Brian.Shaler.name | Blog | DiggTaggr Update: Major Interface Changes

DiggTaggr Update: Major Interface Changes

February 4, 2007 | Tags: digg, diggtaggr, firefox, greasemonkey

[ Haven't heard of DiggTaggr? HERE's an introduction ]

Latest Version: 0.1.2 (Release: 2007.02.05)
Download: diggtaggr.user.js

(Requires Firefox and Greasemonkey)

Brian Shaler - DiggTaggr - Interface Update

Top: DiggTaggr Interface v0.0.*
Bottom: DiggTaggr Interface Update v0.1.*

Version 0.1.* Details:

This update features a dramatic change in the DiggTaggr interface. Minor changes were made to the XML schema to enable more flexibility on the front end. The Greasemonkey script has doubled in code, features, and wicked-awesome-ness.

Several users with smaller resolution monitors did not like the amount of real estate the tool was taking up on the right side of the headline.

A common request was to be able to view story summaries for the recommended stories, instead of just the title. The story summaries are not cached, due to the amount of space they were taking up. The Greasemonkey script now uses the story IDs returned from DiggTaggr to fetch the summaries of the recommended stories from Digg with a secondary XML request. The story summaries are nicely tucked away to save space and can be accessed by clicking the plus (+) sign next to the story title.

With the new, live data from the secondary XML request from Digg, the Greasemonkey script is now able to see live stats on the stories. Due to this new availability, I added the number of Diggs to the interface.

Note: If the "update available" link still shows up after installing the update, you may need to clear your cache and update again!

Feedback:

User feedback is what drives the development of this project. Have anything you would like to see incorporated into DiggTaggr? Have any questions/comments about the interface or usability of the tool? Like it? Hate it? Anything at all -- I want to know what you think!!

Email: brian @ shaler . name

Version History:

// 0.0.1 Alpha // 2007.01.29
// | This version contains very basic functionality. More features to
// | come.
// 0.0.2 // 2007.01.31
// | Fixed a bug that displayed "Relevant Stories" on all Digg pages.
// 0.0.3 // 2007.02.02
// | Fixed a layout issue -- smaller resolutions wrapped the link
// | block (looked pretty bad)
// News: 2007.02.02
// | Public Alpha release. Digg users voted this tool to the front page!
// 0.1.0 // 2007.02.04
// | Redesigned the layout from the ground up. Due to issues with 
// | smaller resolution monitors, the relevant stories have been moved
// | below the story summary, rather than to the right. New features:
// | Digg count is displayed for each recommended story; Users may 
// | expand the recommended stories to view the story summary without
// | navigating to a new page. Oh yeah!!
// 0.1.1 // 2007.02.05
// | Fixed layout issues after Digg redesign
// 0.0.4 Alpha // 2007.02.05
// | This is a temporary downgrade put in place to cover these issues:
// | - Users getting logged out with versions 0.1.*
// | - Layout screwed up after today's Digg redesign
// | - Layout works (may not be pretty, but it works) 1024px and up
// | The new features and appearance will be brought back in a later 
// | version after all the bugs are worked out.
// 0.1.2 // 2007.02.05
// | Fixed log-out bug. Fixed Digg's unpopular new layout. Works much better
// | with all monitor resolutions. It does take up a fair amount of vertical 
// | space, but less than Digg's new standard layout.