Plugin Search Results Admin Links

[jane]

If you search for plugins from Plugins > Add New, it brings up a table with the search results. The plugin name is linked to the plugin site, rather than pulling in the repo page for the plugin. It's really disruptive to think you'll get a plugin description only to find yourself no longer in your admin.
I'd like to see the format here change to:

Plugin Name links to showing repo page within admin.
Author and Plugin site links are displayed as they are in the table on plugins.php, with explicit links.

[janeforshort]

Note: clicking Install does display the repo page. Clicking Install should just start the install, and clicking the plugin name could do the popup instead.

[demetris]

Replying to janeforshort:

Note: clicking Install does display the repo page. Clicking Install should just start the install, and clicking the plugin name could do the popup instead.

I agree that the current behaviour is disruptive but I don’t like the idea of an Install link that would start the installation immediately without displaying some more detailed information about the plugin.

The 3 links that I think each row in the search results needs are already there:

1. Plugin homepage

2. Author homepage

3. Link to show more info and install the plugin

Maybe some rearrangement is all that’s needed. Here is a thought:

• The plugin name link brings up the popup window to see more info an install the plugin. In that case, it could have a TITLE attribute like: “Click to see more information and install {PLUGIN_NAME}”.

• The plugin homepage link is moved next to the author homepage link.

• The action column is dropped.

[janeforshort]

I agree we should drop the action column. Action links should be in a standard location in one of the main columns, like on the plugin management screen. I think a link for More Info (that brings up the .org tabbed info, same as clicking on the plugin name) plus a link for Install (that just does the install) would be good. I think when we have a verb for a link, it needs to be specific to the action. Clicking install and having it pop a new page of info instead of installing something is deceptive. Plus, I see a lot of people who know exactly what they want b/c they've done the research on .org or via google, and by the time they go into the admin to install something, they know exactly what they want. (That seems to be a more common behavior than doing all the searching right in the admin... most people seem to look not only at .org/extend, but at other sites that mention the plugin, support forums, etc.) For those people, having to load the tabbed info page, then mouse up to the big orange Install button just seems like an extra step.

[scottbasgaard]

The plugin name no longer redirects you outside of wp-admin to the plugin homepage. Both [plugin name] and [more info] open the .org tabbed info. I removed "Actions" from the <th>column</th> not sure what it should say there if anything.

This also addresses ​http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/10820.

[chrisscott]

Patches cleanly against r13308 and tests OK.

[scottbasgaard]

screenshot

[scottbasgaard]

Jane had mentioned having "Info | Install" underneath the plugin name. I'll work on a patch for that asap.

[xibe]

Scott, have you been able to update your patch?

[scottbasgaard]

Replying to xibe:

Scott, have you been able to update your patch?

Not sure if I'll find time before freeze.

[nacin]

I'm going to try to run with this.

[nacin]

(In [13520]) Rearrange action links in the install plugins browser. First pass on the UI overhaul. see #11050

There are some other changes that will need to happen for "Install" to actually install, and "Info" to bring up the info box. (For example, we have code that checks for whether the plugin is already installed and such, so the button on the popup isn't always "Install Now".)

For now I've just rearranged the look and moved the plugin homepage link off the title and to an "Info" link, as that's better than what we have.

I will tackle the rest of this in the next day or so.

[nacin]

The more I look at this, the more I think this is the most we're going to get for now.

When the pop-up loads, we do an API call for that single plugin, and make all sorts of calculations -- whether the plugin is installed already, whether we should upgrade it if so, whether the user has install_plugins or update_plugins capabilities, etc.

It would be expensive to run an HTTP check on every plugin displayed on that screen, especially during searching and browsing. Additionally, the popup makes important checks regarding plugin compatibility with the current version of WordPress, and it's an important AYS dialog for whether the download should occur and installer run.

Thus, I think the ideas expressed above are good, but only to an extent, and not particularly feasible.

I suggest we remove the plugin homepage link all together and make just an "Install" link (that opens the popup). We can also decide whether the name should also link to the popup (but keep the 'action' link).

I am going to remove the "Info" link for now, because really the popup information is far better (and standardized) than the plugin homepage which takes you out of the admin area. And that was indeed expressed as desired.

With that, I return this to Jane for review :)

[nacin]

Eating my words a little -- it looks like the initial HTTP call of the results page does include compatibility and testing information, so hypothetically there would be enough for us to generated an "Install Now" link without being much more expensive. I think I still disagree with not having the Thickbox as an AYS-and-here's-more-info-while-you-decide, but that's not my call.

[nacin]

(In [13522]) Remove "Info" link in plugin installer. The "Install" link already opens a pop-up with information. see #11050

[jane]

My actual intention was for the Info link to display the popup, and the install link to go directly to the screen that you would get after clicking the Install button on the popup: i.e., have the Install link go directly to the installation instead of making you confirm that you want to install. The link verb should describe what clicking will do.

[dd32]

(In [13520]) Rearrange action links in the install plugins browser. First pass on the UI overhaul. see #11050

Can we get the Actions links (Ala, "Install") hidden by default like the other admin pages? While the link location has changed, it doesnt make sense to be different from everything else and show them all the time.

[jane]

@dd32: I think for search results, the links should be persistent, rather than making the user 'search' for them. :) It's a slightly different behavior than browsing through content you already have and are managing.

[jane]

See also ​http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/12801

[jane]

It looks like currently all that's shown is Install, and the author's name is linked. Did we lose our way with this one?

[dd32]

(In [13920]) Rename Install to More Information, Add an Install Now action link to the Plugin Installer search results. See #11050

[scribu]

After clicking the "More Information" link, instead of the "Install Now" button, I'm getting this:

Notice: Undefined variable: url in .../wp/wp-admin/includes/plugin-install.php on line 530

[dd32]

(In [13921]) Correct typos in r13920. Use correct variable name. See #11050

[demetris]

More Information is a bit verbose, and it also takes valuable horizontal space.

Attached patch changes More Information to Details, and the TITLE attribute from Information about % to More information about %.

[demetris]

Brevity is the soul of attractive UIs

[jane]

Details is perfect. Originally it was going to be Info, not More Information (is it more, if there is non to begin with, anyway?), so this is great.

[nacin]

(In [13950]) Change "More Information" link to "Details" in plugin installer. Shorten/clarify a few other strings. see #11050

[nacin]

(In [13951]) Add AYS to "Install Now" link in plugin installer. fixes #11050