ubuntu-tablet team mailing list archive

[Matt Richardson <m.richardson.1990@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thunderbird's interface is surprisingly customisable using css. After a 
couple of hour fiddling with the userChrome.css file (including learning 
time) I have changed my Thunderbird layout to look like this:

Customised Thunderbird <http://ubuntuone.com/2sSms1It45NJNnKpShtQ0B>

The larger spacing of the folders / email list allows much easier touch 
usage.
The smaller font size on the email list allows more of the subject to be 
displayed (particularly important on small screens) and allows bigger 
gaps between emails, making the interface clearer.
/Not touch related but I also made the side bar dark as I think it looks 
better./

I also used the customise toolbars options to move the reply buttons etc 
to the top bar, where they can be bigger as they only use wasted space 
anyway.

I have attached my userChrome.css file in case anyone wants to try it.
Just copy the file to 
~/.thunderbird//randomstring/.default/chrome/userChrome.css (you may 
have to create the 'chrome' folder)
/You will still have to customise the toolbars yourself though, but this 
is easy.

/Potentially with a little more tweaking, we could provide a 
touch-friendly interface for Thunderbird which could be used on tablets. 
The advantage of using the userChrome.css is that we can distribute 
Thunderbird as is, with this file to change the interface and updates 
would be unlikely to break it.

Matt

p.s. After using this interface on my laptop for a short time, switching 
back to the old interface felt very crowded and unclear.


On 12/02/12 20:42, Mitchell Reese wrote:
> Actually, a lot of work has been done to make unity touch friendly, 
> but more needs to be done. Once a keyboard works with the dash, it 
> will be well on it's way.
>
> It's worth keeping in mind that Cannonical's plans are for Unity to 
> work across all devices, so discussions about using gnome shell 
> instead are going to be counterproductive.
>
> Re mail clients, has anyone else had a chance to look at the current 
> offering from android with ICS? Really well put together in terms of 
> design for a tablet. I use it on a 7 inch hacked kindle fire. It's 
> awesome.
>
> Apart from speed issues with lower end hardware, I wonder if 
> thunderbird could be a good way to go. Rather than rewriting the 
> entire program, we could probably use plugins to customize it. Of 
> course, with mozillas rapid update cycle these could potentially 
> break, but with Cannonical's support, it just might be possible.
>
> Mitchell
>
> Curious Mail - Sent via Linux
>
> Markus Burrer <mb@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Am 12.02.2012 16:23, schrieb Chris:
> > Why would the Gnome Mail not be usable on a small (smartphone) 
> > screen? I haven't looked at it with much detail, but if they program 
> > it properly (currently they're only designs) it shouldn't be a 
> > problem from what I've seen.
> Right, it depends on the GUI design. The current mockups wouldn't work 
> on a Smartphone.
> > Besides, I think the current GNOME Shell is better for tablets than 
> > Unity.
> Until now there is no work done to make Unity touch friendly. I have a 
> 10" tablet running Precise. Here is a first impression report (in german)
>
> http://blog.elektronik-projekt.de/?p=1053
> > With metta, Chris
> >
> > On Feb 12, 2012 4:12 PM, "Markus Burrer" <mb@xxxxxxxxxx 
> > <mailto:mb@xxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
> >
> >     I guess, it really would be better to create a new mail client
> >     special for Ubuntu. Gnome Mail looks nice, but if Unity should
> >     come also to small tablets like the Streak or a Smartphone Gnome
> >     Mail wouldn't work.
> >
> >     The Client needs an interface that fits both tablet and smartphone
> >
> >     Just my two cent
> >
> >     Markus
> >
> >
> >     Am 11.02.2012 11:22, schrieb Nicholas Shatokhin:
> >
> >         I think the better choice it's a creating a new email client
> >         special for Ubuntu.
> >
> >         Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:14:50 +0200 ???? ???????? Markus Burrer
> >         <mb@xxxxxxxxxx <mailto:mb@xxxxxxxxxx>>:
> >
> >             Hi, I wonder which email client shoud be used on a tablet
> >             (or even on a phone). Thunderbird is not really a good
> >             choice. I tried it yesterday, but it's awful. Or is it
> >             possible to make the surface touch friendly?
> >
> >             Regards
> >             Markus
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >     -- 
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> >     <https://launchpad.net/%7Eubuntu-tablet>
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> >     <mailto:ubuntu-tablet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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toolbar
{
 font-size:14pt;
}

toolbarbutton[disabled="true"]
{
 display: none !important;
}

#folderTree, tab
{
 -moz-appearance: none !important;
 background-image: none !important;
 background-color:#3c3b37 !important;
 color:#dfdbd2 !important;
}

#folderTree > treechildren
{
 font-size:14pt;
}

#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-row(odd)
{
 font-size:10pt !important;
}

treechildren::-moz-tree-row
{
 height: 40px !important;
}

treechildren
{
 font-size:10pt;
}

#threadTree treechildren::-moz-tree-cell
{
 border-right: 1px solid #f2f2f2;
}

#threadTree treechildren::-moz-tree-row(odd)
{
 -moz-appearance: none !important;
 background-image: none !important;
 background-color:#fafafa !important;
}

#threadTree treechildren::-moz-tree-row(selected)
{
  background-color: -moz-Dialog !important;
}

#threadTree treechildren::-moz-tree-row(selected, focus)
{
  background-color: Highlight !important;
}