Consistent ACP Menu > Submenu Patterns

[Ocean West]

In the ACP there is a column on the left it includes your primary navigation,
The second column to the right of that is sub areas for features & settings.
The remainder of the area is the interface where you adjust the individual settings for the selections made.

However this is where things get confusing and in some cases out of control because this area may contain to many settings you introduce another interface design pattern "TABS". In the above case its not too terrible as there are only six tabs.

But in other areas this model breaks down quickly - and to no fault to custom application / theme developer -  who is most likely limited to the use of this design pattern for this section.

The issue with tabs is that they move around depending on the width of the browser window, this prevents anything from being committed to muscle memory. ( reminds me of MS Office of old where tabs rows would keep flipping around -and you had to click every single one to remember where a setting was)

I would propose a new core design approach to this: a column that appears as needed between the second column and the content area. (vertical tabs) 

quick photoshop sample: 

[Ocean West]

bump - would like to suggest this design approach again

in the current version I dislike putting that much interface and content into a popover display - it's just way too much.

plus every time you 'save' any function the popover is dismissed and you have to click the edit button again and then painfully tab find the setting you were on before.

after any save the menus should be sticky and the popup notification that the action was committed is sufficient to convey such.

 

 

[Simon Woods]

+1

[The Jimmo]

That takes up a lot of screen real estate, ~40% of your browser window contains useless info instead of what you're actively viewing. As well, I think that the horizontal tabs are nicer as it divides it up and makes it evident that this is not a new page but a tab within the same setting architecture. 

[Ocean West]

horizontal tabs are fine as long as they are ONE ROW but when tabs stack up and the break point is dependent on the width of the window or device- this is a TERRIBLE design approach.

i'd be happy if when editing the theme or any area that has more then a row of tabs that it uses the entire window and only go back a level when you ask not every time you save.

and the top two left navigation bars condense / or disappear or folding to a hierarchal menu and - become "back navigation" or keep them and scroll right to provide needed space for new contextual interface.