New design doesn't work well on Android

[barryg]

On my Android phone, when looking at the topic list, the default zoom makes the topic names huge and requires scrolling to the right to see the number of replies and last reply. It is possible to zoom out by double-tapping which makes the entire width fit on the screen and this looks good.

Once into a topic though, the zoom again defaults to huge, and it is impossible to zoom out. The text is so big that it is difficult to read (lots of wrapping).

Finally, the reply functionality is hidden and requires tapping on a message to see the button. Not very convenient or intuitive.

I think these are bugs, not design flaws. When zoomed out it works well and looks good.

[Mr Taster]

I've noticed that when viewing in Android (Gingerbread/Dolphin HD) that when expanding subthreads, sometimes the name of the poster you're replying to appears in the upper right corner, and sometimes it does not. This is often very confusing, especially when going back to a lengthy thread that I haven't recently read, because I can't tell if the person is replying to the person above them, or to someone further up the list.

I'd offer permalinks for you to take a look, but as far as I can tell the permalinks are gone from the mobile site.

Mr Taster

[Engineering]

If everything is working correctly, posts without the link in the top right corner should be replies to the OP. Are you seeing that link missing on any posts that are definitely nested deeper?

[Mr Taster]

Yes, I am. The links I was looking at were at the maximum nesting level (where the indents are no longer indicated, even if in response to prior post), as well as one less removed from the maximum nesting.

However, this seemed inconsistent, as I noticed an earlier also-nested post, which was connected but one level closer to the original post (so, maximum indent -1), which did actually indicate the referral poster.

Mr Taster

[DiningDiva]

Has anyone been reporting issues with trying to get the REPLY button to appear when using an Android product? The hover your finger over the area to get it to display doesn't work very well and if you try taping in the general vicinity where the REPLY arrow/link should be, all it does is make the font bigger.

It's been very difficult to reply to posts on my tablet because I can't get the REPLY arrow/link to show up. Is it just me, or has anyone else been having this problem?

[barryg]

Try just tapping once (not hovering) the message you want to reply to. That should bring up the reply arrow.

[DiningDiva]

I'll try that, thanks for the suggestion

[DiningDiva]

I've tried just tapping once in looking for the reply icon. It works some of the time, but not all the time and generally expands the text quite a lot before the reply arrow appears.

[Beach Chick]

How do I collapse posts on my droid?
Did I miss the memo?

[DeborahL]

Hi Beach Chick.

There is no button to collapse posts. When you're logged in, the first time you visit a discussion, all of the posts will be expanded. The next time you visit that same discussion, if no new responses have been posted, then all of the posts will be collapsed and there will be a button to expand them all if you choose. (Once you expand them all though, you can't un-expand, or collapse, them.) If new replies have been posted, they'll be expanded, and everything else will be collapsed. You can also click on individual responses to open them one at a time.

Hope that helps!

[jen kalb]

mine have opened up expanded, repeatedly

[mudaba]

Hello to everyone who's been bothered by Android zoom issues,

We believe that we released a fix to this issue today, so hopefully you are all able to browse the site without constantly readjusting the size. We are thrilled about this and hope it works for you all!

Thanks, Meredith

[jmcarthur8]

It does work, Meredith.

Nice job. Thanks!

[hbg1]

I'm glad I turned the email option back on in time for this - I had given up trying to access the site on my Android phone.

It's finally usable (thanks!) but a couple comments:

1) I do not have any navigation links at the bottom of the main page. So, for instance, I can't browse beyond the last 25(?) posts (currently 26 minutes ago). Is this deliberate? Sorry if there have been comments about this aspect somewhere else. I do have the navigation on the boards (categories).

2) In portrait mode, I think I can browse the site reasonably well. I wouldn't mind the option to zoom out a bit more, but it's usable. However, in landscape mode, the fonts are still very large. Better than before, when I could only see a few letters at a time, but disproportionately large compared to portrait mode.

Thanks again for working on getting this fixed!

[mudaba]

Glad it's working for you hbg1. To answer your question, we are working on a solution for people to be able to see more discussions on the homepage, and all categories pages right now. I'll post here when that is released.

Thanks, Meredith

[hbg1]

Thanks again, Meredith. I'm just glad I can now access Chowhound on my phone again. Thanks for keeping us updated!

ETA: The Reply button on your post seemed to have caused my reply to go to the top level instead. But that may be a known issue - I haven't been keeping up, and don't post very often. (I'm on a PC right now, not my phone.)

[hbg1]

Meredith,

Thanks for keeping us posted, I'm just glad that I can access the site from my phone again.

BTW, there seem to be some (known?) issues with the Reply button. I just posted a reply to your post, but it somehow disappeared. It also went to the top level rather than being a reply to your post. It disappeared when I edited it to add that it was placed at the wrong level.

[Engineering]

The disappearance is a new one, but the rest is a known issue with Internet Explorer - please see http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/885333 for more information.

[hbg1]

Well, the second time I replied, it appeared in the right place right away. Yes, I am in IE (8). And like I said, the original post disappeared from the page after I edited it.

But (sigh) now I see both my posts above. When I added the second post, the first one was definitely not showing anywhere on the page (I checked). More IE problems, I guess. At least Android is better :-)

[Robert Lauriston]

Portrait orientation, better though still a lot of white space so it shows only a few topics per screen.

Landscape orientation needs work.

[i_eat_a_lot_of_ice_cream]

The list of threads in a category looks great. The text is a reasonable size (so I don't have to scroll for miles to get to the end of the page) and it fills my whole screen.

However, when I click on a thread, the default is text that, while a good size (i.e., not gigantic-- in technical terms :)), only fills half the screen. This is an improvement from before, but I don't understand why the default size font would fill only half the space on my screen. Double clicking in makes the font too big for a thread with more than a couple replies, though it does fill the whole screen.

[Mr Taster]

Looks much better-- thanks.

One item I haven't seen addressed is re login functionality on Android browsers (I use Dolphin HD)

On my homepage, I have my personal "Mr Taster" link set as one of the bookmarks. I use this page as my central navigation hub for Chowhound. However, there are some significant changes from the desktop experience that are frustrating me.

1. Sometimes my browser drops the cookie, and my login credentials are lost. As a result, my posts are not updated- yet for some strange reason the page still knows to identify me with "Mr Taster's Profile" at the top of the page. Since there is no obvious indication that I am logged out, I may well be looking at a page that hasn't been refreshed in hours or days. (It took me a while to realize this was happening since it's not at all apparent) In order to see my posts actually refreshed, I have to log in again-- but the "log in" link has been removed from the upper right corner! (See #2) (Yet it still remains on the desktop version)

2. In these cases where I am logged out due to cookie loss, there is no obvious way to log back in. In the old build, you just tapped "log in" in the upper right (as in the desktop version), but this is no longer there- replaced instead with a "MY" box, and a magnifying glass. I'm still not sure where these functions have been relocated to-- they're still in the same spot on my desktop browser (upper right corner), so I just check from there. Why were they moved? And where have they gone off to?

3. Often I would refresh my posts page by tapping on my name in the upper right, but alas my name is no longer there (see #2). Tapping on "Mr Taster's Profile" does nothing (not an active link). Not sure why this breezy functionality was removed, but was seen fit to remain in the desktop version of the site.

Mr Taster

[mudaba]

Hello Mr Taster, I'll try to answer what I think is going on for you. I hope this helps with your issue.

It sounds like you've bookmarked your profile (Mr Taster's profile). Whether you are logged in or not, you will see the same title at the top (Mr Taster's profile).

It sounds as though you haven't yet started to use the mobile "drawer" which is where all of the navigation now lives on the mobile site. It is that red box in the upper left corner with the three white lines in it. Click on that, and you will see at the top that you either have "Log In/Sign Up" or "Mr Taster." If the former, you're not yet logged in. If the latter, you are. Hopefully this will become easier to use as you become more familiar with it, and will help you to check and make sure you're logged in at all times.

Thanks, Meredith

[jen kalb]

thats helpful meredith. Let first say that this android version is a big improvement. I can actually use it now to interact with the site.

However, I get frustrated when features like an icon that maybe looks like a drawer (I dont see it as that) has an important functionality but its non-obvious. What I see is the little MY icon up in the top right that used to get me to my profile and active discussions doesn't get me to anything but my selected "categories" any more.

It sort of like the little arrow that magically gets me to the new posts.

Now I know it. But how does someone who isnt following these discussions ever figure these things out? there should be some kind of a primer somewhere on site navigation.

[Mr Taster]

Jen, you've made some excellent and valid points.

The problem is one of inconsistency. Chowhound's user interface has trained us, over time, to do things in a certain way. In shifting the log in/profile to the upper left, the design team has achieved a weird sort of bait-and-switch.

Please allow me to elucidate.

Over the years, Chowhounds have been trained to look for information certain ways. The substitution of the "Mr Taster/Login" link for the "MY" box, at face value, would seem to be an equivalent swap-out. "MY" logically seems to mean "My Posts" or "My Profile". To bait-and-switch this out for what is essentially "MY CATEGORIES" (while hiding the "Mr Taster/Login" in the upper left) is not just head-shakingly counter intuitive, but worthy of a hearty design team dope slap.

Now that you've informed me, it's fine. I can adapt. But I guarantee you, there are going to be a whole lot of confused and frustrated Chowhounds who are not following the Site Talk board, that are just as confused as I was.

This is a great example of one of those Chowhound design decisions that's so glaring obvious, I can't imagine how any site testers or site engineers could have let it slip by. Had I been one of the volunteers testing the redesign, this is undoubtedly one of the things I'd have been trumpeting from the treetops as a huge mistake.

However, this has a simply solution. Keep the "drawer" functionality (including the profile/login) in the upper right under the "MY" button, and stick the categories in the upper left "drawer"-- maintaining consistency with the desktop site, and minimizing the counter intuitive and contradictory shift between the mobile and desktop sites.

Mr Taster

[jen kalb]

trying to actually use the reply feature and post a photo from my Droid Razr M phone. -

so far it hasnt worked

[Engineering]

Odd. I'm posting this one from a Droid Razr Maxx, let's see if the photo takes?

EDIT: Come to think of it, I do recall that in our initial testing, we did have trouble uploading photos when selecting them from certain Android apps. I used the stock photo gallery to upload the below image; do you have a custom gallery app of some kind that we can look into?

[jen kalb]

Im using the photo gallery feature that came with my Droid Razr M phone - Since I dont have my phone with me I cant give more specifics.

[Mr Taster]

I'm looking in the mobile navigation drawer right now. I do not see how to access Mr. taster profile. I only see logout as an option.

Even if my profile access can be found in the drawer, the fact remains that what once took one tap now takes two. In the world of mobile sites and limited speeds and bandwidth, minimizing taps and page loads should be high priority.

Now, where in the nav drawer can I access my profile page when logged in?

Mr Taster

[mudaba]

You can just tap on your name, Mr Taster. It will take you to your profile.

Meredith

[Mr Taster]

Ohhh got it, at the top-- the blue/teal-colored link.

The blue made me think it was an un-clickable header (since the clickable links below it are all black).

The more you know......................*

Mr Taster

[causeimhungry]

Using the Galaxy Note 2 and the formatting is so off that I'm unable to see the bottom on the screen where the page numbers are. It just ends after a dozen or so posts with no options to select a second or third page. The only work around I have managed to find is to request the desktop version on my phone, and when it loads I can see how much of the bottom was missing... about and inch or so. The desktop version still has huge illegible font but at least I can read more than the first page of entries. Please fix.

[onrushpam]

I observe the same behavior on my Galaxy SIII

[causeimhungry]

On my main board (Quebec, Montreal) I am able to scroll the first 5 pages only by using the large circles on the bottom of the page. But if I go to the main board (all categories) the page is still being cut off and there is no way for me to select the next page as these circles do not show. I must put the website into desktop mode for it to work.

[Robert Lauriston]

I sort of figured out how to make it work. Sometimes double-clicking zooms out and the font is a normal size. Single-clicking on a reply brings up the mouseover menu and I was able to post a reply. I couldn't find any way to reply to the original post.

[barryg]

It seems like the trick is that you have to wait for the page to completely finish loading before double-tapping -- then it will work. Actually is pretty decent once zoomed out.

[DiningDiva]

Yes, you do have to wait for the entire page to load, but the double tap doesn't always work. I can get, say, my profile page to load with all the links to the threads in which I've participated and double tap it down to normal size. BUT, if I click on a link, 9 times out ot 10 the link will open in JUMBO font and no amount of tapping will get it to zoom out. Plus, when you click the "back" button the original page reloads back in JUMBO font.

I've found the double tap inconsistent. It works often enough to get ones hopes up and then fails enough to dredge up all the original angst and frustration

[jmcarthur8]

I go back up to the original post to reply. Wish that was still at the bottom of the page, too.

[barryg]

Can finally zoom out on both listing pages and posts. Still defaults to the insane unusable zoom though.

Actually looks good on mobile when zoomed out. Wish I could say the same about the desktop version, it is just very uninviting.

[foiegras]

It seems to vary quite significantly based on the resolution and color of the laptop monitor. Unfortunately, this site cannot be the sole determining factor for these settings on my work laptop (if indeed it could be set so that the site would work as well as it does on my personal laptop--not sure and won't be trying).

I guess actually where I see the most problems is when I use external monitors and a docking station.

[Justpaula]

Me too. I actually have very few complaints about the redesign when using my Kindle Fire Tablet, but the site is entirely unusable on my Galaxy S. I won't even bother opening it up anymore if I am on my phone.

[AnneInMpls]

Unusable from my Android tablet (rooted Nook Color). Fonts are too huge, there's no way to tell which threads have new posts, and navigation is so difficult it's almost impossible.

Please fix.

[Robert Lauriston]

I also can't find any way to get to My Activity > Discussions.

[DiningDiva]

Try clicking the 3 horizontal bars in the red box in the upper left hand quadrant. That should take you to a list with all the options you're looking for including your "discussions" as well as the link to your profile page.

I had no reply function this morning on my tablet but didn't have time to fiddle with it to see if it was actually there somewhere.

[Robert Lauriston]

Nope, the only personal choice on the three-horizontal-bars menu is "My Categories." And the back button doesn't make the menu go away.

[DiningDiva]

When you clicked on the 3 bars did your user name come up (in blue) as the first line of the new page? Mine did and I clicked on that and my discussions showed up.

If that doesn't work, than you're in worse shape than me :-(

[Robert Lauriston]

Thanks, that's the trick. The amateurish UI design makes it look like the menu starts under Welcome to CHOW.com.

[Robert Lauriston]

I can't see any way to reply. On the board page, there's a pencil icon to create a topic, but I find nothing similar on the topic pages.

[Robert Lauriston]

Font issues are fixed for me in Windows but no improvement in Android.

[DiningDiva]

I wonder if they intend to fix the Droid option? It does look better in Windows, but not on my tablet or smartphone :-(

[i_eat_a_lot_of_ice_cream]

Horrible on my DROID RAZR maxx. I just figured out now how to reply. Font defaults to enormous every time i click. When i zoom out the text fills only a one inch column on the screen. The rest of the screen is blank space. A long thread requires double the scrolling it should because half the screen is not used. Lucky me, my laptop just died so this is my only way to access chowhound. Awful!!!!

[i_eat_a_lot_of_ice_cream]

Finally back on Chowhound on a computer. I got a new laptop and the new design looks wonderful on it compared to the DISASTER it is on my phone. Nothing has changed on my phone since the new design was rolled out. Still defaults to enormous font size and minimizing font size minimizes the width of the text to one inch on the phone. This is extremely frustrating! I used to check Chowhound constantly on my phone but I'm so annoyed that I barely do anymore. Based on the silence of the CH team on this thread, it doesn't seem there's any intention to remedy the Android issues, which is a shame. Way to alienate users......

[mudaba]

Hello, Sorry for the delay in posting on this discussion. I actually posted this on another discussion and meant to post here as well: yes, we are going to work on Android issues. It won't be released until January, but this is important to us and something we are actively working on over here even this week.

Thanks, Meredith

[jen kalb]

the site is much better than before the switch on Android Ivia my Razr M) specifically, the text isnt floating all over the place it is aligned left and I can reply etc, but having to double click to get the page to size correctly each time is a big annoyance and the limit to 5 pp is a concern. Text column is narrower than need be, also.

thanks for the continuing attention, meredith.

[HillJ]

Had a chance to check out CH on an Android for the first time today. All I'm seeing are large thread headings. It would be a waste of time to navigate the community using an Android platform.

[RUK]

I do agree. I looked for my profile page, still looking.....
Totally useless.

[DiningDiva]

To find your profile page tap on the 3 horizontal lines in the red box in the upper left hand quadrant. Your user name should be in blue on the top line of the list that loads.

This redesign is virtually useless on the Android platform

[HillJ]

Which makes bothering to locate your profile page a big waste of time at the moment.

[DiningDiva]

Bingo

But unfortunately it is actually the easiest way for me to figure out what I've read and haven't read on my particular phone

[HillJ]

Hopefully more improvements will come soon for Android users.

[RUK]

thanks DD, I missed that, I was looking at the upper right of the page. So this is then similar to Facebook!

[chowser]

Which is ironic given we're on this new redesign for mobile users.

[DiningDiva]

The double tap doesn't always work. I'm on my Galaxy Tab right now and cannot reduce the size of this thread no matter how many times I tap or try and pinch the screen down. On the bright side, at least I can actually see what I'm typing in this reply

[chowdom]

No good on the galaxy note 11, huge font as well.

[DiningDiva]

Doesn't work on my smartphone (Samsung Charge) or the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Font is H-U-G-E. The double tap will work but only one page at a time and forget trying to respond to a post.

To whoever was looking for the Profile page...tap on the 3 horizontal bars in the red box in the upper left hand quadrant. Your user name in blue should be the first line in the list of options that comes up.

The old format was awful on the smartphone but fairly usable on the Galaxy Tab (Kindle size). New formta isn't very usable for most of the reasons already listed on all the various threads on this topic. It just plain sucks on the Android platform

[Quine]

Thanks! Yeah I finally, after 20 minutes, found out how to log in. And I am in Tech Support! It was funny, I held up my smart phone to the laptop screen, and what was on my laptop almost fit on the phone. Crazy, first time I ever saw a working site, create a smart phone/tab app, by making their entire site into a mobile app!

[jmcarthur8]

I changed my font settings on my Motorola Droid X2 phone to a smaller size, and it helped a lot with readability on CH. I have yet to see what it does with general use of the phone, though, in surfing the web.

[chowser]

Trying to make the best of this...is there a limit on the number of boards that can be saved under "MY" boards? Home Cooking has dropped off my list. I also can't find how to add it back. But it's only disappeared on my Droid. Also, it's not intuitive what all the symbols mean. Star? Ninja star? Curvy arrow? 'I've figured most of them out but it's not obvious. And, I can only make the text smaller temporarily. I feel like I'm using a microscope on a slide.

[chowser]

Okay, never mind the number of boards we can follow and what the star means. Apparently clicking on the star meant I removed Home Cooking from the boards I follow. As I said, not intuitive.

[foiegras]

Yeah, I had no idea what 'save this discussion' etc. meant till I tried it. At first I assumed it meant to a file, and then I saw how it worked.

Any experience-challenged ones reading this should be aware that the term for what the star does is Subscribe, not save.

[jmcarthur8]

I had found even before the changes that the double tap only works if I wait for the page to load completely. If I tap too soon, I can hit 'refresh', wait again, then double tap.
By the way, the interface to reply to a post is much better than before! The font is easier to see, and making corrections is a breeze now. Before, the cursor jumped all over the place, and I couldn't scroll the text box to see what needed editing. Today, it scrolled very nicely. So thanks for that, CH team!

[hbg1]

I'm also having a lot of trouble on an Android. In landscape mode the fonts default to being huge on every page (thanks for the double clicking tip) - see screen shot. It took me a while to figure out how to log in, and the rollover reply icons are difficult to use. You have to tap to even see them - how are new users supposed to know they're there? And then since I hadn't known exactly where to tap, I first got the wrong box.

I also only intermittently get the bottom part of the page on my screen, its often cut off.

Hopefully these issues can be cleared up soon.

[mselectra]

Just spent a couple minutes trying it on my LG MyTouch. I think it might be a little better than before. But doesn't seem actually to be designed for a smart phone -- kind of like trying to blend desktop and mobile and causing problems for both.

Barryg's tip about double-clicking to make the screen fit works, and I really appreciate him telling us, but weird to have to keep double-clicking. I also assume that's a bug... When I hit reply (not easy to figure out how!) it zoomed back to such a huge font, wasn't readable.

The main reason I'd want chowhound on my phone is to do a quick search (like for ordering ideas when I'm out to eat, or to remember what places have been recommended in an unfamiliar neighborhood, that kind of thing) or for my list of favorite topics. That does seem easier to do now, except for the giant font problem. (Based on only about two minutes experimenting with it.) I suppose if it were more user friendly, I might also use it for surfing around various discussions (like on do on my laptop), but it doesn't seem conducive to that.

(And on my laptop -- I'm with everybody else on the other thread complaining about the gray on gray, too little content per page, wanting to keep user names, etc.)

[mselectra]

Since "edit" isn't working -- Meant to add that, once I managed to sign in to the site on my phone, couldn't see anything indicating which were threads with new messages. I guess that's also a bug?

And when I tried to get to my list of saved discussions etc, they didn't seem to be anywhere, and then the double-tapping stopped working... And now I'm going to stop messing with this for a while.

[Mr Taster]

I had the problem with edit not working as well. I experienced this both on the PC site.

The problem on the mobile site (LG Optimus with Dolphin HD) is that the "reply/edit" buttons don't always appear when you tap the topic (not sure why they are hidden to begin with-- it's very counter intuitive). In fact, collapsed topics often don't expand when I tap them, either.

Mr Taster

[foiegras]

Bug/design flaw ... I believe the 'new' has been intentionally taken away. I suspect someone very, ah, experience-challenged thought it was by far too direct.

If you have good contrast on your monitor, you can tell by the color what's new vs old based on white vs grey. But it sounds like your colors run together like they do on one of my monitors. It's possible lighting is also a factor.

[melpy]

Must be designed for iPhone only because the majority of the complaints don't exist that I can tell.

[cutipie721]

It is Android's inheritance "feature". Imagine having to develop an app that has to work for the hundreds of brands x all the different screen sizes x the number of breed of dogs.

http://phandroid.com/2012/05/11/animo...

I'm interested to know the devices the CH team have used to test the app.

[Robert Lauriston]

Unusable. Droid Global 2. Even worse than it used to be, which was pretty bad. The full un-mobilized site would be more usable (as was the case previously).

[Quine]

I agree, the design does not work at all. I am using my Samsung Galaxy S and the dolphin browser. I had a tab set up to take me straight to CH, already signed in.
Now, I start out as a new user, told I can "sign up" no place to log in, scratch that, after literally looking for it for 20 minutes, I was able to find the log in screen. THE HUGE login screen. Guess what still reminded mico-mini, yep the login button.

How do I get to my profile, Ah, maybe I'll touch the "MY" button. NOPE. I cannot find how to get to "My Profile".

Massive fail!

[sbug206]

Same with for me with a Galaxy S2X and Dolphin Browser.

[RUK]

In addition - on my Droid razr you can not see beyond the first page of the topics even if you pinch the screen to shrink it. The last post reaches to the bottom and there is no room to show the next pages.