[Bf-funboard] Suggestions for 2.29 panels

[Douglas Bischoff]

On Friday, October 17, 2003, at 06:56 AM, Luke Wenke wrote:

> ==================
> - Disinct Titlebars or drag using the panel background space

I have to say I agree here. The current implementation has space for a 
titlebar for each panel, and the functionality therein is implied, but 
not actually used. See more comments below. By the way, I prefer that 
drag options work on Titlebar only, not background space, as it would 
be too easy to miss your button and accidentally drag your panel if 
background dragging was used.

> ==================
> -Auto-optimizing of panel sizes and elimination of buttons window 
> "home"
> hotkey and icon

Not sure that the auto-optimizing will be really useful, and it will 
consume processor time and make for an interface that is changing a 
little too much for my tastes. Just my 2p. Also, home button is useful 
for those folks that don't know the hotkeys yet, so I'd leave it.

> ==================
> - Combining and separating combined panels

This is my only gripe with the current system. I had to drag & drop a 
panel all over another one before it successfully combined. There was 
no visual feedback whatsoever on when I was in the "right" place to 
drop a panel into another one. Sometimes I was left with a panel 
superimposed over another one (which, while cool looking... was 
something I cannot ever see a real use for).

May I suggest something Adobe-esque?
* All panel dragging to take place in a subtly identified panel title 
bar.
* Combined panels' title bars become "title tabs."
* Dragging a panel's title bar anywhere inside another panel causes it 
to become combined.
* Dragging a title tab outside the panel causes the panel to become 
separated

> ==================
> - Auto-arranging of panels

Agreed... though your explanations on how this would be done are very 
complex (at least to me on casual read). For my money (um...) the best 
way to do this is simply:
* Snap panel positions to other boundaries when dragging within (for 
example) 3 pixels of that boundary. So a panel dragged near the top of 
the window snaps to be on the window border, a panel dragged within 3 
pixels of another panel's edge snaps to be right next to that panel, 
etc.

I'm impressed with the new look, and it doesn't seem to slow my machine 
down any. Looking forward to a final release!

-Bischofftep