Idea #582: Synaptic visual refresh

Written by broomfighter the 29 Feb 08 at 03:03. Category: Look and Feel.
Related to: Nothing/Others. Status: New

Description

Synaptic need a new coat of paint. The Mark All Upgrades button is ugly and outdated, the category lists are incredibly long, the preferences dialog is needlessly complex as many options can be shown in the menu, and the package marking system needs to be easier. Synaptic is a key component and should not be left with an ineffective interface.

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Kreuger wrote on the 1 Mar 08 at 15:04

Yes I've been after this for so long

brettalton wrote on the 4 Mar 08 at 17:49

I don't understand how it's 'ugly and outdated', please elaborate.

The category (actually called 'sections') list is long because there are a lot of categories.

The preferences dialogue, to me, is well organized.

What would you like Synaptic to look like? What about post a mockup made in Gimp?

broomfighter wrote on the 6 Mar 08 at 04:41

1. Many of the icons use the GNOME color palette like earlier releases and are out of place in Gutsy.

2. Yes, and many should be consolidated. Furthermore, the section/status/search results button layout for different sections is irrational. A user expects a button to cause a window to open or close, or for some operation to be performed, not information to be changed; that should be changed to a drop down. Furthermore, icons could be used to signify different sections instead of nothing.

3. Many of the features found in the preferences dialogue would be better placed in the File/Edit/View/etc menu for quicker access and a more streamlined experience.

4. My qualms are less about color and texture and more about general usability problems. By reviewing the layout, usability could be greatly improved. Sorry if I was unclear.

Predator106 wrote on the 14 Aug 08 at 19:02

I agree, but more importantly-in my opinion, Synaptic(and other applications) need direct support for alternative themes. I think it is nearly every non-default theme that I have, doesn't support Synaptic and others (or vice-versa). So it must recognize it's not going to work, and switches to some kind of really old GTK style (think Win95/98).

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