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Add UX consistency analysis documentation
Documents findings from comprehensive menu interface review across all 9 views in the TUI. Identifies inconsistencies with filter, delete, and export functionality. Clarifications from user: - 'n' and 'a' keys correctly limited to case/evidence contexts - Filter should work everywhere (context-sensitive) - Delete should work for all note views, not tag/IOC lists - Export should extend to case/evidence markdown exports
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Claude
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CONSISTENCY_ANALYSIS.md
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CONSISTENCY_ANALYSIS.md
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# Menu Interface Consistency Analysis
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## Summary
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Investigation of key bindings and behavior across all views in the trace TUI application to identify inconsistencies and improve user experience.
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## Views in the Application
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1. **case_list** - Main list of cases
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2. **case_detail** - Case details with evidence list and case notes
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3. **evidence_detail** - Evidence details with notes
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4. **tags_list** - List of tags with usage counts
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5. **tag_notes_list** - List of notes containing a specific tag
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6. **ioc_list** - List of IOCs with usage counts
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7. **ioc_notes_list** - List of notes containing a specific IOC
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8. **note_detail** - Full view of a single note
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9. **help** - Help screen
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---
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## ✅ What's CONSISTENT and Working Well
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### Global Keys (work everywhere)
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- **`?` or `h`**: Open help - Works from any view ✓
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- **`q`**: Quit (or close help if in help view) ✓
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- **`b`**: Back/navigate up hierarchy - Works consistently ✓
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- **Arrow keys**: Navigate lists - Works consistently ✓
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### Navigation Pattern
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- **Enter**: Consistently opens/selects items or dives deeper ✓
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- **`b`**: Consistently goes back up the hierarchy ✓
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- Hierarchy navigation is logical and predictable ✓
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### Note Actions in Main Views
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- **`n`**: Add note - Works in case_list, case_detail, evidence_detail ✓
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- **Enter on note**: Opens note_detail view - Now consistent across case_detail, evidence_detail, tag_notes_list, ioc_notes_list ✓
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- **`v`**: View notes modal with highlight - Now consistent in case_detail and evidence_detail ✓
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---
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## ❌ INCONSISTENCIES Found
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### 1. **'n' Key (Add Note) - Incomplete Coverage** ⚠️
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**Issue**: The 'n' key only works in `case_list`, `case_detail`, and `evidence_detail`.
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**Missing in**:
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- `tags_list` - Pressing 'n' does nothing useful
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- `tag_notes_list` - Pressing 'n' does nothing useful
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- `ioc_list` - Pressing 'n' does nothing useful
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- `ioc_notes_list` - Pressing 'n' does nothing useful
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- `note_detail` - Pressing 'n' does nothing useful
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- `help` - (OK to not work here)
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**Expected behavior**: User should be able to add notes from tag/IOC views since they're actively working with a case/evidence context.
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**Recommendation**:
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- Make 'n' work in `tag_notes_list` and `ioc_notes_list` by using the parent context (active_case or active_evidence)
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- Consider whether it should work in `tags_list` and `ioc_list` as well
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- In `note_detail`, 'n' could add a new note to the same context as the currently viewed note
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**Code location**: `trace/tui.py:2242` - `dialog_add_note()` only handles 3 views
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---
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### 2. **'a' Key (Set Active) - Incomplete Implementation** ⚠️
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**Issue**: The global handler `key == ord('a')` calls `_handle_set_active()`, but that method only handles:
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- `case_list`
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- `case_detail`
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- `evidence_detail`
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**Missing in**:
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- `tags_list` - Could set active on the parent case/evidence
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- `tag_notes_list` - Silent failure when pressed
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- `ioc_list` - Could set active on the parent case/evidence
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- `ioc_notes_list` - Silent failure when pressed
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- `note_detail` - Silent failure when pressed
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**Expected behavior**: Either the key should work (set active on the parent context) or show a message that it's not applicable.
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**Recommendation**:
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- Option A: Make 'a' work in tag/IOC list views by setting active on the parent case/evidence
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- Option B: Show message "Not applicable in this view" when pressed in unsupported views
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- Prefer Option A for consistency
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**Code location**: `trace/tui.py:1512` - `_handle_set_active()`
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---
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### 3. **'/' Key (Filter) - Limited Availability** ℹ️
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**Issue**: Filter only works in `case_list` and `case_detail`.
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**Missing in**:
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- `evidence_detail` - Would be useful to filter notes!
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- `tags_list` - Would be useful to filter tags
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- `tag_notes_list` - Would be useful to filter notes
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- `ioc_list` - Would be useful to filter IOCs
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- `ioc_notes_list` - Would be useful to filter notes
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**Expected behavior**: Users might expect to filter long lists of notes, tags, or IOCs.
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**Recommendation**:
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- High priority: Add filtering to `evidence_detail` (filter notes by content)
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- Medium priority: Add filtering to `tags_list`, `ioc_list` (filter by name/value)
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- Lower priority: Add filtering to `tag_notes_list`, `ioc_notes_list` (filter notes by content)
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**Code location**: `trace/tui.py:1236-1240` - Filter toggle only checks two views
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---
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### 4. **'t' and 'i' Keys (Tags/IOCs) - Context-Dependent Availability** ℹ️
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**Issue**: These keys only work in `case_detail` and `evidence_detail`.
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**Current behavior**: Silent no-op in other views
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**Expected behavior**: This is actually reasonable - tags and IOCs are context-specific. However, it might be confusing when users press them in `tag_notes_list` or `ioc_notes_list` and nothing happens.
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**Recommendation**:
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- Low priority fix: Consider allowing 't' in `ioc_notes_list` to switch to tags view
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- Low priority fix: Consider allowing 'i' in `tag_notes_list` to switch to IOCs view
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- This would allow quick toggling between tag and IOC exploration
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- Alternative: Show helpful message if pressed in unsupported views
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**Code location**: `trace/tui.py:1449-1452` - No view restrictions, but handlers at lines 182 and 206 check view
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---
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### 5. **'d' Key (Delete) - Incomplete Coverage** ⚠️
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**Issue**: Delete functionality is not implemented for all views where deletion makes sense.
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**Works in**:
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- `case_list` - Delete case ✓
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- `case_detail` - Delete evidence or note ✓
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- `evidence_detail` - Delete note ✓
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**Missing in**:
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- `tag_notes_list` - Could delete the selected note
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- `ioc_notes_list` - Could delete the selected note
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- `note_detail` - Could delete the currently viewed note
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**Expected behavior**: Users viewing a note should be able to delete it from any view.
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**Recommendation**:
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- Add delete support for `tag_notes_list` and `ioc_notes_list`
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- Add delete support for `note_detail` (delete current note and return to previous view)
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- Be careful with confirmation dialogs to prevent accidental deletion
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**Code location**: `trace/tui.py:2331` - `handle_delete()` method
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---
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### 6. **'v' Key (View Notes Modal) - Limited Availability** ℹ️
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**Issue**: View notes modal only works in `case_detail` and `evidence_detail`.
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**Missing in**:
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- `tag_notes_list` - Could show all notes with the tag in a modal
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- `ioc_notes_list` - Could show all notes with the IOC in a modal
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**Expected behavior**: Might be nice to have a modal view option from tag/IOC note lists, but not critical since they're already list views.
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**Recommendation**:
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- Low priority: This might be redundant since tag_notes_list and ioc_notes_list are already list views
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- Consider if there's a different modal that would be useful (e.g., showing just the tag/IOC highlights)
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---
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### 7. **'e' Key (Export) - Very Limited** ℹ️
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**Issue**: Export only works for IOCs in `ioc_list` and `ioc_notes_list`.
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**Missing export options**:
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- Export tags from `tags_list`
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- Export notes from various views
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- Export case summary from `case_detail`
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**Expected behavior**: Users might expect export functionality for other data types.
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**Recommendation**:
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- Medium priority: Add 'e' to export tags from `tags_list`
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- Lower priority: Consider export options for notes, cases, evidence
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---
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## Priority Recommendations
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### High Priority (User expects it to work)
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1. **Fix 'n' (add note) in tag/IOC note lists** - Users actively working with notes should be able to add new ones
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2. **Fix 'a' (set active) to work or give feedback** - Silent failures are confusing
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3. **Add filtering to evidence_detail** - Natural extension of existing filter functionality
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### Medium Priority (Nice to have)
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4. **Add delete support for tag/IOC note lists and note_detail** - Complete the delete functionality
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5. **Add filter to tag and IOC lists** - Helpful for large numbers of items
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6. **Make 't' and 'i' keys provide feedback** - Better UX than silent failure
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### Low Priority (Edge cases)
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7. **Cross-navigation between tags and IOCs** - Allow 't' in IOC views and 'i' in tag views
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8. **Export tags** - Complement the export IOCs functionality
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---
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## General Observations
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### Strengths
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- Core navigation is very consistent (Enter, b, arrows)
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- The hierarchy is logical and predictable
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- Global keys work well everywhere
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- Recent fixes made note navigation consistent ✓
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### Areas for Improvement
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- Feature keys ('n', 'a', 'd', 't', 'i', 'v') should either work everywhere sensible OR provide clear feedback when not applicable
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- Filtering could be more universally available
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- Delete functionality should be available wherever items can be viewed
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- Silent failures (pressing a key and nothing happening) should be minimized
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---
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## Testing Recommendations
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Create a testing matrix:
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- Test each key in each view
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- Document expected behavior
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- Mark any silent failures
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- Ensure error messages are helpful when actions aren't available
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