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Re: [platform-ui-dev] New 3.0 look and feel feedback


Thanks for you input Randy.  

Unfortunately it is not a great use of your time to be giving feedback on the new 3.0 look as it is still a prototype.  For example the vertically oriented local toolbar as you pointed out was just a test and in fact is no longer like this.  

However, I have read through your comments and will make note of them.  
We plan to provide a more official note regarding this work after which we expect lots of input<grin>.

/michael



Randy Hudson <hudsonr@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent by: platform-ui-dev-admin@xxxxxxxxxxx

12/16/2003 05:26 PM

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[platform-ui-dev] New 3.0 look and feel feedback






I've had a chance to check out the new 3.0 look and feel and would like to offer some feedback (surpise) regarding the current direction.  My first comments are in reference to the "progressive exposure" technique in workbench views.  For those who haven't seen it, a View's local toolbar is hidden completely.  When you click on the view, the toolbar slides out dynamically, and it is vertically oriented down the right side of the view.  I think I have some valid reasons for not making this type of change:


- There is already a mechanism for reducing UI clutter: the view's drop-down menu.  And, menus can display an Action's text, and support submenus.


- The toolbar serves 2 functions.  A) it displays the current view *status*, such as toggle enablement (For example are static variables displayed).  B) it provides quick access to commonly used actions.  The proposed change defeats both of these.  The change will require 2 different clicks to acheive what used to be a single click.  (The first click being to activate the view).


- Orientation change.  A vertical toolbar only looks good with tool items.  Things like Combos require additional width and will disrupt the vertical layout.  Even so, verticle toolbars are not common in the OS.


- Toolbar items can have their own popup windows/menus.  for example, the synchronize view's refresh button.  Having popups on a fly-out is awkward.


- For most views, there is no saved space as a result of this change.  The view's title and its toolbar are usually side-by-side in 2.1.


The next topic is the EditorPane makeover.  This is a very religious topic, so I'm not going to suggest whether one was is better than another.

Features lost from 2.1:

-I could visually see which files are open (and *dirty*) in the various tabs, provided I set an editor limit to something like 6 (and lots of people work this way).

-I could activate an editor with a single mouse click.


The new auto-complete is pretty nice, but it shouldn't be based off which editors are open (and maybe it isn't).  This would encourage leaving editors open, which consumes memory.  Also, I've heard the new look will display the complete path of the editor input.  This is only useful when I'm editing a bunch of files named "plugin.xml".


Suggestions for new look:

- Drive the auto-complete function using the file history (or maybe any resource?), not what is open.

- If the space which used to display lots of tabs isn't going to be filled, give me that space back.  Perhaps this widget could go somewhere up in the toolbar or window "header".  Maybe complete paths could only be displayed in the drop down list, and not *all-the-time*.  Maybe the complete path could be displayed on the Shell title instead of in that widget.


Thanks,

Randy


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