Subject:
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Re: PaB Inventory On-line for the iPhone
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:29:52 GMT
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Viewed:
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10082 times
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In lugnet.general, David Eaton wrote:
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In lugnet.general, Michael Huffman wrote:
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You can “update” the part (meaning it’s still on the wall as of when you
updated it), “empty” the container (meaning there’s nothing there on the
wall now),
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Hm. So is that ajax-based, or is that something that submits the whole form?
Basically, I’m hoping that it’s a really simple click to set a particular
element, so that I can merrily tromp my way down the page with a single, fast
clicks, saying “yes this is still here” or “no it’s not still here”.
(Hopefully not reloading the whole page each time with a page submission) If
ajax isn’t an option, could it be done with checkboxes?
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Yes, the “update” and “empty” buttons are Ajax based.
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or “edit” the part, which will take you to this next screen:
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Is the X/Y coordinate necessary? For the most part, I think as a user I
probably wouldn’t care too much about where it was on the wall, and as an
inputter, it’s an extra step that I might screw up. Oh! And how would this
work for, say, the Legoland parks, where there are actually several different
walls, each with a separate X/Y? Is there a way of marking “Wall #2” perhaps?
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Actually, since I’m a super-user on the web-site, I think I turn off the X/Y
coordinates for everyone, but myself (that’s why it’s in the picture)... I need
to double check this & turn it off if it isn’t.
The X/Y coordinates is needed however, and do come into play with the iPaB wall
view:
http://www.brickbuildr.com/?u=view&m=pab
But you’re right, for someone who’s just updating the inventory, you shouldn’t
need to move containers of parts around on the wall.
I don’t have a simple solution for a Legoland PaB... if someone volunteers to
help keep the inventory of one up-to-date, then I might have to do a little
redesign of the back-end. :)
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changing the type will change what’s displayed in the “part” drop down” (did
this so you wouldn’t have to view a lot of unneeded parts) and by selecting
a part, it will change the image as well to the part you selected.
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Hmm... How many parts are in PAB walls all-told? I’m wondering if it might
make sense to have a “quick-list”. Essentially, I’m thinking it could be a
dropdown that covered *both* part type AND color. The contents could be
determined by seeing what parts were available in ALL PAB’s across the world,
removing anything that’s already selected as being on the wall. I’m just
wondering if this might make things easier, since at any given time, there
probably aren’t all that many different parts scattered across the PAB
universe (I dunno though-- I guess the Legoland parks might have a large
selection making this idea rather useless).
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Currently, there are 181 unique parts that can show up on a PaB wall. That’s
still a lot to scroll through; and that’s unique parts found just at the Orlando
& Tigard stores. When I went out to Legoland, CA this past June, what I found
there was pretty much the same what I found at the Orlando store; still 181
parts is a long list.
A little bit of background, all colors are in the database, but I only display
the most common ones in the drop down list. All part types are in the database,
but I only show the ones that would commonly show up on the PaB wall -- so I’m
hiding part types like Duplo, Electrical, Train, etc.
And by selecting a part type, only parts relating to that part type are
displayed in the next drop-down list -- there’s a little Ajax on the back-end of
that edit screen as well. So I do keep the amount of search you have to do,
down to a minimum.
I’ve used it in a busy store... it works great for updating a few parts at a
time. It’s not the ideal tool for entering the inventory of a store for the
first time; but it’s ideal for doing small, casual updates!
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Another thought might be: are part lists and colors restricted to remove
anything that’s not currently in production, and/or to BrickLink or LDraw
part numbers? Is it possible to enter a part # (or description) for something
that’s not in the dropdown list? Could it be cross-reffed with any data that
would strip out anything we’ll never see? Like, say, finger hinges, minifig
torsos, monorail track, etc)
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Drop-down lists were easier to use, I (for one) don’t have every part #
memorized & thought it would be a PITA to try to read them at the store. The
color restriction is a little hard to do as well -- was at the Olando store last
night and saw lots of parts in Medium Blue (bricks 1x1, 1x2, 1x4, 2x2 2x4),
which is uncommon, but would have been missed, and it means a more complicated
tracking system.
Oh, and finger hings have been on the PaB wall in black. :)
For those that do memorize part #’s, I can add that to the edit screen, so all
you’d have to do is pick a color and enter the part #. *scribbling on my To-Do
list*
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Talking with Joe Meno, his idea was to take a “grided” baseplate into the
store & stick parts down on the baseplate corresponding to their position on
the wall, then snap photos. Once home, he downloads the photos to his
computer, then updates the inventory that way...
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Heh, that was my thought too :)
Dan Boger set up something to update the PAB inventories on Peeron (dunno if
it’s still there?), and I recall trying to do it that way, but it ended up
with me just saying “meh”. Basically, it seemed like more work than necessary
to completely photograph and/or transcribe while at the store, and more work
at home since Dan’s interface just took part #’s (IIRC), which I had to look
up myself.
Anyway, it occurred to me that I’d probably be more likely to do the updates
if I had a really easy-to-use interface on my phone, because then I could
do it while I was in the store. Heck, even if I only updated 2 or 3 parts
while I was there, it was better than nothing (especially since I was more
likely to update interesting parts rather than 2x4 blue bricks or something)
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True... That’s how the project got started. I’m in the store often enough, that
I can update it a little at a time, when I had the time.
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The Orlando store (the one I live near) has a 40x6 wall, the grided
baseplate idea might be better than trying to stand there and update the
inventory via the iPhone & tripping over kids. :)
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Definitely a factor for the busy stores! Oftentimes, it seems like when I’m
just filling up a cup I’m still tripping over kids, let alone if I was trying
to enter data!
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Anyway, the bottom line, I’ve tried to make this as simple as possible to
update/maintain. I’m open to user-interface changes that would make it easier.
I’ve tried to keep the page refreshes down to a minimum and the amount of data
you have to sift through. One improvement I could see doing is turn the edit
interface to be 100% Ajax (with support for browsers that don’t support Ajax).
I could see about limiting the data you see based upon known part/color
relationships, but allow for “exceptions” when they do show up.
I do need to find a easier way to handle multiple types of parts in the same
container, multiple colors of the same part in the same container, and “extra”
areas where PaB inventory can be found in the store -- someone reported red &
black 1x1 bricks in the same container; recently in the Orlando store, there
were 5-10 types of parts found in the same container (they were dumping
Build-a-Minifig accessories on the PaB wall); and some stores have extra PaB
stock that is thrown into a area that people can pick through to fill their PaB
cups... And the whole Legoland PaB problem that you pointed out above.
--Mike.
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: PaB Inventory On-line for the iPhone
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| (...) Some thoughts on handing this issue: Since build a minifig is probably a common way to mix stuff, just create a new "part" "minifig parts". Other mixes may be more of a pain. The "too small to be worth a bin" quantities might just be best (...) (16 years ago, 27-Oct-08, to lugnet.general)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: PaB Inventory On-line for the iPhone
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| (...) Hm. So is that ajax-based, or is that something that submits the whole form? Basically, I'm hoping that it's a really simple click to set a particular element, so that I can merrily tromp my way down the page with a single, fast clicks, saying (...) (16 years ago, 23-Oct-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)
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