Updated Version 6 GUI Video

[dexter]

Made a new video today showing where the GUI is as of Beta 5. It shows Newsbin in 1, 2, and 3 pane modes, shows how you can move the tabs to be on top or bottom, shows pinning and unpinning panes, and shows changing the color schemes.

[kamakazi downloader]

Very informative again, thnx. Please keep 'em coming, Dexter...

[JeremyG]

While i love the functionality of the new GUI, I think the "look" of it is kinda poor....no better than the last one. Isnt there some way to make the UI look more native to the OS?

[Quade]

Like? You want square toolbar buttons instead of round?

[JeremyG]

Like? You want square toolbar buttons instead of round?

Well I more mean that it just kinda looks messy. I'm looking at the GUI right now on Windows 7 With Aero. I find it hard to look at because nothing "matches" There's a blue toolbar, white tabs and filter options, gray item lists, and a yellow indicator of what pane is selected.

And yes, I kinda don't like the tabs, they remind me of Netscape Communicator 4.0. hehehe!

I'm really nit-picking though, in the end I dont care about the GUI so much, just that the app does what I need it to....which it DOES...and even more than I need. Glad you continue to put work into it!

[DThor]

Yeah, everybody can't be happy, quite a few users have gone out of their way to indicate how much they love it. It's so subjective. Personally, I think it's great, some things of course could use some tweaking, but, like you, I'm all about the engine, as long as the GUI doesn't get in the way.

DT

[Quade]

I see your point but, Dex is color blind and I have no style sense so, you're sort of stuck with what I throw out there.

[thebigtexan]

I see your point but, Dex is color blind and I have no style sense so, you're sort of stuck with what I throw out there.

Fair enough, but why not give the user the option to choose the colors and styles they want vis a' vis skins, themes, or styles. I mean, it IS only a GUI, right? As it stands, the program has only ever offered choice of colors for highlighting message types and even that is painfully limited. In terms of user choice, it seems that "my way or the highway" is the development model. Why not open it up a bit, guys? I'm no programmer, but is it really THAT hard to build in themes/skin functionality? It seems to be a well received and popular choice for most modern programs these days.

As mentioned by others, program functionality is a top priority and the program DOES what it is supposed to do very well. You have my gratitude an undying loyalty for that. But, the new GUI, while a definite improvement, remains outdated, simplistic, and rigid in design.

Just the opinion of another paying customer...

[Quade]

You don't like any of the themes? "View/Application Look"?

But, the new GUI, while a definite improvement, remains outdated, simplistic, and rigid in design.

This is easy to say but how would you make it less "rigid". I mean, it has to display lines of text. That's basically all it does.

[thebigtexan]

You don't like any of the themes? "View/Application Look"?

But, the new GUI, while a definite improvement, remains outdated, simplistic, and rigid in design.

This is easy to say but how would you make it less "rigid". I mean, it has to display lines of text. That's basically all it does.

No, I don't like them. They are not true "themes"; they do not give the GUI a different look/feel; they are only minor color variations. This could be made more user-oriented by allowing the user to choose various color combinations and save their own themes. You also need to change their names; "Visual Studio 2005"? Are a lot of your users are familiar with that interface? This is a good example of what I mean by "rigid". Everything is self-contained and pre-determined. The only user choice is to choose which limited option you've provided, rather than allowing the user to tweak items that can be tweaked and create their own themes/color choices. This is a more rigid approach to design than many other programs which offer users real choices through GUI's or old-school config/style files.

Yes, it JUST displays text, but users value the visual aesthetic and the "feel" of the software. Some users, like me, want to tweak and control colors, toolbars, fonts, and graphical presentation to suit their needs, others prefer to select a predesignated "theme", others couldn't care less. All can be pleased by giving the user more control of the GUI and the ability to create, save, and edit user-defined "themes". [NOTE: btw, the font/background color options in the beta are not working correctly.]

Other examples:

Let me right-click on the column heading in the post list and choose which columns to display. Sometimes I want to see them all, but not always.
Let me control the background color of the ENTIRE post list window and other windows? One half of the current post list background is static and there is no available bkgd color option that matches it. I end up with a split screen that looks like crap.
Why can't I use custom buttonbar icons or at least have additional icon set choices?

Again, improvements are noted and appreciated. The new GUI is light years ahead of the old one, even with its' limitations.

Thanks!

[Mephostophiel]

I have a custom windows theme. This is how the newest version looks with my theme.



Should I not be able to use my theme with your program? All it requires is the ability to change
window background colors. This is the only program I use that does not have this function. This is the best I can do currently.



Please make the best newsreader even better by implementing these must have features. Keep up the amazing work you guys are doing.

[Quade]

Exit Newsbin. In the configuration file (which you can edit with wordpad) add:

[COLORS]
UseBackgroundColor=0

Should make it use the default windows background colors. You might find you need to set a different theme in Newsbin to make it look the way you want to.

This should apply to 6.4X.

[Mephostophiel]

Thank you so much for the fast reply , with a fix no doubt. My NB now looks like this.



Now if maybe you know the trick to get the text in the tabs a different color it would be perfect.
Or if maybe you know how to change drop down menu text color. Then it would be completely useable in either theme. Drop down background color? Lol sorry I would just like to see every aspect of the program work since I paid for it. Here is what I mean.



If no ideas it is ok you helped a great deal with just the window background. However there should be more of a customizable configuration for just these situations.

Once again thank you for your quick response and fix.

[Quade]

View/Application look. Play around with different looks.

Visual Studio 6 and 2008 both look lighter than the default look.

I'm not planning on doing anything about the tab colors at this stage. This particular GUI is slated for replacement. Not sure when exactly but, I want go get away from the current graphics library.

[Mephostophiel]

Well I look forward to the next version. I am sure if there is more customization in this aspect it will be phenomenal. Not that it isn't already.