Notice: This Wiki is now read only and edits are no longer possible. Please see: https://gitlab.eclipse.org/eclipsefdn/helpdesk/-/wikis/Wiki-shutdown-plan for the plan.
E4/CSS/Visual Design
This page summarizes the investigations into an updated visual design (default stylesheet) for the e4 workbench.
Goals
The goals of this work are:
- design a compelling visual style for e4
- reduce visual noise, focus on the data
- investigate additional breathing space, lessons learned from publishing and web
- sleek/modern
- drive the ability/flexibility of the CSS styling for SWT widgets
- demonstrate the ability to keep a "classic" look and supply alternate designs
- identify the major interaction design issues (workbench model) that might block visual design
Visual Design Items
Design element | Requirement | Implementation constraints | Priority | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tabs | Ability to define custom shapes | Shape should be specified in CSS, shouldn't require Java code (ownerdraw). Consider use of sprites/images and prototype the performance. Look for other standards for specifying custom shapes. | High | 10/19/2009 - Bogdan investigating SVG as descriptive format for tab shapes. Linda to provide SVG file(s) of previous tab shape designs. |
Tabs | Custom highlight colors and gradients | An approach using images limits the ability to honor platform themes where the color does not need to be specified. | High | 10/19/2009 - SVG would solve this issue. |
Tabs | Separate background color for area behind tabs (blank space on right) | None - Can be drawn by ETabFolder | High | (Already in .9?) |