Re: GNOME and high-DPI screens

[Jan Jokela <janjokela gmail com>]

I think the correct way to handle this issue is to support full resolution independence. 

And then define all fixed size visual elements in real sizes, with templates for different device categories. Because using fixed pixel sizes and hoping it'll work "ok" for most people is a sub-par solution.

As an example, a button would by default have a height of x millimeters on a laptop and a bit more than that on a desktop computer, due to a slight difference on viewing distance on those two device categories. 

Then, an accessibility feature could seamlessly provide +-1.x scaling for all displayed content. Useful for anyone who isn't happy with the defaults.

It is possible that on certain devices we won't be able to get accurate DPI information and screen type, but we can compile static information or even ask the user. I know many are against this type of solution but I believe it's a fair trade off to offering a bad user experience.

Cheers,

Jan Jokela

On Wed, Jul 4, 2012 at 10:52 AM, Olav Vitters <olav vitters nl> wrote:

On Tue, Jul 03, 2012 at 11:34:04PM -0700, Brion Vibber wrote:
> What can regular users and casual developers do to help today? Should we
> report things that don't scale as expected, or wait for something to get
> into place before we start?

For starters, bugs should be filed. There is one Gtk+ bug for high dpi
screens:
https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=546711
it got a bit unreadable though.

But I guess it needs some thought. E.g. DPI data cannot be relied upon
(as discussed many times before). I saw another Gtk+ bug on windows
where apparently an application has to notify that it supports high DPI
screens.

> I'm sure there won't be any fast fix-all solutions, but as screens with 1.5
> and 2x the resolution of classic screens trickle out to more laptops in the
> future, this'll be something that needs addressing...

Agree. Best to give developers high DPI screens (not kidding).

--
Regards,
Olav
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