I feel the systems setting application needs a bit of main/sub menu rework, because the current UX is inconsistent at the default settings window width.
For example, let’s say you choose a setting from the main menu that has no sub-menus. Your “main” menu stays at the top level. Like this:
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But if you choose an option with sub menus, the top level main menu goes away and gets replaced with the sub-menus. This is very jarring, since settings with just a single “page” like “Game Controller” “Sound” “Thunderbolt” “Printers”, etc… do not cause the menu column to suddenly change, and instead stay at the top level.
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This can be confusing to users, because the different menu options behave differently. It also makes it difficult to quickly click through menu options if you’re trying to find something, because your top level menu will become obfuscated the moment you click on a setting with sub-menu options.
When the window is just a litttttttllee bit wider, the settings app will simply create a new additional column for any setting with sub-menus, and the “main” menu on the left always stays at the high level. This provides for a very consistent UX and allows users to quickly scan through options.
Here are a few possible solutions that I feel that this UX could be improved:
- Always switch the left column to the sub-menu view when the window is too small: Clicking a specific setting, the main column on the left will always switch to sub-menu display. This would result in a sub-menu with just a single entry for things like “Sound” or “Game Controller”. I do not feel this solution is ideal, but it at least it will provide for a consistent experience across all options. See mock-up below:
- Enforce a larger minimum window width: When the window is around ~1200 pixels in width, the second column is always enabled, providing a very slick and seamless experience in the settings application. Setting this as the minimum window width, and completely eliminating the above behavior may be a better solution. That way everyone gets the same experience, all the time. This does create some problems on low resolution displays, as users of 1280x800 (Steamdeck) or 1366x768 displays will have to have the settings window almost the full width of the screen.
- Compact everything, narrow the columns, lower the threshold for dual-column mode to a new, slightly larger minimum window width: When looking at all the settings with sub-menus, there always seems to be quite a bit of “wasted” space on the second column (and the first column as well). It looks like the second column could be narrowed by 80 pixels without impacting anything, and the main column could be narrowed by 40-50 pixels (see mockup below to see narrowed main column. Mockup does not include second column). You could compromise and narrow both by 40-50 pixels. Then, set the minimum “dual column” threshold slightly smaller, set the minimum window width to that threshold, and you now have the ability to use dual-column mode, all the time, even on the smallest displays.
