[Bf-funboard] Main header issues and proposals

[Luke Wenke]

> The blue area containing the logo and "www.blender.org
> 230" is sometimes used as a progress bar (python
> scripts can use it...)
>
> if you click the blender logo you will get the splash
> screen with other information,

You can already get that by going to the help menu, then "about blender".
That is the standard way that Windows programs tell you about the program.
BTW, I think the help menu version of the splash screen should remain until
you click "ok" (like other Windows programs) or at least move the mouse
(like in previous versions of Blender)

> I would suggest that
> the text be reduced to 230 and keep the logo, perhaps
> make both disappear when used as a progress bar...

Well I suggest it be removed entirely since the splash screen functionality
is already duplicated in the help menu, and most people wouldn't even know
that the blender logo icon can do that. In fact just then I tried doing it
but it took a while for anything to happen - until I realised you have to
click on the little logo rather than in other places in that coloured bar.
The progress bar could appear when it is needed... so then the size of the
header would dynamically change.... (it does anyway depending on the scene
information)

> ...the screen and scene choosers shouldn't loose the SCR
> and SCE part beceause they would be more difficult to
> identify, I don't want to have to learn where they
> are, I don't use them that much, but I do use them
> enough that having to use a tooltip would be annoying.

In Blender 2.30, the default screen names are "Animation", "Model 4-split",
"Model single" and "Sequence Edit". The default scene name is "Stage". If
you add another one it is "Stage.001". So the names make it fairly obvious
if it is talking about the window layouts or the scenes. And the user
probably would also give new scenes and screens names that make it seem like
a scene or a screen if they end up changing the new name (which ends in
.001).

Though some things like saying the Blender version or SCE and SCR are fairly
useful, they take up precious main header room which leads to the inability
for users to read the scene information when they are at certain resolutions
(as explained in the earlier HTML article).
- Luke.