[news.eclipse.tools.gef] thinner palette UI when docked

[Al Major <alnospammajor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

i noticed that palette UI refresh was on the TODO list for 3.2.

i'd like to vote for a skinnier bar when the palette is tucked away on
the side of the editor frame. it doesn't need to be any thicker than the
bare minimum needed to click on it. i don't think it needs the word
Palette on it either, which is currently placing a lower bound on the width.

in fact it doesn't even have to occupy the entire height of the editor
frame. a small handle or tab (possibly a figure on one of the layers)
peeking out of the edge of the editor should be enough to start a
fly-out. that would minimize the screen real estate occupied by the
palette when it's not in use.

as a compromise there could be two modes for palette use. the current
one for new users, and the minimum real-estate one for power users.

a slicker palette look-n-feel would be very nice, but IMHO optimizing
screen real-estate is a more important goal.

i know the palette can be placed in a separate view window, but IMO that
usage is not very intuitive. and ignores the important use case where
the editor window is already taking up the entire workspace area. it's
also visually unappealing since the palette width may not correspond to
the viewers width. in fact, i wouldn't care if the Palette-in-View 
support was dropped entirely.

regards,

al