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List:       kde-core-devel
Subject:    Re: The handle arrows in kicker (was kicker applets usability)
From:       Frerich Raabe <frerichraabe () gmx ! de>
Date:       2001-12-12 15:47:14
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Am Mittwoch, 12. Dezember 2001 15:58 schrieb Craig Drummond:
> Well I'd agree with the original poster - they make kicker look
> cluttered and messey. They should at least be themeable, so that they
> can be removed in certain themes.

I'd say an ugly but working solution is better than the other way round.

> After all, you have to right click on icons in kicker to remove them,
> and there's no arrow icon there. So surely its just as consistent to
> not have the arrows on applets.

As far as I were able to see, the arrow succeeds at symbolizing some kind of 
hidden, more advanced functionality which can be triggered by a click. At 
least I noticed that many people who wonder how to remove an applet click on 
the arrow, although they don't know whether it'll gain them anything.

Of course something more "intuitive" would be better, but I cannot see any 
more suitable solution to the problem using only so little screen space at 
the moment.

We use arrow buttons all over the place (to move Kicker in and out of the 
screen, for example), and people seem to assume that something happens when 
clicking on such an arrow, or at least pointing it it.  I guess the arrow 
resembles the same paradigm as the arrow on the K-Menu button does.

Before we had those arrows, I had a hard time telling people that there is 
something clickable in an applet (other than the applet's body). Explaining 
that there is an applet handle triggered tons of questionmarks from the 
users' side.

- Frerich

P.S.: I'd really appreciate it if you (Craig) could adjust your email 
client's configuration so that it doesn't use those ugly linebreaks.
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