The UI design of 2026.06.11200

[nuhi]

But why? What is being gained by hiding frequently used information and replacing it with giant empty space? What is the point? It requires additional effort and gives nothing in return.

Less stress to the user, and please read more detailed explanation in the reply above. Does not mean if it's empty we should fill it, goal is to focus on a task and not squint between the lines.
Moving a mouse is hardly an effort, you need to do it to keep track or expand description when all are presented at once as well.
I'm really puzzled how much some of you like the old way, but OK, I just want to know how those that disagree look at it.

 

[Anonymous Internet User]

Less stress to the user, and please read more detailed explanation in the reply above. Does not mean if it's empty we should fill it, goal is to focus on a task and not squint between the lines.
Moving a mouse is hardly an effort, you need to do it to keep track or expand description when all are presented at once as well.
I'm really puzzled how much some of you like the old way, but OK, I just want to know how those that disagree look at it.

Sorry Nuhi, but I disagree. You've just confirmed what I said above that Modern UIs "are meant to coddle the average user by lowering the amount of options and information on the screen". This is an unfortunate trend in software design these days.

Scanning a wall of visible text is way faster than moving your mouse over multiple items and pausing each time to see the popup. As I said in the previous post: some items don't have any info and that adds additional pause and friction. Also, by having the info visible your eye can catch some things that you'd otherwise miss if all the info is hidden.

If "squinting between the lines" is a problem you might consider adding options to increase the text size or line separation but hiding everything at once is not a solution.

Thanks for agreeing to bring the old wall of text back, but I strongly disagree with your reasoning in defense of the new UI. At least you are open to suggestions and listen to us, which I greatly appreciate. Many devs take the "my way or the highway" approach, you don't, you take our opinions into account. Please don't change that.

Thank you!

 

[16309]

I'm really puzzled how much some of you like the old way

People like what they like, each to their own.

Modern UIs "are meant to coddle the average user

I am "average user plus" and i dont need coddling. Have done very well up till now poking around and tinkering.

Keep the new UI style, have option to always show additional information and i can work with that

 

[Anonymous Internet User]

I am "average user plus" and i dont need coddling. Have done very well up till now poking around and tinkering.

That's exactly what I figured. So that's why I was surprised when you opposed my "we ain't afraid of wall of text" comment. You always sounded to me like a fairly serious tinkerer

 

[16309]

Walls of text do frighten me but at least its all there and things have a habit of catching your eye.
Cannot abide menu's/multi layer menu's.

 

[tistou77]

The thing I don't like about modern interfaces, like the approach MS took for a while, is that everything is often "bigger."
They are designed more for tablet or touch-based use.

 

[clarensio]

I also find viewing dependencies directly, rather than hovering over them, better, but I realize this may require more resources from NTLite.

Perhaps a display option (old or new) in NTLite's settings, if possible, might be the best option for users, regardless of what others have previously discussed.

 

[devilink]

OK, please tell me what do you glance at when it's shown all at once, and how easy is that to be able to focus which text on the right belongs to which component?
To explain why I'm asking:
- descriptions, you read them once when getting to know the component, no way that it's better to show all instead of just on hover. Hover is also easier to read as you know exactly which component it is for and better formatted, not one big line.
- locks/compatibilities, same thing, also if the compatibilities are the only reason, then we can talk about them, not components.
Meaning the Compatibility window should be expanded and compatibilities get their Hover with component list in them, for example.


Do let me know what bothers you. But let's not repeat what was said in this topic, I already agreed to add the option to return the wall of text.

The UI display in the new version is less clear and intuitive compared to the old version. In the new interface, to view the information for each entry, you have to hover your mouse over it to see the content. In the old version, you could simply scroll with the mouse to keep viewing records without needing to hover over each one individually. By default, the Component column is collapsed. Double-clicking Size (MB) can uncollapse it, but that then leaves a large blank space.

 

[MacVap]

If I need to hover over component 1, then over component 2, by component 3 I have already forgotten all about component 1.

 

[nuhi]

The UI display in the new version is less clear and intuitive compared to the old version. In the new interface, to view the information for each entry, you have to hover your mouse over it to see the content. In the old version, you could simply scroll with the mouse to keep viewing records without needing to hover over each one individually. By default, the Component column is collapsed. Double-clicking Size (MB) can uncollapse it, but that then leaves a large blank space.

If I need to hover over component 1, then over component 2, by component 3 I have already forgotten all about component 1.

Since both comments say a similar thing, basically just repeating how it seems to you, I'll repeat the question.
How does it help to have all the descriptions shown at once?
Don't you remember the component name and its meaning, not description's off-the-focus look?

I think you are just fixating on the "simpler UI is for idiots" spiel.

Let me rephrase it, we are talking about is moving a mouse over the name better than a wide row of text to the right which no one can read at once and needs to poke with a mouse anyway to see the full line.

That said, option is done, will try to upload today.

 

[nuhi]

Updated, option is up - Components page toolbar - Descriptions set to Always.
Let me know if anything missing from the old experience, or how to elevate it.
Thanks.

 

[devilink]

Updated, option is up - Components page toolbar - Descriptions set to Always.
Let me know if anything missing from the old experience, or how to elevate it.
Thanks.

Thanks, you've worked hard.

 

[16309]

Updated, option is up - Components page toolbar - Descriptions set to Always.

Found it. I can work with the tool as is now
Thank you nuhi

nuhi - suggestion - as this thread is already on page 2 keep it for further UI changes and suggestions, rename it to something like "NTLite UI changes and suggestions, acknowledge original title.

 

[nuhi]

nuhi - suggestion - as this thread is already on page 2 keep it for further UI changes and suggestions, rename it to something like "NTLite UI changes and suggestions, acknowledge original title.

I prefer dedicated posts, so an issue can be solved with focus and move on, less clutter.
There are suggestions and reports forum groups, opening a UI group in a single post seems unnecessary.
For example this is the planned continuation of the UI effort on my todo list.

Of course you are free to open any thread with any scope you want, people will decide. This one was about the unwanted description change, hopefully solved now.

 

[Anonymous Internet User]

Thank you Nuhi, much better now I can scan the lines of text now wit my eyes without moving my mouse. And if I see something of interest, then I can hover over it. It also allows me to press arrow keys to move up and down to highlight the lines and to expand them. This old UI is simply more efficient, quicker and more convenient than moving the mouse by tiny steps and pausing for a popup over each line (some lines don't have extra info and that causes a pause, unneeded friction) and it gives me the big picture, rather that one popup at a time.

No, we're not fixating on the "simpler UI is for idiots" spiel. Several people explained why the wall of text is better. There are multiple reasons, you just have a different point of view, for some reason.

I have nothing against moving my mouse around, when it makes sense, I'm a mouse/kb gamer and play PC games for many hours every day. This new UI simply made no sense to me as it hid something useful that was clearly visible before and now required extra physical and mental effort to uncover and all we got in return was giant empty space.

But thanks for the option, much appreciated. Options good.

And, like I said before, if you think "squinting between the lines" is a problem you may consider adding options to increase the text size and/or to increase line separation. Either a fixed option or something dynamic like Ctrl-Scroll (kinda like in web browser) that would increase font size and distance between lines.

Consider it solved though and thank you, again!

 

[nuhi]

Thank you Nuhi, much better now I can scan the lines of text now wit my eyes without moving my mouse. And if I see something of interest, then I can hover over it. It also allows me to press arrow keys to move up and down to highlight the lines and to expand them. This old UI is simply more efficient, quicker and more convenient than moving the mouse by tiny steps and pausing for a popup over each line (some lines don't have extra info and that causes a pause, unneeded friction) and it gives me the big picture, rather that one popup at a time.

...

And, like I said before, if you think "squinting between the lines" is a problem you may consider adding options to increase the text size and/or to increase line separation. Either a fixed option or something dynamic like Ctrl-Scroll (kinda like in web browser) that would increase font size and distance between lines.

OK, thank you for the writeup, it does help solidify the impressions of the other side.

To push back would be descriptions are for an unknown component, not for every day partial glancing.
You remember component's name going forward, simpler UI makes that easier and faster as eyes/brain only need to parse names.
But... it seems some (or most) of you are using beginning of descriptions as a reminder what the component is about.

 

[Anonymous Internet User]

But... it seems some (or most) of you are using beginning of descriptions as a reminder what the component is about.

I see why you think this way: you develop the software, you work on it almost daily, you know it inside out, so you probably remember every little thing. I use it once or twice a year to make a single image and then I don't touch it for many months. I visit the forums few times a week, or even just few times a month, so I can learn about new changes and additions and kinda stay on top of new developments, but I don't actively use NTLite throughout the year.

My goal is to build one image per year, kill the updates and enjoy my games, music and image editing for a year without interruptions until I'm ready for a new build or if Microsoft released some interesting update, then I might do mid-cycle build. For most of the year, I don't touch NTLite.

So I can't possibly remember everything: every component, every weird dependency, every warning, every trap, etc. Every time I use this app, something has changed either in the app or in Windows. So, when I start working on a new image, I need to go over all components, look at every line basically, to see what's new or what's changed since the last time I was here. The new UI made that extremely difficult and slow.

So yes, absolutely, having the info all visible in a wall of text, the old way, helps with recollection and discovery.