[Bf-funboard] Button Panels

[Thorsten Wilms]

Hi!

I think it is the right direction to organize the stuff in the buttons 
window in small blocks.

But what is the point about panels that can be freely moved around 
inside a buttons window?
- If the user drags a panel above another one, you will have to move 
the second one to the origin of the dragged one (just like reorganizing 
slides in a presentation programm). Not all that free movement and a lot 
of work for good feedback and always consistent graphics.
- There is no point in leaving some random space between panels. They 
should always go next to each other.
- Panels require extra space for beeing manipulateable
- The only reason for reorganizing panels should be adaption to the size 
and ratio of the buttons window. The sequence of the panels itself should 
be logical enough that nobody would feel the need to change it.
And this adaption to more vertical or more horizontal layout would be 
best handled by the app itself.

The panels could be handled like text with something like a linewrap.

Or there could be a set of at least to layouts for switching to the 
most appropiate automagicaly.


Things I realy don't understand:
Why are the panels supposed to have fixed width, bit variable height?
Why should they be gluable together only vertical?

And how come you think that making a horizontal layout harder is o.k.?
I like my buttons horizontaly at the bottom of the screen. It just works!


I will be glad to hear of benefits of the panels like described by the 
redesign doc that I do not think of. But right now I fear it's 
configurability overkill.


---
Thorsten