understanding gnome-panel properties

[Sandman <sandmangnome gmail com>]

Hi,

In the gnome-panel "Panel properties" dialog box, if the "Show hide buttons" and "Arrows on hide buttons" options are toggled ON (checked), i am unable to shrink the panel below 24 pixels. If the "Arrows on hide buttons" is unchecked everything works as its supposed to.

Here is my current setup:

Distro: Ubuntu 9.04 (beta) using gnome-panel v2.26.0
Screens: Dual screen with Nvidia GeForce 7600. Main screen has a resolution of 1280x1024 and this is the screen on which I have the lone panel at the top of the screen.
Launchers & Applets (left to right): Main Menu (button, not the bar), Firefox, Gnome-Terminal, Window List, Desktop Switcher, System Monitor, Network Monitor, Volume Control, Date/Time applet, User Switcher.
Font Sizes: 8px.

I assume this has something to do with the arrow image at the ends of the panel. Maybe the size of that image cannot be shrunk below 24px?

I tried looking at the code and found the in the function * panel_toplevel_check_resize () * the call to gtk_widget_size_request () returns a GtkRequsition struct with height=24px for all sizes below (and including) 24px. How does gtk_widget_size_request() determine this size??

This is not a hindrance but it does make the interface a little awkward. I would think that if the size of the panel cannot be reduced below 24px (when the "Arrows on hide button" option is selected), the option of entering a lower size should not exist.

Can anyone tell me whether or not this behavior is intentional and why?

Thanks and take care.