My Feature Requests, Issues & Improvements (Constantly updated!)

[ad2004teaster-cmyk]

• Unified UI Design Across Operating Systems

I would like to share a couple of suggestions that could improve both the visual identity and file organization of Parabolic.

First, I noticed that the UI appearance differs between operating systems. For example, the design and button styles on Windows are not the same as on Ubuntu. While following system styles can feel native, it also makes the app look inconsistent across platforms. It might be worth considering a more unified design language, where Parabolic has its own consistent and recognizable UI regardless of the operating system. This could help build a stronger visual identity for the app.

[ad2004teaster-cmyk]

• File Structure Organization on Windows

Second, regarding file structure on Windows, the program currently uses multiple locations such as:
C:\Program Files\Nickvision Parabolic
C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Nickvision Parabolic
C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\Nickvision Parabolic

From a user perspective, this can feel a bit scattered and harder to manage. It would be much cleaner if everything could be organized under a single main directory, for example:
C:\Program Files\Nickvision Parabolic

Inside that folder, files could be structured in a more organized way, such as:
a folder for translations
a folder for components like yt-dlp, deno, ffmpeg, etc.
a folder for other internal files

This kind of structure would make things clearer, easier to navigate, and more organized, instead of having related files spread across different system paths.

I understand there may be technical or platform-specific reasons behind the current behavior, but from a user standpoint, these changes could make the experience feel more consistent and easier to manage.

[ad2004teaster-cmyk]

• Custom Download Instructions for “Download Immediately”

As an additional improvement to the previously mentioned suggestions, it would be highly beneficial to enhance the Download Immediately feature by introducing support for user-defined custom download instructions. Currently, the feature depends on the most recent download settings, which may not always align with the user’s current intent or preferred configuration, especially when dealing with varied media types and quality requirements.

This enhancement would allow users to predefine specific download parameters such as preferred resolution, format, codec, and other relevant options, and have them applied automatically whenever Download Immediately is enabled. This ensures that downloads consistently follow the user’s intended setup, rather than inheriting settings from a potentially unrelated previous task.

By implementing this, the feature would become significantly more reliable and efficient, reducing the need for repeated manual adjustments and providing a more streamlined workflow. It would also improve flexibility, as users could tailor their download behavior to suit different use cases without being constrained by past configurations.

[ad2004teaster-cmyk]

• Taskbar Auto-Hide Conflict on Windows 11

One of the issues related to the design of Parabolic on Windows 11 is that when the taskbar auto-hide feature is enabled (so it only appears when the mouse cursor is moved to it), the program conflicts with this behavior. When Parabolic is open, it prevents the taskbar from appearing, and it only becomes accessible again after closing the program. This issue is especially noticeable when there is a new update available for one of the components, although in other situations and at different times, the program works normally and the taskbar appears as expected.

[ad2004teaster-cmyk]

• Preserve Download Progress and Avoid Rediscovering Media

Currently, when a download is retried or the program is restarted, Parabolic does not preserve the progress in the task list. Instead, it starts the “discovering” step again to fetch media information, even if part of the download was already completed.

This means:

The progress indicator resets or disappears from the task list.
Previously downloaded portions are not recognized, forcing unnecessary repeated processing.
Users lose track of the actual download status.

Enhancing the program to save both the download progress and the discovered media metadata, and reflecting the percentage in the UI, would allow downloads to:

Resume accurately from where they left off.
Avoid re-discovering information unnecessarily.
Provide a more reliable and efficient workflow, especially for large files or batch downloads.

This would improve transparency, save time, and reduce frustration for users managing multiple downloads.

[ad2004teaster-cmyk]

• Add Option to Enable/Disable Automatic Sleep Between Tasks

Currently, Parabolic enters a sleep state for 15–30 seconds between each task. While this may have technical reasons, it can slow down workflows, especially when processing multiple downloads in sequence.

It would be very useful to add a setting with a toggle button that allows users to enable or disable this automatic sleep between tasks.

Benefits of this enhancement:

Users can speed up batch downloads when desired.
Provides more control over task execution.
Improves flexibility for different use cases without affecting users who prefer the default behavior.

[ad2004teaster-cmyk]

• Allow Renaming Playlists Before Download

It would be very helpful to have the option to rename a playlist directly within the application, similar to the existing feature for renaming individual video titles before saving them.

Currently, while users can modify the name of a single video, there is no direct way to customize the playlist name before the download process begins. This often results in folders with default or long names that require manual renaming later in the file manager.

Having a built-in rename option for playlists would greatly improve file organization and workflow efficiency. This would allow users to set a clear and concise name for the entire collection at the start.

This feature would make Parabolic even more user-friendly, providing consistent control over how both individual files and full playlists are saved on the system.

[ad2004teaster-cmyk]

• Unified Download Progress Bar

I’d like to share a small suggestion regarding the download progress display in Parabolic.

Currently, the video downloads with its own progress bar, and once it’s done, the bar resets for downloading the audio that will be merged later. For some users, this can feel a little confusing, as it looks like the download restarts instead of continuing.

It could be helpful to have a single, unified progress bar that reflects the total progress of all files involved—video, audio, and any additional data, so the percentage gives a clear sense of the overall download.

A custom algorithm can calculate the total size of all files involved in the download (video, audio, and any additional data) and track the downloaded size, allowing a single progress bar to reflect the overall completion percentage. This will give users a smoother and easier experience without changing how they handle actual downloads.

I think this small change could make the download process feel more natural and transparent, and it would be a neat improvement for both casual and advanced users.