Thoughts on Gwenview folder view
written on Saturday, January 31, 2009
So, KDE 4.2 is finally out, it's time to switch from bug fix mode to feature implementation mode (even if I am still working at wiping out a few nasty bugs in Gwenview for 4.2.1).
One of the most wanted features I plan to add to the next version of Gwenview is an optional folder sidebar. Since I am going to work on this, I would like to use the opportunity to also rework the way the sidebar is implemented. Right now the sidebar has a few shortcomings:
- It is too crowded and does not scale well. Sure there are +/- buttons to expand/collapse sidebar groups, but nobody use them (I know that, because otherwise people would complain the expanded/collapsed state is not remembered across sessions!).
- It's too focused on operations, rather than information: users often tell me they do not need 3 places to rotate an image (toolbar, thumbnailbar, sidebar).
- In browse mode, show a folder sidebar only. In view mode, show a tabbed sidebar containing information and shortcuts to image manipulation tools (à la Picasa: browse mode, view mode).
- Always show the same sidebar, split in two: the upper part contains the folder view, the lower part contains information. Tools are only available from the menu (à la iPhoto).
- Only one sidebar, with a set of buttons at the bottom to switch its content (à la Evolution)
- Do not integrate the folder view in the current sidebar: Keep the sidebar as is and add a folder sidebar on the left.
