Three different tab implementations

[Jan Van Dijk]

On Friday 31 January 2003 02:44, Neil Stevens wrote:
> >
> > You cannot force SDI on people though. We've tried to make that the
> > preferred KDE behavior for years, but that didn't prevent the rise of
> > tabs.
>
Out of curiosity:

1) Are tab windows considered to bad bad design by KDE folks? (This is not 
mentioned in the style guide, I believe) Isn't a tab window an appropriate 
Interface for displaying multiple aspects of a Single Document?

2) What is the essential difference between a tab window and a splitter window 
with a tree control on the left, and a contents window on the right-hand 
side? Open KMail for example, and rotate the app window (or your monitor ;-) 
90 degrees clockwise: the result is essentially a tab window with one tab per 
mail folder. 

In the case of a _small_, fixed number of `tree items' a tree control (which 
typically extends from the top to the bottom of the parent window) is mostly 
unused space. Here the tab window alternative uses the desktop more 
effeciently and, IMHO, looks quite natural.

If tabs are considered Bad Practice, a note in the style guide may be 
appropriate.

	Cheers, Jan.

-- 
Keio-Tsuushin Residence
Jan van Dijk, Room 210
2 Chome 19-30, Mita Minato-ku
108 Tokyo, Japan

jan at etpmod.phys.tue.nl
tel: +81 3 5476 9461 (home)

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