#39 Package/module icons too similar

[Mike C. Fletcher]

This is a usability "bug", basically, the icons used
for "package" and "module" in the explorer are too
similar (the have the same basic hue, and both are
surrounded by a grey box, so there's no immediate
shape-recognition).

Please consider using, for instance, a bright-yellow
(to match the file-folder icon) for the package icon's
paper. Also consider using icon transparency for the
icons so they are more readily distinguished.

[Riaan Booysen]

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The greeness is supposed to mean it's a Python filetype and it is a brighter green than the snake.
Look at a zip file in the editor, it has a yellow version of the package icon.

I really prefer the green one presonally :(

On the transparency issue; maintaining two sets of icons is just too much of a pain. I've stopped doing just that
with the palette icons (they are no longer transparent)

Until all the controls that use the icons support transparency on windows and linux this is the only route I can go.

[Mike C. Fletcher]

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Although I see the logic (and actually saw it before), the
fact remains that the icons are too similar from a
usability standpoint. Since the icons are for python
packages and python modules (the two main foci of the IDE),
they need to be easily distinguished.

If you like, I can look into providing redesigned icons for
your consideration, it will likely be a few weeks as I'm
currently working on getting PyOpenGL finished for the 2.0
release at the end of the month. (I'm a designer by
profession, incidentally).

As for transparency, what are you using for building and
saving the icons? Most graphics packages have sufficient
built-in functionality that they can be scripted into
saving two versions of the file using the mask/layer
information for deriving the transparency.

[Riaan Booysen]

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So do you like the yellow package currently used for zip files in the Boa Explorer?

I want to keep the package icon theme (pakages, zip files, setup files) so the options are to change the colour of
the icon. Please send any iconic improvements you make.

Having a mask for every picture might mean a big resource drain on windows. Last time I looked there was a
problem with transparency and wxGTK. I think the wxNotebook does not support transparent images.

I use Paint :) For 16x16 images you don't need more.

[Riaan Booysen]

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Update on the transparency issue;

I've converted all explorer images to have a special background colour and are loading them with
wxImageList.AddWithColourMask().

This works great under windows, but not under linux :(

If I don't get a workaround, I've decided to distribute two sets of images for the next real release (this time with a
white background instead of gray on GTK (the gray was needed for Notebook images))

The next CVS release will have a bright pink look on GTK :) This will maybe inspire someone to try something I
didn't (I'll blame the new horrendous colour scheme on your insistance of course ;)