unity-design team mailing list archive

["Stefanos A." <stapostol@xxxxxxxxx>]

2011/10/13 Matthew Paul Thomas <mpt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

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> Stefanos A. wrote on 13/10/11 15:09:
> >
> > I just installed 11.10, just to be assaulted by ugly non-resizable
> > windows. Why, oh why?
> >
> > Off-hand, I recall the official installer, which cannot be resized
> > when the "show details" area does not fit inside the window. This
> > happens in the "downloading packages" and " installing packages"
> > parts of the installation - since you can't resize the window, you
> > cannot see what actions are being taken by the installer.
>
>
> This seems to be <http://launchpad.net/bugs/149911>, which was
> reported in 2007, so it's not specific to 11.10.
>
> In previous versions of the installer I could read messages just fine. In
11.10 I can't, on all three different systems I tested, because there is no
space for these messages to appear. This is on the English version, so it's
not the bug in your link.


> > The new "System Settings" control panel also fits the bill. This
> > is *especially* aggravating, since the window is a tad too big for
> > a 1366x768 or 1280x800 screen (that's what most laptops use).
> > Today, I had an issue with a misconfigured keyboard shortcut, so I
> > opened an internet article that described the fix. In such
> > occasions, I arrange the browser window and the configuration
> > window side-by-side, so I can refer to the article while fixing the
> > issue. Or that's what I used to do, since the new settings window
> > *cannot be resized* to fit side-by-side on my monitor. It's always
> > there, taking up lots of space, *covering* the article with the
> > instructions I need.
>
>
> Like most dialogs, many of the System Settings panels are designed
> with a particular size in mind. For the window to be manually
> resizable would be inappropriate.
>

Why? Why are they designed for a specific size, when that's against the
Gnome HIG? What if I use a larger font or a different screen size?


> If the window is too large for an important proportion of screens,
> that's a bug that should be fixed, not an excuse for making the window
> resizable.
>

These "dialogs" were proper resizable windows in 11.04, so this is a
regression not an excuse.

Besides, what is the common thread between a proper "ok, cancel" dialog and
something like the "mouse settings" panel or the ubuntu installer? That's a
rhetorical question, these things have absolutely *nothing* in common.

If you have a more convincing argument than "inappropriate" I would love to
hear it.


>
> > What is this new fad? Microsoft abandoned modal/non-resizable
> > windows after WinXP.
>
>
> That isn't true.
>

But it is.

"A *top-level* window has no owner window and is displayed on the taskbar.
Examples: application windows. In Windows Vista and later, dialog boxes
without owner windows and property sheets are also considered top-level."

>From MSDN (
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa511262.aspx)

(And parented dialogs are not recommended for new applications.)


>
> > Apple just added more resize borders in their latest OS.
>
>
> That made it easier to resize windows that are already resizable. It
> has nothing to do with which windows are resizable in the first place.
>
>
So why was ubuntu installer made non-resizable in the first place?