Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Apple, Developer
Cabel's Coda toolbar and the Three Pixel Conundrum
Panic's Cabel Sasser has updated his blog (finally! His Miis were cute and all, but I was tired of seeing them every day) with a really interesting post about how he designed the toolbar for the everything-web-development tool that apparently is the bee's knees, Coda.Instead of using the standard rounded bevel of OS X's unified toolbar, Sasser decided he wanted to do something a little different, and created a tab-ish vertical indent. Unfortunately, the way OS X's toolbars work didn't vibe with his idea (there were just three pixels at the bottom that couldn't be edited the way he wanted), so the Panic team ended up developing their own entire toolbar. That, he says, is why you can't rearrange the icons in Coda-- because the app isn't using the system toolbar.
But the best part is saved for last. All the hard work paid off, because even though Sasser had to drive his team nuts just to figure out a way to get around those three pixels, Apple eventually agreed with him. And the new toolbar in Leopard looks strangely familiar. Great story, and a real shot in the arm to developers who might not otherwise be pushed to bother with all the coding required to get the look they want exactly right.
[ via DF ]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Quix said 7:35PM on 9-11-2007
That's all fine and good, but how about that iPhone video review, Cabel? Enough with the serious work already!
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Hawkman said 8:47PM on 9-11-2007
Personally, I'm not a fan. It's prettier, but far less obvious. Plus, the openness at the top feels painfully... incomplete, to me. If it had some sense of being enclosed at the top, it'd feel better and probably help make it more obvious, too.
Yes, believe it or not, it really matters to me.
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David said 9:36PM on 9-11-2007
Windows Home Server?
http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/08/windows-home-server-everything-you-need-features-rundown-scre/
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dryan said 9:40PM on 9-11-2007
It's odd to me how everyone is so fascinated with this 3 pixel deal. Yes, Coda's interface is nice. I've been using it for production work every day since it's release. But as a 8+ hour-a-day user, I wish they'd have used that time to work out some more serious interface issues (keyboard emulation in the terminal, keyboard shortcuts for navigating through tabs that match the rest of OS X, and automatic closing of parens and braces even when one is typing inside of existing text) rather than what is in the end a superfluous difference in toolbar styling.
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Bryan Hughes said 10:15PM on 9-11-2007
I'm a big fan of Coda and its nice to see Cabel updating his blog. However, I'd prefer to see some updates on the development of Coda. Its been a while since the product has been updated.
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jyrki.lilja said 1:12AM on 9-12-2007
Hey,
Finder in Tiger has the same kind of toolbar... http://myskitch.com/jyrkililja/finderpreferences-20070912-080944.png
-jyrki
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Magnus said 3:13AM on 9-12-2007
The old one from Finder looks much better.
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metrixon said 3:46AM on 9-12-2007
I think, sacrificing the usability of the toolbar for a 3-Pixel-Design-Issue is the wrong move.
Wether or not the Coda toolbar is prettier is just a matter of taste but being unable to customize the toolbar to its full extent is unsatisfying.
In a way, this seems to be the general direction even Apple has taken when designing the new Dock: usability and consistency in the user interface is not the primary goal - eye candy comes first.
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