1. A little patch for plastik to get a bigger slider. I dont know if it looks better or not, but it certainly helps usability a bit. I have now a better example for this : kmix.
REF : Screenshot #1
--------- 2. The status bar for the iconview doesnt have ugly frames.
###UPDATE : Thanks to daywalker636 we now have a fix for the frames!
###Warning : This will remove status bar frames in all kde apps (with the plastik style), not just konqy, so there might be some apps that will look weird without them... Also, i fear some apps will misbehave too...
REF : Screenshot #2
-------- 3. This is from the mock-up hall of shame. A little detail that make our good ole konqy look better, i hope.
The sidebar goes down all the way, no more status bar. (This is hard for me to do, it implies tweaking the kparts code in konqueror...)
PS.: The current drawback with the new sidebar is that it takes more vertical space than the old one. I think it can be solved quite simply by grouping the various entries into more general folders like "File Management", "Web Browsing" and a "Services" to put things like the CD Audio browser, settings:/, applications:/, etc. because this is what they really are : Services.
REF : Screenshot #3
--------- 4. Next is small patch for the gtk-qt-engine (http://www.freedesktop.org/Software/gtk-qt) to fix the slider (Im obssesed with sliders it seems...) in the current CVS version.
Instructions included.Last changelog:
-Patch for the slider now works for both the horizontal and vertical sliders. -Status bar frames be gone, thanks to daywalker636.
This hack does not cause problems (at least not for me). I am using a patched version for several weeks and I don't have any trouble. Some styles e.g. Comix do not paint the lines, so removing them can't be wrong.
You must be right...
Its just that while i was first using the fix, gimp would make kicker crash everytime i saved a file... but that was most surely completely unrelated to "not drawing frames"... i put the warning there as a reminder that some weird things could happen... although, as you imply, thats quite improbable.
I think it would be good idea to redesigne the whole kmix. Stereo and surround outputs could be seperated. Something similar to "Creative Surround Mixer".
I think that "Creative Surround Mixer" is simple to use.
With 2b I can help you a little
search for this in plastik.cpp:
case PE_StatusBarSection: {
renderContour(p, r, cg.background(), cg.background().dark(160), Draw_Left|Draw_Right|Draw_Top|Draw_Bottom);
break;
}
and comment out the 2 lines. This should remove the frames in the status bars.
btw: You did a good job!
Hurray for 2a, 2b and 3...
With 1. I'm not so sure. I think the (small) sliders are meant to be the way they are and could look out of place in many areas if made bigger. I kinda think it's a misuse to use it in playbar style areas, where it's moving without user interaction. But I think there might not be the right sized widged around these days (a 1cm long bar that would be), so the devs are forced to use this type of slider.
It a slider widget shouldn't be controlled, then the program should simple disable user control over it.
From a usability point of view, the bigger slider is a great idea. It would only be a problem if the slider widget was so short that the handle took up most of the slider's length.
Ratings & Comments
10 Comments
This hack does not cause problems (at least not for me). I am using a patched version for several weeks and I don't have any trouble. Some styles e.g. Comix do not paint the lines, so removing them can't be wrong.
You must be right... Its just that while i was first using the fix, gimp would make kicker crash everytime i saved a file... but that was most surely completely unrelated to "not drawing frames"... i put the warning there as a reminder that some weird things could happen... although, as you imply, thats quite improbable.
I think it would be good idea to redesigne the whole kmix. Stereo and surround outputs could be seperated. Something similar to "Creative Surround Mixer". I think that "Creative Surround Mixer" is simple to use.
Yeah! I remember this program with my old sb live on windows... Was nice... Thats a great idea, lets see if someone comes up with an implementation.
and add a equalizer... but why talking about kmix here?
where can I suggest that kmix change?
bugs.kde.org, or mock up and post to kde-apps or get the source for KMix and hack it out, or the kde mailing lists.
With 2b I can help you a little
search for this in plastik.cpp: case PE_StatusBarSection: { renderContour(p, r, cg.background(), cg.background().dark(160), Draw_Left|Draw_Right|Draw_Top|Draw_Bottom); break; } and comment out the 2 lines. This should remove the frames in the status bars. btw: You did a good job!
Hurray for 2a, 2b and 3... With 1. I'm not so sure. I think the (small) sliders are meant to be the way they are and could look out of place in many areas if made bigger. I kinda think it's a misuse to use it in playbar style areas, where it's moving without user interaction. But I think there might not be the right sized widged around these days (a 1cm long bar that would be), so the devs are forced to use this type of slider.
It a slider widget shouldn't be controlled, then the program should simple disable user control over it. From a usability point of view, the bigger slider is a great idea. It would only be a problem if the slider widget was so short that the handle took up most of the slider's length.