Major UX pain points

[bnvk]

I'm opening this issue to track what I consider major UX pain points with Qubes at present. My criteria for these is:

• Is a show stopping bug / failure that a user can't recover from
• The task complex and have a high possibility of mistakes to perform
• Requires using the command line
• Is unsolvable for all but the most technically savvy users

BIOS / Hardware Related

• Configuring BIOS settings to allow installation
• Creating a USB AppVM (especially difficult on systems with USB 3)
• Knowing which device drivers are which device is overly technical (USB, SD Card Bluetooth)
• USB VM does not recover from "not enough memory" USB VM does not recover from "not enough memory" #1449
• Add support for mounting exFAT partitions by default Add support for mounting exFAT partitions by default #1054

GUI Related

• User needs to have a GUI way to update dom0 apper no updater... excuse me if I repeat something already solved #1739
• Better GUI support to install & update Templates
• Improve usability of resizing VM disk size Improve usability of VM disk space / increasing disk size #1053
• Make resizing of VM disk root.img doable from GUI Improve usability of manipulating various VMs disk sizes #1441
• How to safely install & run multiple types of apps not in OS packages
• GUI support like UNetbootin to making bootable USB sticks of Qubes Make Qubes images compatible with UNetbootin #1415
• Improve displayed apps and default VMs improve displayed apps and default VMs #1139
• Improve GUI tools and errors for copying / moving files between VMs Make file copying errors (in GUI) less technical & cryptic  #1240
• Special characters in window titles do not render Special characters in window titles do not render #1059
• have AdminVM manage inter-vm file copying Consider an option to ask for RPC target VM in dom0 #910 [UX] have AdminVM manage inter-vm file copying #1443

Security

• Qubes MIME handlers / opening links Qubes MIME handlers #441 Provide (optional) helper menu to open clicked links in different VM #1080

Stability

• WiFi networking NetVM crashes Misbehaving QubesDB VM daemon isn't properly handled in dom0 #1470
• Soft windows not always fully rendered [UX] Soft windows not always fully rendered #1451

Might be unsolvable due to the security design of Qubes

• Cursor state (pointer, arrow, etc...) unable to change Consider support for different cursor shapes #1551
• Cursor unable to read / detect content in a window (e.g. color picker in Gimp or Inkscape)

Other users, feel free to add comments on anything they encounter that feels like a significantly large and discreet UX pain point.

[unman]

What's the issue with creating a USB appVM? It doesn't seem to satisfy any of your criteria.

[bnvk]

@unman the only way I could get an AppVM to mount any USB devices was to go into my BIOS and disable USB 3.0. I discovered this from a thread in the Users Group.

[mfc]

I would add:

• user needs to have a GUI way to update dom0, install templates

[bnvk]

Adding this pain point, as it's something I struggle with a bit

• How to safely install & run multiple types of apps not in OS packages

An example of this is say the Electrum Bitcoin wallet. Where does one do each part of this installation process. Does a user download the tar file, verify the signature, untar it, then copy to TemplateVM? And then run the install

I realize, this type of use case only pertains to CLI users and not our ultimate target user who relies on the GUI, but would be nice to have more docs that explain better / how and where to do processes like this!

[andrewdavidwong]

How to safely install & run multiple types of apps not in OS packages

Indeed, but the answer seems to be software-specific in many cases, so I wonder about our ability to provide guidance which is both sufficiently general to encompass many different programs while being specific enough to be useful.

Perhaps the closest thing to a generally-applicable procedure is simply to use a StandaloneVM in any case where the program requires persistent write access to any part of the root filesystem. At any rate, this has been the de facto solution for me in many cases.

[bnvk]

the answer seems to be software-specific in many cases, so I wonder about our ability to provide guidance which is both sufficiently general to encompass

Yes for sure, but something general like the following example would be more helpful than what mildly technical users (who don't fully understand some of the lower level Qubes stuff) like myself have to work with.

"If installing from a git repo that installs dependencies from various package mangers and other sources: do Step X, then Step Y, then Step Z"

the closest thing to a generally-applicable procedure is simply to use a StandaloneVM

Yes @rootkovska did a mild explainer on this a few months ago in re: to how I best setup my webdev environment (which downloads lots of random JS and Ruby gems), a StandaloneVM was the right answer. But, that seems a bit unrealistic performance / space wise for individuals apps that user wants to isolate, e.g. a Bitcoin wallet.

[rootkovska]

I agree with need a more user-friendly way to install apps (both from repos and individual .rpm or .tgz). I think there are two somehow different problems:

1. Where to install things (this is about resolving the resources/security tradeoffs): standalone VM, template for the currently used AppVM, home dir in the current AppVM,
2. The UX workflow required: e.g. finding the right template VM, starting it, stopping, restarting the AppVM, or: realizing we're in a standalone VM and can proceed with the installation immediately.

While the #1 requires (currently) a conscious decision from the user, the #2 should be automated once the user (or an administrator) made a choice in the step #1.

[v6ak]

I would add #1455 , because interacting with other than current window looks very weird and reason might look unclear.

[kingneutron]

Please, forgive me if this has been mentioned elsewhere, but (speaking as an end-user) it's kind of important to have a GUI way of attaching an ISO image to a Qube rather than resorting to the command line. Just wanted to make sure this is referenced in a support ticket. TIA

Ref: https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/hvm/

[hexagonrecursion]

I nominate:

• switching between multiple keyboard layouts Simplify keyboard layout switching - input language #4294 How to use multiple keyboard layouts #3578 Keyboard layout changes don't propagate from dom0 #1396

Rational

In all other operating systems there is a reasonably straightforward way to configure your layout preferences and then switch between layouts with a keyboard shortcut or (for people who don't like keyboard shortcuts) with at most two mouse clicks. QubesOS in its place has a landmine and a huge pain.

The Landmine

Qubes OS actually does include a mechanism that visually resembles the above mentioned graphical configuration menu. Unfortunately it doesn't work. To be more precise: it sets the keyboard layout for dom0, but not any of DomU. This landmine is documented but that doesn't make it any less of a landmine: the user will hit it first and then maybe find the documentation.

The Pain

The only working method of switching keyboard layout that is at least somewhat discoverable is:

1. Start the Qubes Manager
2. Select the qube you are working with
3. Click "Set keyboard layout per qube"
4. Select the layout you want from the list of every possible keyboard layout ever. There is currently no graphical way to limit this menu to only the layouts you actually want nor do the previously used layouts get sorted first and the search function (Ctrl+F) is a lie (the search input box appears but only in order to taunt the user some more).
5. Click OK

This method takes much longer than a keyboard shortcut and, more importantly, is different from the user expectations set up by other operating systems.

[andrewdavidwong]

This issue is being closed because:

• This issue has the "Release 3.2 updates" milestone.
• Qubes OS 3.2 has reached end-of-life (EOL).
• This issue has not been updated in over a year.

In addition, this issue violates our guideline that every issue must be about a single, actionable thing. Issues that are about many different things tend to be too messy and chaotic to be helpful for developers. Contrary to their intention, then often lead to nothing being done rather than many things being done. They impose an unnecessary cognitive burden on developers to figure out what is going on and what exactly needs to be done. We should strive to make this part simple and easy for the developers so that they can focus on what they do best.

If anyone believes that this issue should be reopened, please let us know in a comment here.