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Comparison of current look to CSD

Scenarios

  1. Go “complete” CSD/HeaderBar
  2. Full CSD, not full HeaderBar
  3. Use CSD only for XfceTitledDialog
  4. Stay where we are

Scenario 1: Go "complete" CSD/HeaderBar

This is the most effort of all three scenarios and would imply redesigning all applications, notably Thunar, Parole, Taskmanager.

Scenario 2: Full CSD, not full HeaderBar

This means

  • replacing XfceTitledDialog with a HeaderBar containing “[icon] [title|subtitle] [window controls]”
  • re-designing those apps that seem like low-hanging fruit (Taskmanager? Parole?)
  • using CSD only as simple window decorations for applications

Scenario 3: Use CSD only for XfceTitledDialog

This means only using CSD for XfceTitledDialog (see scenario 2) and leaving the rest unchanged, so Xfwm4 decorations for applications like Thunar.

Scenario 4: Stay where we are

This means changing nothing with respect to window decorations or XfceTitledDialog.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages of current XfceTitledHeader:

  • Unique design element that only Xfce has (probably the only one)
  • Big icons and big/bold text make the purpose of the dialog very obvious

Downsides of current XfceTitledHeader:

  • Uses a lot of vertical space
  • Duplicates window title
  • Means apps or plugins always have to rely/depend on libxfce4ui to get an “Xfce Settings Dialog”
  • Pesky/laborious way of creating window decorations / xfwm4 themes

Advantages of Headerbars:

  • Less vertical space used (at least in Settings Dialogs)
  • No more window title duplication
  • No need for custom widget - every app developer can set it up him/herself
  • XfceTitledDialog code could be reduced to a fraction and after a transition period dropped completely
  • Other action buttons can in theory also be packed into the Headerbar
  • Users cannot match titlebar style and Gtk style independently (so it will always look consistent)
  • Enables dark mode (apps which request the dark Gtk theme variant will now get consistent decoration)

Downsides of Headerbars:

  • Users cannot customize the buttons in the titlebars anymore (only the window controls layout)
  • Users cannot add special Xfwm4 buttons anymore (menu, stick and shade - although menu is always there on right-click)
  • Risk of inconsistency if we don't write down good guidelines how headerbars/CSD should look in Xfce (example of possible inconsistency: app icons or not, window title or not)
  • Users cannot match titlebar style and Gtk+ style independently (so if they don't like the look, they have to search for another theme)

Screenshots

The screenshots always show the current style first, then the new style. The theme is Greybird, although some shots also contain Adwaita (in addition).

Preferences Dialogs (libxfce4ui aka XfceTitledDialog)

Appearance Settings

Relevant for Scenarios 1, 2 and 3.

Color Profiles

Relevant for Scenarios 1, 2 and 3.

Applications

Taskmanager

Relevant for Scenarios 1 and 2.

Notifyd

Relevant for Scenarios 1, 2 and 3.

Parole

Relevant for Scenario 2.