Jordan are you directly speaking directly with Windows TAPI using Xojo? Very cool!
The modern look, would that be for Mac or Windows, is in fact very much inspired by the Web. So even Apple could not enforce anymore it’s rigid HIG the same way it could when the only controls were his.
Today custom controls are becoming the rule, not the exception.
We have entered a paradox of choice where in order to build a clean interface, one has to decide between many models. Just look at the number of templates available for web sites.
Incidentally, web sites templates are also an excellent inspiration.
[quote=235954:@Michel Bujardet]Today custom controls are becoming the rule, not the exception.
Incidentally, web sites templates are also an excellent inspiration.[/quote]
Truer words here. Starting to see and like desktop apps that look like simple web UI’s.
I’m starting on a app and trying to think about that as well.
No no TAPI here we built our one Softswitch platform & have our own REST API’s and also have a Xojo Plugin that let us build a native SIP soft-phone into the app.
Hi all,
I love some screen shots shared here.
The one below is not mine, but comes from a Microsoft application (running) whose name appears in the windows title (MICE).
At first, I strongly dislike it, but with time I realized that was because its non intuitive user interface (inherent to Windows):
When the panorama is done, the 4 EXPORT button is blue: it ony shows you the export options.
When there, if you press the Delete Key, you only active the previous button: 3 CROP !
To delete all (4 in the screen shot) dropped images, you have to press the Delete key (or select an icon to remove and press the alternate key)
But at first, you have a default window but no indication on how to load the atoms (singles images files to stitch) into the application.
Back to the subject: is it really possible to create such interface with Xojo ?
If so, how long can it be ?
Yes, with time, we can do many things
with a canvas you can do almost anything you want, but it takes time yes…
Fail?
This approach is basically the ‘wizard’ method, isnt it?
designing the entire UI from the ground up using canvas … thats not Rapid Development any more…
The answer is to drop the individual files into the main window and the shared image is displayed
just like
How do I remove one or all entries (in the shown image) ?
Press Delete to remove all or Back Delete (sorry, I forgot the name of the other delete key) to delete the selection.
Yes, and it is the actual trend.
Of course, do not provide any manual: that is too much work ! 
Another trend is to change drastically what works for years, and start inconsistency. An example is the three buttons of each window (OS X):
Button name With Option Down New Result
Close (red) Close all open windows Same
Reduce (orange) Place the window in the Dock Same (one change occured when the Dock appears
)
Zoom (green) Old feature Do a zoom to the clicked window !
This one is more complex: a simple click active the full screen mode, previously, it do what we get now when pressing the Option Key and the old Click-Option Key in the green do was doing a zoom to all open windows
I have a ton of these. Too many for this conversation / boring
I am not so sure poorly built interfaces are inherent to Windows. I would rather believe they are inherent to bad design.
In the case of the screen you post, it is obvious the designer did not care a bit about customer comfort. No help button, no apparent visual hint. Yuk.
It does not really conform to any pattern. The Wizard pattern should be conceived to abstract the complexity, not expose it. Typically, it would work with the process screen by screen. Instead of a minuscule “drop the image here”, I would make it much bigger and place it on the center of that idiotic wide black area. Then when the pictures are there, offer a simple choice with buttons, like “Continue”, “Cancel”, maybe “Back”.
This maybe modern, but IMHO, it is modern poo pee.
Worst: this appears only once you are in this mode. The default window does not have this nor anything else to tell the user what to do :(.
When I stumbled upon Xojo in 2013, I got hooked to it because I could communicate to my phone (which the manufacturer doesnt support on OS X anymore) in about half an hour.
The desktop app I developed never got finished. I learnt so many things in between that I found myself redoing everything from scratch again.
Recently, one of the former beta testers contacted me and asked if there are any chances for a new version. The main reason there werent are I am usually not satisfied with my GUI. This time I thought “theres so many good looking apps without the usual Apple interface”, and thats the info window I came up with now (buttons disabled and will be refined, but in general: For the first time I really like my screen design!). The buttons change on mouse hover if they are activated, info texts change with a fade out/in effect and the buttons highlight shortly when pressed. All with Apple-built-in animators, no timers of course. 
I have that problem, too. I am never satisfied with my GUI and I redo it so many times that I get sick of the project.
Phil
[quote=235637:@Christoph De Vocht]Will fix that asap.
Never thought anyone would click on the pause button when no FFmpeg has been installed.[/quote]
I broke my first computer, an Elliott 803B, in 1965. Its console had three buttons, latched so only one was supposed to be pressed at a time. They hadn’t thought anyone (that is, me) would press all three at once.
On Apple Printers (usually build by a third party on a that third party base base ), Power+One button (or two or I forgot) prints two kinds of test papers (one by combination): the first one prints a test page to say the printer is OK, the second one prints test texts / lines or so (I still forgot) on a second sheet of paper.
Unless someone told you, no one knews / it wasn’t in the user manual.
User Manua: a book that was coming with earch new hardwae / softare. Yes, Virginia, there was Users Manuals, long time ago (even for OS ).
You are right Michel.
But, if you take the MICE application - watch the screen shot far above as an example of wat Microsoft is able to do - as an example, here’s a hiatus.
in the above screen shot, imagine that you are in the 4th tab (Export):
- Press the Delete key and you will go to the Crop tab,
- Press the Delete key and you will go to the Stitch tab,
- Press the Delete key and you will go to the Import tab, where the screen shot have been done.
Now, press in the Delete key again and the application ask you what to do with the (Panorama) Project.
Having fun with WIndows is the name of the game
;-
My second though on custom made “Modern UI” like design is when the OS changes certain controls or UI elements your app will be broken. You might have a cool looking App but in the end - on the long run - you’re always on the safe side in using native controls only. This was the reason why I’ve choosen XOJO/RB 8 years ago - it is supporting native controls on each platforms. But that’s the reason why I am so unhappy with the current state of window platform. Somehow they missed the train on UI. Of course Jeremie made nice Ribbon Bars and with the help of Michels’ Rubberview I could somehow manage to build a modern-like UI but this is not an option. Please spend a little bit more love to Windows, I know it’s hard… it’s windows… but she needs it really bad.
I have seen companies spend months redesigning the GUI to make an app look like ‘the latest flavor of Office’
These days, it seems you can now be sued for matching the look (see the fiasco over the zoom control at the bottom right)
Microsoft and Apple both keep changing the UI to feel ‘new’
Everyone else either plays catchup or goes with a custom UI.
It is becoming a bit of a free-for all. Just compare the layout and use of iBooks, Messages, and Pages on a Mac to pick the first 3 randomly chosen ones
But because it is becoming a free-for-all, what would we actually want Xojo to add to Windows?
From some responses, Xojo thinks the problem is mostly ‘just flicker’
Made my own IDE some time ago, for a project I had in mind. Used custom controls I made, custom controls by Jeremie Leroy, and custom controls by Einhugur. Worked well and looked well on all 3 OSs.
You are a genius. Oh, and you are completely entirely thoroughly nuts, too. No contradiction as we all know.
… and he is completely violating the Xojo EULA if he tries to sell it ! …