I spend some times yesterday with the Windows version (the one asked) of a project I am working on.
The first run (on that window) was a disaster. Ive made a screen shot (below) to get your feeling about that.
I do not want to start a Target war.
I just want to get your opinion.
I do not talk about the number of Controls in the window: they are needed.
Some of the Controls are PopupMenus (the one with grey background and a ^ at the rightmost position)
The original (standard) macOS (El Capitan) window is below, so you will better understand why my disappointment.
Some other windows use Listbox with four colored columns (or two alternates background Rows), so the overall feeling is far better.
Must I forgot that bad feeling (tis is standard Windows application look and feel) or create my own user interface (replace the used TabPanels with Canvas) ?
Which part dont you like?
The tab panels look correct for Windows.
If you want them to look like the Mac one, try replacing the tabpanel with a segmented control.
Under that have several panels or canvases, and display the right one when someone clicks on the segmented control.
To me, it’s the buttons that look boring.
[quote]
Some other windows use Listbox with four colored columns[/quote]
If the Windows 10 window screen shot looks (to you) like a standard Windows aplication, it is OK for me too.
Nothing, it is the better look there (and I love it) vs here (who looks like dark ages).
I have to say that I do not really use WIndows application (FireFox and Microsoft Image Composite Editor, a panorama application builder, sometimes Xojo).
Indeed current Xojo apps look no better than the 1985 apps.
The new UWP apps design guideline give indications about how to go to have a more contemporary UI. Note that most of the elements shown on msdn can be created based on regular Xojo controls.
Let us not dream about a Xojo doing this kind of UI any time soon. UWP new UI design has more to do with web design than native controls.
I attempted to modify the look of the window using custom controls based on Canvas (set the tab background color to blue, centered) and it works fine.
The only question is will the WIndows users love it / do not care / hate it ?
Current Windows users first experience is Windows 10 and the native applications that come with it, all based on the new UI guidelines.
I have seen posts in Windows users forums where Win32 based applications are referred to as “garbage”. They were talking about desktop applications now available in the Windows Store.
I strongly believe new users will tolerate less and less the old fashion look of Win32 controls.
A few years ago almost all the visitors to my website were using a computer, now more than 60% are using a smartphone. I think this will continue to grow.
My point is, even when the user is using a Windows machine (7-10) they are using their smartphones a lot. They interact more with apps/websites that look like web content. Now Windows 10 guidelines promotes this web design approach.
I think that now more than ever users start to see the standard windows controls as old or not professional. This is like the change from text based programs to graphics programs, now people want web design over standard graphics, just because they are used to work with that and it looks better.
[quote=360566:@Emile Schwarz]I do not have a smartphone, so I do not know how it looks.
Care to share a screen shot (or two or more) ?[/quote]
No need a smartphone. Go to https://www.apple.com on your desktop browser and resize the browser much narrower and you will see the adaptive UI in play. The top black color menubar gets condensed into the “=” hamburger button on the top left.
My “it looks better” comment is just that newer webpages/apps are more colorful and easier to navigate (at least they say they try to make it easier, I don’t like the new Capital One website when you login). Look at most banks websites in the last few years, they have “new and improved” websites and apps, all to make it easier, use bigger buttons and more colors than websites in the past.
The subject was Windows. On macOS, I do not have trouble for/with the UI. *
After all, I may have to ask some persons with iPhones (Android) to share the look of their applications for my own curiosity (to know what is actually done.
Below is a screen shot of the last Microsoft application I downloaded (used) front window, in action. I am not a fan of the Black color, but there is some blue and grey / different, very different from the Windows screen shot far above.
[quote=360578:@Emile Schwarz]The subject was Windows. On macOS, I do not have trouble for/with the UI. *
After all, I may have to ask some persons with iPhones (Android) to share the look of their applications for my own curiosity (to know what is actually done.[/quote]
Precisely, it is about the modern adaptive UI in Windows UWP and web technology. The Apple website gives a sample of what is going on in the modern Windows world. Okay, probably, this is not clear enough.
If you use Safari (and maybe other browsers have this feature) CMD+OPT+R (Development > Responsive Mode) will bring you in to “Responsive Mode” where you can try your site out on different sized devices… The defaults are the iPhone, iPads and some common screen sizes… If you click the device icon a second time, it will rotate it… Offset to the edges, of the virtual screen, there are some light grey resize bars, so you can even drag to a custom size… It’s a really handy feature once you start using it…
[quote=360594:@Jeff Tullin]How does that ‘app’ differ from a web site in any way?
You could easily be looking at Internet Explorer.[/quote]
Isn’t that the point of UWP? To blur the distinction between desktop and web app?
depends on whom you talk to at Microsoft. It is designed to make a uniform look and feel across all their platforms. desktops, laptops, tables, mobile, xbox/gaming, etc.
I think that might be over-stating the situation just slightly considering what Windows looked like in 1985.
Current Xojo apps use native controls on all platforms. The difference is that Microsoft now has a radically different UI paradigm in UWP. It’s so different that the Win32 APIs can’t be mapped onto it or Microsoft has chose not to do so. I’m not sure which. For Xojo apps to take on that UI, our Windows framework would need to be rewritten on top of UWP. If enough Windows users are running Windows 10 and beyond, at some point it’s likely we would support UWP for Xojo apps.
