Allow toggling between current layout and "extra-minimal" layout (like the one in 1.2.1)

[Matsyir]

Half a bug report and half a feature request surrounding the same issue, depending which way this ends up going.

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Feature request: Allow toggling between current layout and "extra-minimal" layout (as seen in 1.2.1)

Describe the solution you'd like
This layout, as seen on F-Droid, is what initially prompted me to install the app. (image was way too big when embedded) https://f-droid.org/en/packages/co.prestosole.clima/

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be in the app, and I don't see those screenshots on github either, so I guess it is not something that was planned to be supported anymore. I do also like this newer detailed view, I would love to be able to quickly switch between both. Perhaps you could toggle between them simply by swiping left or right (anywhere aside from the hourly forecast), like an infinite carousel. Or from a button beside the search.

Describe alternatives you've considered
If this layout is not possible to bring back or add in any way:

• I would really like to see wind speed & the real feel ("Feels like") included at the top along the existing temp & high/low (could be toggled on or off), since currently those are not shown along with the essentials
• Remove those screenshots from F-droid to not mislead users (most users will just download newest version)

Additional context
My reasoning for all this is that I am using this app with an old tablet that's staying plugged in to serve as an "always-on" weather display, and the minimal UI you had there honestly seemed perfect for me. But it would also be nice to go up to it and quickly get the existing more detailed view.

Update: Just tried 1.2.1 and that solved a lot of initial confusion regarding a few things so I've edited the post in various ways and cut out a few pointless things

[triallax]

We can't do anything about the screenshots unfortunately, as it's an F-Droid bug. Maybe we can replace those screenshots with new ones to fix the issue, but then we'd have quite a lot of screenshots. Possibly better than being misleading though. :P

My reasoning for all this is that I am using this app with an old tablet that's staying plugged in to serve as an "always-on" weather display, and the minimal UI you had there honestly seemed perfect for me. But it would also be nice to go up to it and quickly get the existing more detailed view.

That does sound like a reasonable use case to me; I wouldn't be opposed to adding something like the old UI, if it isn't too much effort to maintain. However, I can't give any concrete timeline on when we might add this ourselves. PRs are welcome though, but not before we flesh out the details first so that you don't do any unnecessary work.

[Matsyir]

Ah I see, that is quite unfortunate. I do think it would be better to have extra screenshots rather than outdated ones, or at least note in the description that the extra-minimal layout is no longer in the newest version.

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I doubt the feature would be much effort to maintain, beyond the initial setup. It's extra-minimal! I imagine the only changes to come to it would be minor text tweaks or adding a few simple "cards" or options to tweak the cards.

What are your thoughts on the best way to transition into this view/between the two views? Just a button along the top, or a carousel/page style gesture? Personally I think the gesture is cleaner and more convenient to use, but it can be seen as a bit intrusive for someone who doesn't care about the feature. Either way, the button or gesture could get an option be turned off, if it is an issue.

[prestosole]

Ah I see, that is quite unfortunate. I do think it would be better to have extra screenshots rather than outdated ones, or at least note in the description that the extra-minimal layout is no longer in the newest version.

I doubt the feature would be much effort to maintain, beyond the initial setup. It's extra-minimal! I imagine the only changes to come to it would be minor text tweaks or adding a few simple "cards" or options to tweak the cards.

What are your thoughts on the best way to transition into this view/between the two views? Just a button along the top, or a carousel/page style gesture? Personally I think the gesture is cleaner and more convenient to use, but it can be seen as a bit intrusive for someone who doesn't care about the feature. Either way, the button or gesture could get an option be turned off, if it is an issue.

I suggest having a setting option to enable this feature. Once enabled by the user, they can switch to the minimal UI by simply swiping left (or right) on the weather screen. Better yet, we can let the user choose whether to see only the current, minimal, or both layouts (by swiping).

Additionally, we can allow the user to choose which tiles (cards) to show up in the minimal UI.

[triallax]

@prestosole I believe a gesture can't be alone an alternative for a button, because some people may be unable to use it (e.g. keyboard/TV remote navigation), while others may prefer a button over a gesture. As @Matsyir stated, an option can be added to choose either one, but we don't want to add too many granular settings to the app, so ideally we'd settle on one method (not necessarily either of these two, there may be other ways to switch between the two views we haven't thought of).

Unrelated, but if/when #275 is implemented, we may want to consider adding the "extra-minimal" UI in a widget.

[Matsyir]

I suggest having a setting option to enable this feature. Once enabled by the user, they can switch to the minimal UI by simply swiping left (or right) on the weather screen. Better yet, we can let the user choose whether to see only the current, minimal, or both layouts (by swiping).
Additionally, we can allow the user to choose which tiles (cards) to show up in the minimal UI.

All of this sounds perfect for my use case honestly.

For the keyboard/TV navigation, there could simply be a new button at the top, or inside the 3 dots dropdown, on top of the swiping gesture. (a button isn't intrusive at all considering the menu is already there anyways)

Personally I am all for having plenty of options, but I can also understand not wanting to bloat them. I think the simplest way to offer a compact setting for this behavior is one dropdown of, as @prestosole said, current only, extra-minimal only, both. And then the button + gesture is only active when both is selected.

Also, as a compact setting to choose tiles, you could have one button called "Extra-minimal Tiles →" leading to a new small section/settings window containing toggles for each tile (perhaps re-orderable as well). An option to have 2 columns could be nice also. That's all extra though, just those classic 3 would be a great start for me.

we may want to consider adding the "extra-minimal" UI in a widget.

Though not for my use case, I'm all for it.

Also unrelated, but I did actually try doing a widget-only view for this tablet, as I found some nice ones which also allowed me to customize everything. However, there is so much wasted space by doing it that way, and you can't "pin" the home screen like you can an app, so it's definitely not ideal for that.

[triallax]

I opened #293 for the F-Droid screenshots; let's keep this issue for the minimal layout feature request.