[Bf-funboard] editbuttons layout update / Panel Highlighting

Thorsten Wilms bf-funboard@blender.org
Wed, 15 Oct 2003 01:24:08 +0200


On Wed, Oct 15, 2003 at 07:13:20PM +1000, Matt Ebb wrote:
> > I find this thin lines very distracting.
> 
> Me too. However having no divisions is too messy, and resembles the old
> 'throw all the buttons in this big area' too much without communicating the
> panels system well. The panels aren't just stationary blocks wihch can be
> hidden or shown, they are manipulable, dragged, dropped into or over other
> panels, they move into their new positions when they are auto-aligned. The
> fact that they are discrete controls needs to be shown.
> 
> Unfortunately I can't find a good example (this is very small and messy),
> but earlier revisions of the panels looked like this, with a subtly shaded
> background and header:
> http://reblended.com/www/broken/interface/controls/panel_bg.png .
> 
> Not too distracting, but also clear.

On that picture it's too subtle (well you know differing gamma and all ...)

But how about drawing dividing lines only were the panels touch?
So with a single column vertical layout it would be a bit like your 
new menus.


> > So Apple users will know what the disclosure triangle means, but most
> > Windows users will not. I still think an icon refering to the action
> > could be an improvement. But then again, the triangle is simple.
> 
> It's not just Apple - I'm not even a Mac user myself (yet :P). The
> disclosure triangle is also used a lot in other graphics software - in
> Adobe's apps, in the Discreet compositing apps, in Macromedia's apps (at
> least the recent MX series anyway), in Maya, and also in other non-graphics
> apps like Mozilla Firebird. One of the reasons behind this UI work is to
> make the controls more standardised where they behave in standard ways. The
> disclosure triangle is a standard control, and we should use it rather than
> re-inventing the wheel and coming up with an abstract icon that people won't
> understand anyway ;).

Ok, Ok!


---
Thorsten