Dropdown buttons for associated libs in PyAnsys

[Revathyvenugopal162]

Add associated libraries as dropdown button:

example

https://vega.github.io/vega/

Initial idea by @clatapie in #399 (comment)

pinging @mia-guo-ux for design idea and UI/UX approval as we discussed in private

pinging @ansys/pyansys-core

[mia-guo-ux]

@Revathyvenugopal162 @clatapie

There are several routes to this problem.

Route 1: Reorganizing the libraries.
For those with associated libraries, we can add an extra layer so there is a parent library for all the relevant libraries. For example, the user is able to select which sub-library to view when the user lands on DPF homepage. The hierarchy thus would be: PyAnsys -> PyDPF home -> PyDPF sub-libraries (core/composites/post) home -> Doc pages.

Please feel free to let me know if there are some technical concerns that I'm not aware of.

Route 2: Dropdown in the breadcrumb (preferred)
The current Ansys Design Library does not really support dropdowns in navigations, and I don't think we have designs in this pattern. However, an alternative solution is to have a dropdown in the breadcrumb. In addition, we need to redesign the homepages of DPF libraries so they are consistent with other library homepages.

One side comment:
The current search function does not seem to work well. It is unclear if there is no search result (although there are docs related to "PyDPF") or is it still searching or it is not meant to be used this way...I think we should update the search bar too. Instead of using a popup, I prefer a subtler way (see discussion). If this popup style is mandated, I think we should add some hints so the user knows what the search status is.

[greschd]

Route 1: Reorganizing the libraries.

I'm not sure there's a clean "tree hierarchy" of libraries which can be considered related.

Using the example of PyDPF Composites: it it related to PyDPF Core, but also PyACP (Composites pre-processor), and more indirectly the solvers (PyMAPDL mostly, maybe PyDyna).
But neither PyACP nor the solver libraries are "sub-libraries" of PyDPF Core.

Maybe a "see also" section somewhere (maybe at the bottom of the landing page) could serve a similar purpose?

[mia-guo-ux]

The original comment has been updated. Route 2 is my preference @Revathyvenugopal162 @greschd

[clatapie]

Hello,

I created a few examples to visualize the dropdown button I had in mind when seeing the Vega one. I also added at the end of this comment pros and cons for this solution. I am not a UI-UX expert and would be happy having feedbacks on those propositions.

Examples

PyAnsys

PyAnsys Geometry

PyAEDT

PyEDB

Discussions

Pros

• This solution could fix the home page button issue that is raised in Add home section in the navigation bar #498
• Users would quickly know which libraries are highly related to the one they are checking.
• It would ease navigation between the different package documentations
• It would increase visibility on the PyAnsys dev guide which contains a lot of information, especially for new contributors.

Cons

• This solution might imply a certain time to be developed due to the complexity of the changes. Discussions need to be handled prior to its implementation within the PyAnsys ecosystem to make sure this solution would be appreciated and adopted.

[RobPasMue]

Hello,

I created a few examples to visualize the dropdown button I had in mind when seeing...

I really like this approach!

[mia-guo-ux]

@clatapie @RobPasMue
Hi Camile. This looks good! However we do not support this function in our design system. Therefore, I suggest adding the dropdown menu to the drilldown