Hi all,
one thing we aim for 5.1 is having some kind of global themes, that on one hand can change the qml of some aspect of the workspace (splash screen, lock screen, osd) and on the other hand provide some set of defaults for other things, like icons, widget style, colors (for instance, changing between Oxygen and Breeze style of everything).
Those themes will be mostly configuration files that set defaults of what of other themes to use (like icon theme, widget style, plasma theme) that are already installed in the system (I think that slowly as versions progress, there will be added support of shipping *some* of the pieces right inside the package like the icons, but not yet, as is very problematic)

I now have a branch with a very simple beginning on that in a branch.
Basically what I am asking is pretty much a look for the kcm. Right now is just a grid of thumbnails that looks pretty much like the wallpaper settings, and i would like to keep it as simple as possible, not much departed from that.
But, there is a needed feature that will add a slight complication to the user interface: basically the ability of
a) show what features the look and feel package provides (ie it has a splashscreen, doesn't provide icons, doesn't provide a lock screen)
b) let the user enable/disable some of those features (like if the user doesn't want to change the current used icon theme)

I was thinking that this may be done with either a second panel that would be the current selected theme, with checkboxes to enable/disable pieces, or preferably to open this somewhat inline, like "enlarging" the current thumbnail to an area that fits the control to enable/disable things.
right now there is the pattern in the wallpaper selection and a couple of other kcms of a button at the corner of the thumbnails that appears on mouse over: that could trigger the fine-grained controls.

Ideas? (and please ask on non clear parts, I just randomly dumped this info out of my brain, probably assuming as obvious concepts things that aren't )

First of all: You're our savior!
Pretty much since the dawn of this forum, this topic has come up again and again and again, and we kept saying "Yes, we all want this and we won't rest until it's here!"

This is also why we already integrated it into our System Settings design even before development started on it

If you go to the interactive System settings mockup and click "Appearance", you'll see what we have in mind: The first screen lets us select an overall theme (this is what you call "Look and Feel package") which changes everything accordingly. Then it is possible adapt individual elements of it by expanding the detail settings using the switch on the right.

This might not be what you had in mind functionality-wise, but it is what makes sense form a user's perspective. For users, overall themes are not orthogonal to the individual settings, but encompassing them. Therefore it would only make it more complicated if users had to choose what aspects of a theme to apply when changing themes.
Instead switching to another theme should initially just change everything that is contained in the theme, and then if a user doesn't like a certain aspect of the theme, they can just go ahead and change that specific aspect. It's a drill-down pattern. If the user indeed wants to "switch everything but this!", they'd have to change the theme first and then switch that specific element back. In your model, they'd switch the theme and indicate that they don't want to apply that specific aspect. It's a different workflow, but the same amount of steps. The only disadvantage in our way would be that users would have to look for the old thing again when changing it back (but if that's a problem, maybe we could help them with a "last used" entry in the respective list.
However, presumably the strongly dominant case is switching to a theme without changing anything, because the themes are made to look consistent.

So, what do you think about this?

colomar wrote:Instead switching to another theme should initially just change everything that is contained in the theme, and then if a user doesn't like a certain aspect of the theme, they can just go ahead and change that specific aspect. It's a drill-down pattern. If the user indeed wants to "switch everything but this!", they'd have to change the theme first and then switch that specific element back. In your model, they'd switch the theme and indicate that they don't want to apply that specific aspect. It's a different workflow, but the same amount of steps. The only disadvantage in our way would be that users would have to look for the old thing again when changing it back (but if that's a problem, maybe we could help them with a "last used" entry in the respective list.
However, presumably the strongly dominant case is switching to a theme without changing anything, because the themes are made to look consistent.

So, what do you think about this?

well, individual kcms for the various things stays as they are, so is still possible to set one piece in particular.
making the global page just set everything it has without possibility to keep some selected partes kindof make sense (and code wise is easier )
however, i see in your html wireframe that thing of only applying some piece is present? (at least it's how i interpreted what happens clicking advanced?)

notmart wrote:

colomar wrote:Instead switching to another theme should initially just change everything that is contained in the theme, and then if a user doesn't like a certain aspect of the theme, they can just go ahead and change that specific aspect. It's a drill-down pattern. If the user indeed wants to "switch everything but this!", they'd have to change the theme first and then switch that specific element back. In your model, they'd switch the theme and indicate that they don't want to apply that specific aspect. It's a different workflow, but the same amount of steps. The only disadvantage in our way would be that users would have to look for the old thing again when changing it back (but if that's a problem, maybe we could help them with a "last used" entry in the respective list.
However, presumably the strongly dominant case is switching to a theme without changing anything, because the themes are made to look consistent.

So, what do you think about this?

well, individual kcms for the various things stays as they are, so is still possible to set one piece in particular.
making the global page just set everything it has without possibility to keep some selected partes kindof make sense (and code wise is easier )
however, i see in your html wireframe that thing of only applying some piece is present? (at least it's how i interpreted what happens clicking advanced?)

I agree the "Options" section looks like that at first, but it's actually meant for options like switching tooltips on or off. The options shown there are just arbitrary examples, don't get distracted by them
What's below that section are basically the other specific KCMs inlined into one page so you can change specific aspects.

colomar wrote:I agree the "Options" section looks like that at first, but it's actually meant for options like switching tooltips on or off. The options shown there are just arbitrary examples, don't get distracted by them
What's below that section are basically the other specific KCMs inlined into one page so you can change specific aspects.

so, for now a simple thumbnail grid would be ok?

notmart wrote:

colomar wrote:I agree the "Options" section looks like that at first, but it's actually meant for options like switching tooltips on or off. The options shown there are just arbitrary examples, don't get distracted by them
What's below that section are basically the other specific KCMs inlined into one page so you can change specific aspects.

so, for now a simple thumbnail grid would be ok?

If I understood anditosan' mockup correctly, a bigger version of the selected theme would be shown above the thumbnail grid because it might be difficult to get a good impression of a theme from a tiny thumbnail. Other than that, yes.

Not sure if this is what you are looking for but here ya go!

Should be fairly self explanatory really. The preview area should probably be bigger, and I think next to the drop down boxes there probably should be a link to the individual settings in the system settings (if possible). The drop down boxes will, of course, list all the installed themes for each individual section, allowing the users to mix and match to their hearts content. Default should also have the name of the theme it is defaulting to as well (as the theme is not providing that option, hence the cross next to it )

If there is interest in this design I will of course redo with the changes above, and any other ideas that come in.



This is basically a rehash of the idea I had months and months ago for this.

Let me know what you think! Or don't, it's entirely up to you!

colomar wrote:If I understood anditosan' mockup correctly, a bigger version of the selected theme would be shown above the thumbnail grid because it might be difficult to get a good impression of a theme from a tiny thumbnail. Other than that, yes.

well, since are not going to be really a lot (in the beginning one or two) thumbnails don't have to be tiny, they can be as big as needed

davidwright wrote:Not sure if this is what you are looking for but here ya go!

Should be fairly self explanatory really. The preview area should probably be bigger, and I think next to the drop down boxes there probably should be a link to the individual settings in the system settings (if possible). The drop down boxes will, of course, list all the installed themes for each individual section, allowing the users to mix and match to their hearts content. Default should also have the name of the theme it is defaulting to as well (as the theme is not providing that option, hence the cross next to it )

So in this design all kcms are replaced by only this one?

Colomar made a good explanation. Just to add some ideas on the reason: The plan is to simplify the KCMs by presets. Users should see a preview how it looks like or how it works (I know, this will be difficult) accomplished with predefined sets. Those sets are extendible via GHNS, eye candy, or the like (the blue plus/minus buttons). So as a normal user I just have to choose the theme (Air, Breeze, Oxygen...), notifications (Silent, Important only, All), or network setting (Direct ethernet connetion, VPN, TOR - just to brainstorm a little bit). And as an expert, I 'expand' the chosen preset to tweak all details (Options for the selected theme, Notification for PIM, Timeout for sockets etc.).

About the first design concept: Basically, all settings have to be on one scrollable page, tabs are not allowed. The content is laid out in up to three columns. If possible, settings made should get a visual feedback.

notmart wrote:well, since are not going to be really a lot (in the beginning one or two) thumbnails don't have to be tiny, they can be as big as needed

Well, we do hope for people to contribute new themes, though, don't we? At least it should be made scalable so that it will still work at a point where there are 20 themes, at least from the moment when it will get GHNS support (which we sincerely hope it will!).
It would be cool if the larger thumbnail for the selected theme would be shown only if there are so many themes installed that the thumbnails would get too small. Don't know how much work such a responsive layout would be to implement.

colomar wrote:

notmart wrote:well, since are not going to be really a lot (in the beginning one or two) thumbnails don't have to be tiny, they can be as big as needed

Well, we do hope for people to contribute new themes, though, don't we? At least it should be made scalable so that it will still work at a point where there are 20 themes, at least from the moment when it will get GHNS support (which we sincerely hope it will!).
It would be cool if the larger thumbnail for the selected theme would be shown only if there are so many themes installed that the thumbnails would get too small. Don't know how much work such a responsive layout would be to implement.

This is how it looks right now (name is in tooltip) is still incomplete, the "apply" process still has problems, so will still take a while to be merged.

so the bigger view would be added when the theme thing will be used enough to have a respectable list

Cool!
Some comments:
- GHNS support will come in a later release, I suppose, or is it planned for the initial release?
- The problem with the frame on the selected theme is that it covers the panel, which is an important part of the look and feel. That problem doesn't exist in Andy's mockup where there are margins between the different themes and the frame is drawn around each theme. The margins also make it easier to see where one thumbnail ends and the other begins, plus it gives the whole design more "breathing room".
Would that be possible to have those margins?
- Now seeing the wording "Desktop Look and Feel" in action, I'm thinking that maybe the word "Desktop" is more confusing than helping here in the end, given that the theme affects how applications look as well. Maybe we can come up with a better term, otherwise I'd just keep the generic "Look and Feel" for the title as well.

colomar wrote:Cool!
Some comments:
- GHNS support will come in a later release, I suppose, or is it planned for the initial release?

eventually in the future

colomar wrote:- The problem with the frame on the selected theme is that it covers the panel, which is an important part of the look and feel. That problem doesn't exist in Andy's mockup where there are margins between the different themes and the frame is drawn around each theme. The margins also make it easier to see where one thumbnail ends and the other begins, plus it gives the whole design more "breathing room".
Would that be possible to have those margins?
- Now seeing the wording "Desktop Look and Feel" in action, I'm thinking that maybe the word "Desktop" is more confusing than helping here in the end, given that the theme affects how applications look as well. Maybe we can come up with a better term, otherwise I'd just keep the generic "Look and Feel" for the title as well.

yes, i can add margins, tough i wanted to keep it coherent as a pattern with the wallpaper selection (splashscreen and lockscreen selection already looks the same as well)

notmart wrote:yes, i can add margins, tough i wanted to keep it coherent as a pattern with the wallpaper selection (splashscreen and lockscreen selection already looks the same as well)

That's not how the VDG envisions the wallpaper selection, though. There is currently design work going on for that ( viewtopic.php?f=285&t=122233 ) and it contains margins as well. Thumbnails sitting right next to one another without any margins does not fit the Breeze design in general, see also the Placement HIG.