Confusing FAB actions in product creation flow

[carsonbird]

The action of the FAB is confusing and inconsistent during the product creation flow. For example, most of the time, the FAB is the save button, and if pressed, it submits the new or updated product to the server. This includes on the main product editing page, and it's sub-pages. However, some "sub-sub-pages" that are accessed during this flow, like creating a new unit type, new location, etc, use the same "Save" FAB, but instead of saving the product, save their entity type, then return to the product editing page.

As a user, this means I need to make sure I click the Save FAB in these sub-resource creation windows - otherwise, the resource is not created.

However, if we're working in a products sub page, like it's optional properties, there is still a Save FAB button, but I SHOULD NOT press it, because pressing it saves the whole product. Counterintuitively, if I want to keep working on editing the product, I need to NOT press the save button on the sub-page (optional properties, due date, amount, etc) and instead, press the back button. The sub page changes will be "saved" (persisted), but that is not the same behavior anywhere else. Everywhere else, if I was creating a new resource (like location, unit, store, etc), pressing the back button without saving will wipe the changes.

So, the FAB on the product editing sub pages either needs to be removed, changed to a check mark or back button, or, it could remain a Save FAB, but it needs to not submit the whole product save transaction - it should just persist the sub-page changes and return to the product's main editing page, where we would press Save again to send the whole updated product to the server. Does that make sense? I'll try and upload a video that helps clarify.

[carsonbird]

Here a video demonstrating. In summary, a Save button on a sub page should not save and exit the whole product. However, there's no indicator to the user that a subpage's changes will be saved if they hit the back button, because the back button forgets "changes" on other sub-sub-pages, like pages for creating other resources like units, locations, etc.

Recording:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/6qq7pT78ytyXMahQ8

Or another way:

• On product sub-page (like optional properties, amount, etc)
  • back button: saves changes, returns to previous screen (unexpected, back button on a page that also has a save button usually means hitting back will erase changes)
  • save button: saves the parent-page data and closes the window (AKA 2 back navigations, unexpected. How should we know that this save FAB belongs to the parent page, instead of the page we're looking at? Maybe it's clearer on a tablet, but I'm on a phone, with 1-pane navigation)
• On a resource page (like create/update location, unit, etc)
  • back button: erases changes, return to previous screen (as expected)
  • save button: saves changes of self, returns to previous screen (as expected)