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Hi !

Some changes are being made to systemsettings, with the return of a kde4 version of kcontrol and an avdanced tooltips showing submodules (can't find the blog link). But the overall look of systemsettings seems to remain the same. Moreover, the new tooltip is surely nice but it reveals a design problem.

First, for the look & feel, I suggest a mix between :
- Mandriva control center for the left pane look
- Gnome control center for the left pane content and the clearness
- Systemsettings for the icons display

The result :


This mockup dosen't show the Apparence icon but directly its submodules. Why group Styles, Colors, Icons, Fonts, Window decorator, etc. under Apparence ? Anyway we can't make changes in one go, we have to save them for every submodules modification.

With a left pane showing available categories, systemsettings could hold more icons.

This idea can be linked with systemsettings reorganization :
reorganize-the-settings-t-54187.html

In the left pane,there is an Information title with a text block that should react on mouseover, giving more info about each module.

Last, i think that each module needs also some redesign. Here is an example for the widgets style selection :
First try

Edit : see below for a more kde friendly version
Edit 2 : i moved the second try here :

The suggested widget style selection change is way too gnomeish. If you want things done the gnome way just use gnome. I wish people would stop trying to turn kde into gnome.

i love the first mock up, it looks more professional than the current one, but i dont feel the same way with the widget style selection mockup... but still, good job!

tekwyzrd wrote:The suggested widget style selection change is way too gnomeish. If you want things done the gnome way just use gnome. I wish people would stop trying to turn kde into gnome.

I think that Gnome uses this view for previewing themes, not just the widgets styles. Anyway, right now, the style selection looks like an old font selector, were you have to try each combobox entry to see the result.

If my mockup is to gnomish, we should nevertheless find a way for previewing all the widget style in the same area, as for example in the wallpaper selector (you have a preview nearby the filename). The asset with the gnome way here is that there is no problem with smaller screen resolution.

And i think that this "icon view" can be reused in other areas : the icons and window decorator selection (for usability and consistency).

The Appearance mockup given above has severe usability issues unfortunately. First it is using "Accept" and "Cancel" which imply that the window will be closed immediately, when it will not and breaks from the standards forcibly applied by System Settings. The "Configure" button also does not accurately describe what it configures. In the current design it is beside the Widget selector so it is quite clear. It also lacks a "Reset" button as required by the KCModule specification.

The first mockup is completely fine, although the information box can probably be removed. The new System Settings has a plugin architecture, allowing new views to be written and shipped independently. Only C++ is supported however. Documentation can be found here http://api.kde.org/4.x-api/kdebase-work ... index.html

Ok, its seems that my second mockup doesn't make it . Second try :
Part1
Part2

It's close to the plasma Appearance Settings dialog.
And about the buttons label, they can be kept as they are right now.

Edit : i moved the mockup to the first post...

The last mock is better. But I'm not sure how doable it is. Generating the images needed for the list would take too much time - it is slower than it should be in plasma, and we are just painting one SVG there. Maybe if the list didn't contain so many widgets?

And what about having a sreenhsot included in the theme package ? The list should not be generated dynamically, but looks for an existing screenshot.

I love the first screenshot in the OP. +1 even though I don't like the later screenshots very much.

I agree with the OP that SystemSettings is lacking sexiness, but the first mock's styling is very un-KDE, in my opinion. I like the idea of presenting the tooltip and categories on the left, but I think it should be redone to be more consistent with the rest of KDE's UI. As for the Widget Style dialog, I like having actual widgets (with hover effects, etc.) as a preview, rather than a rendered image in a list. It might be useful to display a representative sample of the theme in the drop-down list, sort of like the Plasma theme selector - it's just a rectangle, but it gives you some idea of what the theme will be like.

the first mockup looks like windows. however i like the other mockups