@johnravrasta Thank you for your answer. I will try to answer individual parts of your statement.
I think that a message under the “Supported directories” telling something like this would make things much easier for dump users like me
Below this field you currently have a hint: “Files from these directories will be converted to output formats.”. Adding very long descriptions ends up not being read by anyone. Believe me, in the history of this plugin I had many questions about how the plugin works, even though on the right side of the widget there is a heading “How does the plugin work” and a detailed description. The more descriptions there are in the plugin settings, the more people ignore them, because they are overwhelmed by it.
or remove completely the deletion action from the supported directories create a very simple additional tab called “Delete optimized images” and let users decide if they want to delete any of the optimized content.
By default, the plugin supports the /uploads directory. Additionally, the following directories can be supported: /cache, /gallery/, /plugins and /themes. I believe the current way is simple – you don’t want to support the selected directory, you can uncheck it. What can be done simpler?
You as a programmer and developer of this plugin have a specific way of working in your head. Not all users think the same way and user interface should be ‘idiot’-proof in order to avoid misunderstandings like this.
Of course, everyone has a different point of view, but let’s break it down into prime factors:
- You have a field called “Supported directories”.
- This field is a checkbox, i.e. it is a multiple choice field – you can select as many values as you want. According to UX standards, the checkbox is square with the “CHECK MARK” symbol. Another type is the radio box, which is round and you can only select one value. I think that I don’t have to explain it to people, because this is how fields in forms on all websites work.
- You have a hint for the field: “Files from these directories will be converted to output formats”.
- I understand the hint that if you uncheck a given directory, the files from this directory will not be converted, i.e. they will be available in the default format.
- If you uncheck a given directory, the converted files from that directory are deleted. If you check it again, in the “Bulk Optimization of Images” section you will see that you have unconverted images.
In fact, the root of the problem was that you wanted to support the /gallery directory, and instead of just checking /gallery, you unchecked /uploads and checked /gallery. Unfortunately I can’t understand why you did it this way. There is nothing in the plugin settings that would indicate to you that you should do this.
What do you think I should do?
Believe me, I’ve spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours developing this plugin. Simplicity is one of its greatest advantages in the opinion of thousands of users – compared to competing plugins. Creating additional solutions only to delete the contents of the converted directories would make it difficult to handle the entire settings tab.
Therefore, the functionality of supported directories is handled by one field – you want to support a given directory, you can select it. You don’t want it, you can unselect it and files from this directory are available in their original format. Don’t you think that simplicity is the key to success?
