Re: Style Guide suggestion

[Gleef <gleef capital net>]

On Sun, 28 Jun 1998, Maciej Stachowiak wrote:
> 
> Personal selfish problem: 
> 
> Toolbars with text and pictures really annoy me, I want the option to
> set them to pictures only (it takes up too much space with the text
> for my liking, and I can read the tooltips if it;s not obvious what
> the buttons do). Other people probably like the text only version.

Certainly doesn't sound selfish.  Personally, I tend to go for
pictures+tooltips.  I have a few friends who go for text only on their
apps (shorter, but usually wider).
 
 
> Suggested solution (to be put in the style guide):
> 
> * Any application that has a toolbar should provide a preference
> dialog that has at minimum a set of radio buttons that allow the
> toolbar to be set to `Pictures and Text', `Pictures only' or `Text
> only'.

What about letting users have a default preference.  When a program is
first setting up their preferences, they can set it to the default, and
then the user can change it if they want something different for a
particular application.


> (It should probably also be specified where the "Preferences..." menu
> item goes, but I have no strong opinion on that except that the "File"
> menu is a bad place).

The trouble is there are only two menus required, File and Help.  Help is
a worse place for it.  While I agree that File isn't great, I would rather
see it stay in one place only, and not add a new required menu for it.

Therefore I would vote that Preferences... be required to be under File.
It's not pretty, but it would be consistant.  And besides, Preferences are
stored in a File, so it isn't a non-sensical location.

One thing I despise about Windows is having to hunt around each menu for
items saying 'Config', 'Options', 'Preferences', etc.  So in GNOME needs
one name, and one place.  Also, Preferences (or whatever it is decided to
be called), should contain ALL and ONLY application-wide settings.  There
should be a separate entry with a standard name (perhaps File Options...)
for settings that affect the open file only.

For a look at what not to do, look at Microsoft Word 95's Options menu.
You have to go to the same dialog box you select your screen display
options from to set a password for the open file.

-Gleef