Active admin menu indicator confusing

[rolfkleef]

Nothing like sitting next to a new user... In the Admin menu, a white triangle on the right-hand side of the active main menu item looks to the unsuspecting user like it is the actual menu item selected, instead of the bold text of a submenu item below it.

See attached: the user thought that "Berichten" (1) was the active menu item, instead of "Nieuw bericht" (2).

[rolfkleef]

Screenshot of part of the admin menu

[johnbillion]

I think it makes sense to move the 'notch' to the currently active menu item.

[vinod dalvi]

The patch fixes the confusion by moving the 'notch' to the currently active menu item.

[ericlewis]

Also into this.

[helen]

Have asked MT and melchoyce for designer eye input.

[nacin]

Essentially, this means that the arrow will never point to a top-level item. Given that it always has, this isn't a trivial change.

The arrow actually used to point away from the menu, toward the screen, which was easier to explain. I understand how pointing it toward a particular item can cause confusion.

Keep in mind that the menu can be collapsed; in this state, the arrows are only seen on hover, and it looks weird, almost like someone took a bite out of the menu. When collapsed, the arrow can be a helpful visual indicator of where you are, beyond just the color change.

Also, the arrow is significantly smaller when the menu is collapsed. This makes sense currently as it is pointing to a smaller area (in terms of the top-level item). But the submenus are the same size, which introduces an inconsistency. Ideally, the arrow is always smaller if it is pointing to a submenu item. The giant arrow pointing at the top-level items is far too big for submenu items.

Additionally, when on the "Add New" user page, you *are* inside the Users section, hence both the primary color and the notch. As it is impossible to actually be on the Users section (you are actually on the first submenu item) then it's weird to not just have both the notch and the color. Why don't they go together? Why is the notch confusing but the color not confusing? On a site navigation page, we'd expect some kind of "active" state (color, notch, etc.) over the "About" screen even if we're on some submenu page like /about/team/, and that's even with the ability to browse to the /about/ page (in this case, you can't even do that).

I'm not sure I have a recommendation here, but I'm leaning toward leaving it as-is. Leaving it open for feedback from one of the interface designers.

[melchoyce]

Reading through @nacin's reply, I agree. There isn't a really great solution here, especially given the collapsibility of the admin menu. I'd recommend marking as wontfix.

Is this any better with @hugobaeta's new colors in place? It feels like it stands out more to me. (That said, I'm used to knowing where to look, and am on a nice screen.)