    Attachment: import2.png

> Improve UX of Add Process Group file upload
> -------------------------------------------
>
>                 Key: NIFI-8467
>                 URL: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/NIFI-8467
>             Project: Apache NiFi
>          Issue Type: Improvement
>          Components: Core UI
>    Affects Versions: 1.14.0
>            Reporter: Andrew M. Lim
>            Priority: Major
>         Attachments: import2.png
>
>
> https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/NIFI-8260 added the ability to select a flow definition file to add a new process group to the NiFi canvas.  This is a very useful feature, but I had some thoughts on how to improve the UX:
>  * The placeholder text says "Enter a name or select a file to upload" which is ambiguous and doesn't really describe what is happening when using this feature.
> I'm assuming that the only valid files to select are flow definitions (JSON file).  So it would be helpful to say "select a flow definition" in the placeholder text instead. Also, saying "upload" doesn't really describe the action being taken. If something is uploaded, I assume it is stored somewhere in the application and can be selected later for future use. That is consistent with the "Upload Template" functionality we have in NiFi. You upload a template first. Then, you can add that template to the canvas. So this would be my suggested new placeholder text if references to "upload" are removed:
> "Enter a name or select a flow definition file"
> Note: If this change is implemented, the text "File to Upload:" that is shown after selecting the file should be changed to "Flow definition file:"
>  * The icon added in the Process Group Name field is the same icon used for "Upload Template" in the Operate Palette. It would be helpful if we had a different icon to avoid confusion.
>  * This is not related specifically to the change from NIFI-8260, but related to this dialog, the "Import from Registry" icon seems to signify a download (from the cloud) not an import. Perhaps replace with the icon I'm attaching to this Jira where the arrow is sideways.
> Looking beyond the above minor tweaks to the UI, here are some thoughts that may require larger changes to address/implement
>  * I like how the new feature allows the user to choose the name of the new process group when a flow definition file is selected. But, I found it confusing when the user doesn't enter a name. In this case, the name defaults to the name of the file itself.  I expected the name to default to the process group name defined within the JSON file. For example:
> {
>  "flowContents": {
>  "identifier": "dca9377b-b785-34fe-b594-194f526aa914",
>  "name": "PG_Name",
>  "comments": "",
>  "position": {
>  "x": 535,
>  "y": 284
>  },
> When the same flow definition JSON file is imported into Registry. If you then import this from the Registry, the name of the process group will be "PG_Name".
>  * I feel like this new feature is more similar to "Import from Registry" and could therefore be implemented as a "Import from Flow Definition" link which opens a new Import from Flow Definition dialog. Details for this implementation would need to be fleshed out.



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