Re: Gtk... collapsable toolbars?

[Paul Davis <paul linuxaudiosystems com>]

>>I've seen an example (compiled. :( ) of a gtk application with toolbars
>>like those seem in mozilla; ie. on the far left is a left textured bar
>>which when clicked flattens the toolbar and makes it disappear.
>>  
>>
>This is not what You asked for.. sorry.
>
>But most mozilla developers agre on that this feature is one of the 
>worst UI-problem with mozilla and it will likly go away (around 1.5). 
>The problems are:
>
>Tolbar grippes is not suposed to work like this (don't do it anywhere 
>else). They are for moving tolbars, possably puting them vertikal and 
>some times for 'ripping them off'. Not for hiding the tolbar.

the problem with mozilla implementation is that not only the toolbar
but also the handle disappears. this is a semantic/HCI issue because
it means that you don't have symmetrical (or even similar) actions to
hide and restore.

i recently wrote a hack using the GtkPane widgets that allows you to
shift-click on the pane "handle" and collapse either the first or
second child widget. the pane itself (with its handle) remains visible
at all times (well, barring other bugs in GTK+ itself and/or my
code). the next shift-click restores the pane.

also, although not exactly on target, sodipodi has a nice tear-off
widget that is more useful than the GtkHandleBox because when you tear
off, the original location is hidden.

--p