[Suggestion] Grid lines + Tabs in bottom + Background

[Xtrician]

1. Grid lines - I know there is option to add more color and its like grid lines, but i think the grid lines is better.

2. Tabs in bottom - I suggest it before but Christian says me that its impossible with the TC design, maybe now is possible?

3. Background wallpaper - it will be very nice to work with TC with background pic intsead colors.

[Clo]

2Xtrician

[mod]Please, post one message per topic, and use the Search before…
Clo, moderator[/mod]

[Derek Cornish]

[quote="Xtrician"]1. Grid lines - I know there is option to add more color and its like grid lines, but i think the grid lines is better.

Since the earlier discussion was back in November, I hope the moderator won't mind if I just respond to the first suggestion here (by agreeing with it).

In general, whatever their other merits, I don't think the ability to have alternate lines in contrasting colours satisfies the needs of those asking for grid lines.

1. Giving a zebra-like stripy appearance to directory and file lists may look eye-catching, but in practice it is often quite difficult to read quickly. The eye is constantly trying to choose which set of stripes - i.e. which row of file details - should be given priority. Since each of the rows usually has equal priority in a file-list (at least, until it has been deliberately selected), this use of contrasting colour-bands may be quite misleading in terms of the information being presented.

2. Alternating between background colours from row to row may also interfere with the use of colour for other informational purposes - for example, using different colours to highlight files of different types (pdf, htm, doc, etc).

3. Grid lines avoid both these potential problems while at the same time improving the readability of rows and columns within and across panels, by drawing the eye across and down the display. They also permit the use of longer listings, since smaller fonts can be used while maintaining "definition".

TC's display provides a matrix very similar to that of a spreadsheet. Try imagining using a spreadsheet without the ability to turn on its grid lines - a bit of a mess IMHO. Nor would using alternative colour-bands be very helpful. As another thought experiment, how would advocates of alternating colour-bands respond to the suggestion that grid lines would equally well satisfy their requirements?

All in all, I think grid lines and alternating background colours are the answers to different issues, the former primarily addressing readability and the latter addressing aesthetics.

Derek

[DVDM]

@Derek: I really like the alternating colors, it helps me define the indivual lines just that bit better. But I don't use two completely different colours. I've always had the oldschool blue background (R,G,B; 0,0,255), which I still use, and for the second colour i use a slightly different shade of blue (R,G,B; 0,70,255).

1. This is just enough to give me a clear distinction between lines, but not so much that it gives me a headache and/or moire patterns when my eyes scan the screen.
2. This way it doesn't interfere with different colours you can give to filetypes etc.
3. I don't need anything to better define seperate columns, I can see the difference between the filename/extension/size etc. quite well. I never had a problem with it as it was, the different colour makes it stand out that just that little bit more.

But if it's an option I'm all for, choice is good.

[Sam_Zen]

2 Derek Cornish and DVDM
You're ignoring the advice of the moderator to stick to one subject by still commenting on all three issues.

[petermad]

2Sam_Zen

2 Derek Cornish and DVDM
You're ignoring the advice of the moderator to stick to one subject by still commenting on all three issues.

As far as I can see, Derek Cornish and DVDM are ONLY commenting on the Grid lines issue

[m^2]

@Derek: I really like the alternating colors, it helps me define the indivual lines just that bit better. But I don't use two completely different colours. I've always had the oldschool blue background (R,G,B; 0,0,255), which I still use, and for the second colour i use a slightly different shade of blue (R,G,B; 0,70,255).

1. This is just enough to give me a clear distinction between lines, but not so much that it gives me a headache and/or moire patterns when my eyes scan the screen.
2. This way it doesn't interfere with different colours you can give to filetypes etc.
3. I don't need anything to better define seperate columns, I can see the difference between the filename/extension/size etc. quite well. I never had a problem with it as it was, the different colour makes it stand out that just that little bit more.

But if it's an option I'm all for, choice is good.

It doesn't work when you have a lot of colors. With my basic config I found (245,245,245) to be the darkest(!) usable. With the second one, where I draw new files a bit brighter, I can't use this feature at all.

Grid lines would work.

[Derek Cornish]

2 Derek Cornish and DVDM
You're ignoring the advice of the moderator to stick to one subject by still commenting on all three issues.

Don't think so.

Derek

[Derek Cornish]

@Derek: I really like the alternating colors, it helps me define the indivual lines just that bit better.....But if it's an option I'm all for, choice is good.

DVDM,

I certainly don't want to stop people having alternating colours if it works for them. I'd just like to have grid lines, too, as I don't think using alternating colours really addresses the issues I identified.

Incidentally, alternating colours in slightly different pastel shades are used by default on the display of Moneydance - a Quicken-like accounting program - to distinguish between different accounts on its opening menu. This is very distracting and I turned it off. However, when used on its transactions display it is very helpful. But this is because every other line is a blank one so there is no conflicting information.

Derek

[Derek Cornish]

m^2 -

Thank you (and DVDM) for some empirical data on this vexed question. I hope it keeps the grid lines option on the table.

Derek

[Clo]

—> All
[mod]This thread'll stay open as long as it'll stick to the Grid Lines thingy, despite it's aready a duplicate.
Clo, moderator[/mod]

[Derek Cornish]

Moderator -

Thank you.

Derek