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A wall of text

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Level 10
We've had complaints since the 18.2 release that the system updates are now showing a "wall of text" where this was previously broken out by little status icons (which helped to make it easier to scan through) - New Old I raised this with WF support and they said this was as designed. I'm curious what other people's thoughts are on the removal of the status icons? I like the font and font color in the new style but I don't think removing the icons is a great user experience. Jamie Hill JLL
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Level 5
I have received a lot of questions about this. Everyone thinks its some kind of glitch. My opinion is it could be solved with better design. It needs some kind of visual break between elements. Also, I can't verify this, but it seems to default to show System Updates. That seems counter-intuitive. Am I wrong? Brian C. Mauger Bloomberg L.P.

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Level 9
from a UX standpoint it's not as "pretty" with the breaks and graphics. But I assume WF was going with the semi-current trend of flatter is better?! Which i do like typically. Here it's a tough one - I actually can skim the new layout quicker! But IDK.... JohnSeitz ESPN

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Level 10
Yeah it was always gonna be a tough one. I defo agree that removing the indentation from the old style is a positive change. But I would like at least the option to still show the icons (maybe in Setup) - and to be fair they all could be redesigned in a more modern way, like what they've already done with the project status icons: Jamie Hill JLL

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Level 4
My team is not a fan of the new layout either. It's harder to delineate between conversations without that divider line. We appreciate they are trying to go for a clean design. But I find it interesting that they added lines to the project view (which I'm not a fan of) but then took them away in the update view. Tara Carey Neustar, Inc.

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Level 10
Agreed, It's a tougher read. Also if you add anything via the Outlook plugin it removes all spacing so it's just an ugly Kluge (or wall of text).

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Level 3
I agree as well.. It gets particularly dicey trying to read comment threads on the Document Update tab if you're viewing it from the Project level (i.e., when it's about a 5th the width of your screen). I like the push towards a clean aesthetic, but the way it has been implemented is a bit tough to skim through, especially if users are adding links in their comments, since those end up looking similar to usernames due to the font color. Mike Perez Tailored Brands

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Level 8
We're getting the same feedback from our users. Until it gets fixed, I ended up creating a stylesheet using the Stylebot plugin within Chrome. I increased the font size in the updates, and added a background and border to the replies. I'm still refining it, but here is what my after looks like now. If anyone is interested in the code, let me know and I can post it here (or if you have ideas to make it look better). Sidenote: since about 1 pm today, my replies do not show the avatar, just a broken image link on all browsers

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Level 4
We've had very similar negative feedback as well; I'll echo some of the previous comments about missing the divider line, the more structured look of the old updates / icons, and the fact that it was generally easier to read. I'm also trying to caution everyone that change is hard, and to give the new look at feel a bit of time to adjust to. Also good to note that with any design, it's iterative. I'm sure - and definitely hoping - that this is step one to enhancing the update feed...there's a long ways to go :) A few things we're hoping for in future designs... -More emphasis on the actual update, less so on the avatar -Ability to 'unthread' comments and look completely chronological (newer updates / replies get buried in an old thread) -Document thumbnails / better connection between an update and the document associated with the update -Ability to un-tag users in a thread -Option to show all comments and replies automatically - instead of clicking the 'show X more comments', will lead to easier searching a webpage for a phrase / keyword -View the included list of users when typing a reply (currently this list is hidden by the reply box, so you can't see who is already included :( ) Jaimeson Wennerstrum Periscope, Inc.

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Level 10
I like it, it's cleaner, but so much better when "show system updates" are turned off. All those "going smoothly" comments muck things up. Jill Ackerman | Director, Product Marketing Lindblad Expeditions 96 Morton Street | New York, NY 10014 Ph. 212.261.9080 | Fax. 212.265-3770 jilla@expeditions.com | "http://www.expeditions.com/"> www.expeditions.com

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Level 10
Yeah this is just to do with system updates. I'll edit the top post! Jamie Hill JLL

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Level 2
I actually prefer the new version. If I want to copy and paste it into a timeline or an issue log spreadsheet, it's much easier to do with the new version. Rae Siebels

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Level 10
Agreed with all of Jaimeson's comments. I'd have to say that even after making an allowance for the natural human tendency to dislike change, our user feedback has been pretty much universally negative on this change. People think that something is broken. Sorry to be negative but I haven't had anyone tell me that they prefer the new Updates tab formatting/layout. At a minimum - even if nothing else is changed, we need the divider lines between updates. David Cornwell

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Level 5
Hi Jamie, Our entire team dislikes the 8.2 redesign. We picked Workfront exactly because it was user friendly and now they are slowly removing everything that was good about their UX. I understand this helps Workfront become mobile friendly but really how many users are spending that much time using Workfront on mobile devices? Aileen Taylor Cell Signaling Technology

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Level 10
Thanks for all the replies everyone! It's good to hear it's not just us with this feedback on the system updates. I'm all for having a flat design like a lot of other sites - the non-system updates stream looks very smart - but where you've opted into showing system updates - i.e. you really want to see that detail - I think the status icons really do help with consuming that information easily. Jamie Hill JLL

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Level 7
We absolutely agree with most of what @Jaimeson Wennerstrum says, along with feedback regarding visual separation of threads, and so I'm just going to copy and paste that here: - need a visual separation of threads, either shading or divider lines -More emphasis on the actual update, less so on the avatar -Ability to 'unthread' comments and look completely chronological (newer updates / replies get buried in an old thread) -Ability to un-tag users in a thread -Option to show all comments and replies automatically - instead of clicking the 'show X more comments', will lead to easier searching a webpage for a phrase / keyword -View the included list of users when typing a reply (currently this list is hidden by the reply box, so you can't see who is already included (bolding this one because it's just the worst one as regards to UX... you literally have to CANCEL an update in order to remind yourself who's being notified) Barbara Sedlack BMO Financial Group

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Level 4
Adina, I would like to see that code. Thanks, ~Jeff Jeff Rieth Fujifilm Medical Systems

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Level 2
The Updates section is much more useable when you turn off system notifications BUT we're never going to do that. Why? Because if someone comments on a system notification, the toggle hides that comment as well as the system notifications. So you could lose integral communications because they just so happen to be nested under a system update. :-| Darren Harper Arvest Bank Group Inc

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Level 10
Wow...that's got to be a bug. No way that's a logical design choice. Have you logged it with Support? David Cornwell

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Level 8
We saw the same problem, except on Timesheets. A comment was hidden since it was a comment on a rejection, but there is no way to turn system updates back on on the timesheet page. Adina

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Level 3
I don't think that's a bug. We've had the same problem with users commenting on system updates that others don't see b/c they're hidden. If someone knows otherwise, please let me know. That's created some heartburn on projects recently. Michelle Yard Manager, Marketing Operations Insperity Houston, Texas