Deprecation of GtkImageMenuItem

[Daniel Kasak <d j kasak dk gmail com>]

I've read various threads about the deprecation of GtkImageMenuItem. From what I gather, it's "not recommended" from a HIG perspective to put icons in menus, and this is the reasoning behind deprecating them.

Personally I disagree with this recommendation, and quite strongly. Icons are instantly recognisable - in particular when you're familiar with the application and context. It takes a lot more time to read some text and figure out what a menu item is. I think this is fairly universal. What's more, having a icons *looks* more polished - but I concede this is more a matter of personal taste than the 1st point.

If I were writing 'official' Gnome apps or whatever, I would abide by the HIG recommendations, while simultaneously lobbying for a change in this policy :P But since I'm *not* writing official Gnome apps, and I'm writing commerical apps where we *do* want things like icons in menus, I think this deprecation is of concern. I realise that until 4.0, I can continue to use GtkImageMenuItem. But what happens after that? Will there be *any* way to achieve icons in menus? If there will be, and it just involves ( a bit ) more work, then fine, I can deal with that. If not ... can I register my protest against this?

Thanks :)

Dan