iFly GPS Forum

Perhaps this is already coming in V9. But if not, here are two different mock ups for better data entry of Departure time. (Can also be used for other flight plane pages that use a numeric keypad paradigm.)

First, all strict numeric keypads should be organized like the TouchTone telephone keypad. Our fingers are habituated to punching a "1" at the top left of the rectangle.

With that in mind, here is a mock up the Departure time page with the existing elements simply move around.

This ought to work so that the entire hour data field is entered at once. That is, we shouldn't have to enter a "0," a "1," or a "2" in the ten's position for the hour. We don't think like that. It's either 09:00 or it's 23:00. But it's not "0" "9" hundred. So the entire hour's filed clears when you start changing the hours. And no leading "0" necessary for 9 am departures.

Then, "Next" should move the cursor to the minutes, with the same operation above. When you start entering minutes, the field clears first. You enter your minutes in pairs.

I would have put the month/day/year in European format with the day before the month because hardly anyone has to change the month of their proposed flight plan. Only the day, which would be first in the sequence.

But we're not Europeans, so I guess we'll have to toggle thru the month if we need to advance the date.

Actually, I'd much prefer a "digital alarm clock thumb wheel" paradigm that I have on an alarm clock app on my Tablet. I borrowed from it, but took out the gradient shading for Brian, since we don't need eye candy.

My Android app has the numbers roll with a swipe. Very nice. But again, eye candy. A simple tap to increment up or down one hour at a time is fine. (More likely up, since we just got a briefing and might delay our departure time an hour or two.)

Minutes would increment 5 (or maybe better - 10) minute increments each tap. No one files to be off at 09:43. If we used 10 minute steps, no time would be more than 3 clicks away. And except for the tightest of Clearance Deliveries at Podunk airports, 5 minute increments are overkill.

Here's a mock up to give the general idea. (It was late, so I only did the time. Not the date.)

"First, all strict numeric keypads should be organized like the TouchTone telephone keypad. Our fingers are habituated to punching a "1" at the top left of the rectangle."

Speak for yourself. Yes, every phone uses a numeric keypad with "1" in the upper left.

But every calculator and computer numeric keypad--in other words, practically every physical keyset used to enter numeric data, not make phone calls--uses a keypad layout with "1" in the lower left and "9" in the upper right.

My fingers are habituated via touch typing and years of calcuator use, to follow that paradigm.

But when presented with a visual representation of numbers on a screen, I am not confused by either layout.