KDE4 (Big Toolbars)

[Benjamin Meyer]

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Another idea I would like to bring up is changing the default toolbar size to 
larger then 16x16.

The last few months I have been running almost all my applications with 
toolbars at 32x32 with text underneath.  Options like Save/Open/Print (which 
everyone knows the shortcut to) were removed and I am typically left with 8 
or so buttons that I use all the time.  Not only does it look better but it 
is easier to find what I am looking for.  Same goes for my wife, she found it 
easier and started changing apps on her own to use the big toolbar (I only 
change KMail on her).  Not that that counts as a usability study or anything, 
but we can probably dig up more then one usability study done by Apple (who 
has been using it for a long time) or Sun (I noticed that a lot of Gnome apps 
seem to do it by default now too).

Reasons why this would have to be a 4.0 release.
- -A handfull of icons only have 16x16 size and need bigger sizes (and svg 
files).  Bunch of work.
- -Most toolbars need to be reworked a little, removing functionality that is 
common and shortcuts known (print/save/open etc).  One time evening job by 
one person, but would probably require a lot of side tweaking.
 
Some issues:
- -With translations would the text get too long?  How does Gnome/Apple do it?  
Just pick good words?
- -My wife uses this at 800x600, is 640x480 required for KDE? (many apps don't 
even support this today is seems).  This might be the catalyst, but some apps 
need to be cleaned up anyway to fit in smaller screens which will no doubt be 
work. 

Some upsides:
- -If you don't like it it is easy to scale down. (vs scaling up which requires 
some work right now).
- -With the larger icons created everywhere it is just another feature completed 
on the OS X port todo list
- -If Gnome is moving in this direction (or already has) it will help make the 
freedesktop more similar.

These might be the wrong links, but are what Google found:

Here is the link to apple's little paragraph on it (half way down): 
http://developer.apple.com/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/OSXHIGuidelines/XHIGWindows/chapter_8_section_3.html
And Gnomes
http://www.docs.cs.huji.ac.il/RedHat-6.1-guides/rhgsg/gccui.htm

- -Benjamin Meyer

P.S. Anyone find it ironic that Gnome concentrates so much on HIG and yet they 
still have that motif theme as default?  I guess someone must like it.  They 
day they change to a nice default theme....

- -- 
aka icefox
Public Key: http://www.csh.rit.edu/~benjamin/public_key.asc
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