From kde-usability  Sun May 25 10:47:55 2003
From: Luciano Montanaro <mikelima () virgilio ! it>
Date: Sun, 25 May 2003 10:47:55 +0000
To: kde-usability
Subject: Re: fonts control center module improvement
X-MARC-Message: https://marc.info/?l=kde-usability&m=105385986528966

On Saturday 24 May 2003 23:11, John Levon wrote:
> On Sat, May 24, 2003 at 09:45:01PM +0200, Luciano wrote:
> > as a reference, since I think having the same interface would reinforce
> > predictability of the two panels.
>
> The colors panel has some of the same problems I mention.

Then how would you fix it? The user interface for this improvement can be 
rearranged if needed. But I think the color and the font panels should use 
the same interface, since they are exposing the same functionality.

>
> > > What is the use case for "Import Scheme" ? Will drag and drop work ?
> >
> > Import scheme should open a file requester, and add a pre-packaged scheme
> > to the list and the user configuration directory.
>
> I mean, who will use this ? Which users want and need to import font
> schemes separate from general theme packages ? What happens if the font
> isn't available ? etc.
>

Well, leaving aside the fact that the theme manager is not in good shape 
currently, what if the user feels that the standard user interface is good as 
it is, but the fonts are too small/big/the wrong shape for her tastes?
Moreover, if I was looking for a way to change fonts, I would go to the fonts 
panel, as if I did not quite like the current colors, I would go to the color 
panel, and so on. I would not think to change my fonts from the theme 
selector. 

If the font is not available, the usual thing will happen: Qt would choose a 
random^H^H^H^H^H^H font it thinks would be an acceptable substitute.
This is a problem also now, and the fact that the antialiasing setting can 
change qt idea of the available fonts does not help there.

I think this feature would be valuable for kde accessibity too.
People with bad sight could select one of the big schemes at once, without
the need to change one font at a time.

I am sending to kde-accessibility too this message, now. 
For the record, the proposed interface should look (roughly) like in the 
snapshot at:

http://www.kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=6281

> > > One possibility would be :
> > >  |--Font Scheme------------------------------------------------------
> > >  |  -----------------
> > >  |
> > >  |  | My Scheme  |\/|
> > >  |
> > >  |  -----------------
> > >  |
> > >  |  General: | .....  |
> > >
> > >  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
> > >
> > >  |                                                |New| |Import... | |
> > >
> > >  ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > >  |--Anti-aliasing-----------------------------------------------------
> > >  | [x] Use anti-aliasing for fonts + rest
> > >
> > >  ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > >  | Help | ...
> >
> > I am sorry, but I am not sure I understand your ascii art.
> > Do you prefer the Scheme selector to be grouped with the font requesters,
> > is that it?
>
> A combo-box for choosing  the  current scheme is at the top of the
> group-box containing  the font scheme. There's a visual association
> between  the current item in the combo and the settings below.
>
> This has the disadvantage of hiding the other scheme names, but of
> course the combo box is a big visual clue to the user. The advantage is
> that it's obvious what a scheme actually controls, and you avoid the
> confusing "Save Scheme" behaviour altogether.
>

I don't know. However, rearranging the GUI is a minor thing, I am interested 
in the functionality now. But how do one saves the current scheme with a name 
in your interface proposal?

Bye,
Luciano 

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