[Bf-committers] Bf-committers Digest, Vol 40, Issue 29

[Kyle Mallory]

On Wed, 2007-11-28 at 04:55 +0100, bf-committers-request at blender.org
wrote:
> Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:16:20 +1100
> From: "Matt Ebb" <matt at mke3.net>
> Subject: Re: [Bf-committers] UI layout engine
> To: "bf-blender developers" <bf-committers at blender.org>
> Message-ID:
>         <a4fa14820711271916j33a2facarf084247a038eaf4a at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> 
> On Nov 28, 2007 1:52 PM, Ben Batt <benbatt at gmail.com> wrote:
> > If the system had smart widget resizing behaviours, it would be even
> > nicer. For example, the "Show" column of buttons in the camera edit
> > panel could be made using a column layout container which tries to
> be
> > as narrow as possible, while each button calculates a minimum size
> > based on its text width and all buttons stretch to fill the layout
> > container (taking margins and padding into account). This would give
> a
> > column of buttons all the same width, and just wide enough to show
> the
> > widest button text nicely.
> 
> Well perhaps when you're talking about layout within a predefined
> column area, but that's not a good way to go to make the columns
> themselves. You don't want to get too 'smart' unless that smartness
> knows about how to make good layouts :) It's not just about cramming
> buttons in - it's also having a good grid system that enables easy
> reading and wayfinding. Right now, in many of the button areas in
> Blender, the sizing is very haphazard, and not only does it give a
> cluttered messy appearance with differing widths and margines, but it
> also hinders skim-reading a bit, since it loses that sense of rhythm.
> 
> It helps reading to have consistent distances for the eye to jump from
> one item to the next - that is why a left-aligned vertical column of
> items is much easier to read quickly than a horizontal list (like a
> sentence). Reading down a list, the eye can track the left edge and
> just jump down a consistent amount each time to find the next item.
> Going horizontally, when words are all different widths, you have to
> do more work looking at the shape of each word and jumping across the
> variable width to the next one. This is the sort of thing you learn in
> 1st year typography ;)
> 
> cheers
> 
> Matt


This is exactly the functionality that the JGoodies Forms Layout
provides.  Seriously, check out what it does, and then consider the
design principles in building something similar for Blender.

... I won't say any more, I promise.

Kyle