Toolbar redesign

[GunChleoc]

Since we are using some gaps now to group the toolbar buttons, I think the toolbar needs a background. I am attaching a rough mockup, which also adds system time and gametime.

Forum thread: https://wl.widelands.org/forum/topic/2769/

[GunChleoc (gunchleoc)]

Since most people use widescreen monitors nowadays, maybe the toolbar should be vertical?

[kaputtnik (franku)]

The gaps looks uncommon to me and i feel the buttons do not distinguish to the 'playfield'. A background may help here.

Maybe the background could be like a scroll (Schriftrolle) or similar.

Vertical positioning looks very uncommon to me. Should it be on the right side when one is using an RTL-language? We have also some Windows which do pop up at the left side e.g. Buildings statistic or Inventory. They would overlap the toolbar then.

A nice to have, imho: Having only a small 'grip' (or a bar with text "Toolbar") and a mouseover or mousegrab would slide the toolbar into the screen. It stay's there until it is clicked away or some time is left without using the toolbar.

[Venatrix (elisabeth)]

That’s the trouble: everyone uses toolbars differently.

I for example have in my OS one horizontal as taskbar at the bottom of the screen (old Windows style) and another vertical one just with shortcuts on the upper right corner. That’s why I thought about putting the vertical toolbar on the right side when I read the proposal (I didn’t have a look at the pictures). It feels less intrusive to put it there (at least for me). But I guess that’s personal taste, though I don’t think it would be good to make a new option just to put it left or right.

About having that grip: I could do that with my toolbars too, but I don’t like that.

What about putting it horiontally on the upper edge? That probably feels more like a menu bar like most programs have.

BTW, the pictures you posted look a lot like 3:4. Shall the complete bar stretch in widescreen? Like making bigger gaps? Or just put it in the middle like it always was?

[GunChleoc (gunchleoc)]

I agree that having a scroll background would be nice, or maybe a stone slab?

If we make the toolbar full-width, it will stretch and the button gaps redistributed. I am now thinking it would be good to have a corner setup, e.g. let it start on the bottom and then go as high as needed.

I have also been contemplating the editor a bit, we could have the tool expand out of the toolbar, or have a main toolbar on the left and a tools toolbar on the bottom, the whole thing hugging the bottom left corner of the screen.

And yes, my mockup is 4:3 - I always test everything at 800x600 first, and the screen of my development box is too small for widescreen anyway.

[GunChleoc (gunchleoc)]

This is what a corner toolbar could look like. In the editor, we would have the tools instead of the statistics on the bottom.

I got the idea from the Stellarium interface: http://www.stellarium.org/img/screenshots/0.10-new-interface.jpg

And yes, can be mirrored for RTL languages.

[GunChleoc (gunchleoc)]

Minimized layout

[GunChleoc (gunchleoc)]

I'll start by replacing annoying menu windows with dropdowns: main menus, editor tool menu, game statistics menu.

[GunChleoc (gunchleoc)]

Migrated to https://github.com/widelands/widelands/issues/3167