Sticky action buttons for SUSE Manager

If you are a frequent user of the SUSE Manager web UI, you may be familiar with this: On many UI pages that display long lists of systems, packages, patches, etc., the “action buttons” (Save, Apply, …)  are at the bottom of the page.

That leads to a somewhat time-consuming workflow: For example, if you want to install a certain package, you need to first select the package from the list, then scroll down, press the button. The page will reload, and the buttons are out of reach again.

Now, as a Product Manager, I could just declare this a feature. I was thinking along the lines of “built-in fitness app for your mouse arm”. But we decided that we should rather improve the UI for the upcoming SUSE Manager 3.1 instead:

First, we’re now placing “action buttons” on the top of the item lists, so that in many cases, like when you select all, you don’t have to scroll at all.

Second, when you scroll down, the buttons are “sticky” now: With the help of some clever CSS styles, the button bar doesn’t scroll away once it hits the top of the page, but sticks to the top:

Click for demo!

Unless you’ve relied on the old behavior as part of your daily workout, I’m sure that you’ll love the new user interface! Stay tuned for my next posts, with more news about Manager 3.1.

And remember: To learn more about SUSE Manager 3.1, join one of our upcoming webinars:

• June 28 – Getting ready for a world of compliant containers with SUSE Manager
• July 6 – Compliant containers with SUSE Manager – Grow Your Technical Knowledge

This is Joachim Werner blogging live from the SUSE Expert Forum in sunny Nuremberg, where we are telling our partners and customers the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about our products. 🙂