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Re: a table of contents that looks like one

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So, I've attached two images to clarify (for the list) the look and feel of the previous table of contents visual design and the new (provisional) one.
And please note that this is simply my effort to be productive and participate -- the decision can and should be made collectively, to which I defer with pleasure. 

Cheers,
Kyle

On 01/04/2011 08:52 PM, Kyle Nitzsche wrote:

On 01/04/2011 08:50 PM, Ryan Macnish wrote:
There is already consensus that the book design should be in line with the new Ubuntu branding, this has all already been talked about and decided on. Rather than focus on the book design for the moment, the content still has a long way to go.
I agree with Kevin, the old ToC was fine, page numbers force the reader to look for the page manually, the old ToC didnt, it was clickable. 

the new toc is clickable. if it wasn't it would be of no use.

Cheers



Ryan Macnish
On Wed, Jan 5, 2011 at 9:42 AM, Kyle Nitzsche <kyle.nitzsche@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:kyle.nitzsche@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote: 

    I'd like to add that I also don't think the toc text should be red in color.

    At least because this is a barrier for people who are color blind.

    But also because it isn't consistent with the new ubuntu branding.

    it would be great if we could take some steps to implement a book design
    here that really feels like a clean implementation of the new Ubuntu look.

    Cheers,
    Kyle





    On 01/04/2011 08:32 PM, Kyle Nitzsche wrote:

        Hi,

        This is a matter of opinion, I think, not objective reality.

        The toc design I just pushed is traditional and I think superior,
        despite the argument below.

        If I had to muster an argument, it would be as follows:

         * a toc should be visually distinct from the rest as an aid to the
        user finding it when scrolling (not confusing it with other textual
        content)
         * a good way to do that is the traditional way: a square layout with
        left justified headings and right justified page numbers with leader
        dots connecting them
         * the idea that the 'eye cannot leap' from the headings to the
        numbers doesn't feel true to me, and page numbers don't matter much
        anyway in pdfs (what matters is clicking on the heading and being
        taken where you want to go - whoosh)
         * I found the old design visually unattractive on the page with its
        ragged (non-justified) right wide page numbers. It just floated in
        empty space amorphously.

        My two cents.

        Cheers,
        Kyle




        On 01/04/2011 08:20 PM, Kevin Godby wrote:

            'allo.

            On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 6:51 PM, Kyle Nitzsche
            <kyle.nitzsche@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
            <mailto:kyle.nitzsche@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>>  wrote:

                With bzr revision 52, I changed the table of contents design
                (as a working
                idea) so that it look like one.

                That is, it has chapters on the left, then leader dots, then
                page number on
                the right.

                This involved using the tocloft pkg and removing some
                seemingly unused code
                in ubuntu-developer-manual.cls.

            The table of contents (TOC) was designed the way it was because it's
            easier to use that way.  You're not summing up a column of numbers;
            you're trying to locate the page number where the chapter/section
            begins.  The reason you used leaders was because otherwise your eye
            would find it difficult to track across the entire width of the page
            to locate the proper page number.  So the leaders are a poor
            work-around.

            Your design now leads to the reader to naturally group the pages
            numbers together in a column and the section headings together in a
            separate column.  This is the opposite effect that you want in a
            table
            of contents.

            Robert Bringhurst says it better than I in his _The Elements of
            Typographic Style_:

            "Lists, such as contents pages and recipes, are opportunities to
            build
            architectural structures in which the space between elements both
            separates and binds. The two favorite ways of destroying such an
            opportunity are setting great chasms of space that the eye cannot
            leap
            without help from the hand, and setting unenlightening rows of dots
            (dot leaders, they are called) that force the eye to walk the
            width of
            the page like a prisoner being escorted back to its cell."

            I much prefer the original layout.  Though, if you have specific
            arguments against them, I'm happy to discuss them and try to find a
            good solution.

            --Kevin



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Attachment: new-toc-design.png
Description: PNG image

Attachment: old-toc-design.png
Description: PNG image

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