A long time a go I installed gaim but thought the user interface was too basic. Now years later im still facing the same problem with pidgin. Nowadays looks and usability are almost just as important as functionality. You've got a great program here but it looks and feels so outdated.
A few examples:
One of my biggest problems is that i cant seem to resize my buddy list font size. In most IM programs i can display all my buddies in one window without the need to scroll downwards, in pidgin i have to scroll forever to get to the bottom of the list. My list isn't even that big, the younger generation now have lists exceeding 100 buddies.
A few gradients and the possibility for a background image would improve the pidgin looks so much.
To me it shouldnt be too difficult to make a few simple graphical improvements (font resize, gradients, background image??) and by doing this enlarge the user base, especially the windows user base as the competition is much bigger here.
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i dont understand you guys there are 2 major players in this GAIM=PIGIN and TRILIAN
if you want snick-snack and absolute UN-basic-ness there is trilian
the #1 and MOST important reason for me to use gaim/pidgin is its basic/minimalistic-design
that is the only real difference i can see between trilian and gaim, so there is your solution: if you want snick-snack with your messenger why dont you use trilian ?
as course the side affect of snick-snack is always bigger size
i have both installed, i have trilian3 set as minimalistic as i just could, so i run them just now to see mem usage after complete log on pidgin2:8+8=16mb, trilian3:9=19=28mb (memory+virtualmemory=total)
the problem is that even if i set everything to bare minimum just the options to have those snick-snack features take up a lot of memory
so i just don't see the point of this tread ! it would be very bad for many pidgin users to have a customizable gui for the above reasons
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i do not experience you font issue and i have far over 300 "buddies" in my list
i guess if the font would be to big that could be a problem, for me its at my resolution just perfect (1920x1024), so for someone using 1024x768 or even less it probably looks huge
but so far i remember we was able to set the size of the font in earlier versions, i even checked if there are any ini files or something, but i cant find anything
so that would interest me to: is there a way to reduce the size of the font in the buddylist-window ?
or does it uses the same size then the windows default background font-size? or even font type ? because on my PC they look identical
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I'm not expecting snick-snack im expecting a few basic gui options thats all. Just because trillian offers a thousend gui options and takes up lots of memory that doesn't mean pidgin shouldnt offer at least a few basic gui options.
A few gradients or a background image aren't going to require 100% of my nvidea graphics card. And as long as these graphical options can be enabled/disabled you can choose how much memory pidgin uses.
At the moment my resolution is 1280x1024, with this resolution and by sizing pidgin to 2/3 of my screen I can only see 10 buddies.
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pidgin is as themable as GTK+ allows us to be, if GTK+ allows you to place a gradient or background image somewhere you can use it to do that to pidgin, if it doesn't you can't. The documentation for what is and isn't possible with GTK+ themes is unfortunately lacking but there is no lack of existing GTK+ themes out there for you to look at, have fun.
Can you please put up a screenshot of your desktop with pidgin showing so I can see what size your interface font is, at that resolution you should be able to see at least 20+ buddies I think given a large font size and displaying buddy details in the buddy list. At least twice that with buddy details off. I suspect that either your GTK+ configuration is busted or your screen's DPI settings are incorrect or something else of that sort.
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The GTK+ runtime comes with a fistful of themes, some of which I liked and some that are geared towards gradients and stuff like that, although my favourite is the vanilla Raleigh theme, which is the most basic and least intrusive.
My current pet peeve with Pidgin 2.3 is that different contacts groups are now separated with a dark gray line, which I find a bit intrusive.
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mantric: select 'Buddies - Show - Buddy Details' to uncheck it and you can see many more buddies in the list.
im on the same screen resolution, personally i like to see the buddy icons and im ok to scroll as i have 100's of buddies but only a handful are online at any given time. i also use the transparency plugin so i see my background through the buddy list. just my 2 cents
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pidgin does not have options for changing the interface font because it should not be up to the application to control that, the pidgin interface fonts are controlled by your GTK+ theme. If you want to change the interface font you do that by configuring your GTK+ theme settings, the FAQ should have some information on how to do this. There is also the Pidgin GTK+ Theme Control plugin which was a compromise plugin written to make people who don't want to mess with their GTK+ settings by hand a little happier, you can try that if you want to.
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Problem is, the GTK "theme" may be familiar to Linux users, but totally alien and very unfriendly to non-Linux users, such as those using Windows. Since the default GTK theme is tied to Windows' settings, perhaps it is better to tell the users what they are familiar with - the settings in Windows.
IMHO, having a fairly minimalist interface is a good thing, as long as it does not interfere with the ultimate purpose of the software.
Here's how I think about it:
-The primary purpose of the software should be powerful. An artist using a paint program wants to be able to control every pixel, and should have a lot of power for creating art.
-Going along with the art example, the artist should *not* have to worry about non-art things, such as the technical details about the file formats.
-Therefore, while the art stuff should be very powerful, the non-art stuff should be simple and straightforward.
I'd say the same thing applies to any software, including GAIM: The focus should be on chat and friends management - and other things should be simplified.
That being said, the user should see what is expected: In the case of Windows, the font size should be sized based upon the current Windows theme, and there should be no "GTK theme" at all.
I just tested it, and GAIM using the default GTK theme is indeed tied to Windows' settings. The user list font size is tied to the Message Box font size.
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I can not agree with you. Pidgin is the best software which I know, because it is very stable. Everything what you want is working. Buddy list looks fine and you can find everything what you want. How offen are you still looking on your buddy list? Just find user and you can talk with your frends and buddy list can be in system tray. (if you dont like the skin). About scroll - you can type the name of your friend or use the groups. It is very easy. And the same question - how offen are you searching for buddy?
I like pidgin and I am very glad that guys made this great software and they are still working on it. Pidgin is more and more better and I am like a virus and I am attacking my friends to use it too. Because if pidgin will be much more knowen then it will be a veru huge rival for others.
First think is made it powerful, then made it comfortable with fonts etc.
But it is my suggestion.
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Hi there,
A long time a go I installed gaim but thought the user interface was too basic. Now years later im still facing the same problem with pidgin. Nowadays looks and usability are almost just as important as functionality. You've got a great program here but it looks and feels so outdated.
A few examples:
One of my biggest problems is that i cant seem to resize my buddy list font size. In most IM programs i can display all my buddies in one window without the need to scroll downwards, in pidgin i have to scroll forever to get to the bottom of the list. My list isn't even that big, the younger generation now have lists exceeding 100 buddies.
A few gradients and the possibility for a background image would improve the pidgin looks so much.
To me it shouldnt be too difficult to make a few simple graphical improvements (font resize, gradients, background image??) and by doing this enlarge the user base, especially the windows user base as the competition is much bigger here.
i dont understand you guys there are 2 major players in this GAIM=PIGIN and TRILIAN
if you want snick-snack and absolute UN-basic-ness there is trilian
the #1 and MOST important reason for me to use gaim/pidgin is its basic/minimalistic-design
that is the only real difference i can see between trilian and gaim, so there is your solution: if you want snick-snack with your messenger why dont you use trilian ?
as course the side affect of snick-snack is always bigger size
i have both installed, i have trilian3 set as minimalistic as i just could, so i run them just now to see mem usage after complete log on pidgin2:8+8=16mb, trilian3:9=19=28mb (memory+virtualmemory=total)
the problem is that even if i set everything to bare minimum just the options to have those snick-snack features take up a lot of memory
so i just don't see the point of this tread ! it would be very bad for many pidgin users to have a customizable gui for the above reasons
i do not experience you font issue and i have far over 300 "buddies" in my list
i guess if the font would be to big that could be a problem, for me its at my resolution just perfect (1920x1024), so for someone using 1024x768 or even less it probably looks huge
but so far i remember we was able to set the size of the font in earlier versions, i even checked if there are any ini files or something, but i cant find anything
so that would interest me to: is there a way to reduce the size of the font in the buddylist-window ?
or does it uses the same size then the windows default background font-size? or even font type ? because on my PC they look identical
I'm not expecting snick-snack im expecting a few basic gui options thats all. Just because trillian offers a thousend gui options and takes up lots of memory that doesn't mean pidgin shouldnt offer at least a few basic gui options.
A few gradients or a background image aren't going to require 100% of my nvidea graphics card. And as long as these graphical options can be enabled/disabled you can choose how much memory pidgin uses.
At the moment my resolution is 1280x1024, with this resolution and by sizing pidgin to 2/3 of my screen I can only see 10 buddies.
pidgin is as themable as GTK+ allows us to be, if GTK+ allows you to place a gradient or background image somewhere you can use it to do that to pidgin, if it doesn't you can't. The documentation for what is and isn't possible with GTK+ themes is unfortunately lacking but there is no lack of existing GTK+ themes out there for you to look at, have fun.
Can you please put up a screenshot of your desktop with pidgin showing so I can see what size your interface font is, at that resolution you should be able to see at least 20+ buddies I think given a large font size and displaying buddy details in the buddy list. At least twice that with buddy details off. I suspect that either your GTK+ configuration is busted or your screen's DPI settings are incorrect or something else of that sort.
The GTK+ runtime comes with a fistful of themes, some of which I liked and some that are geared towards gradients and stuff like that, although my favourite is the vanilla Raleigh theme, which is the most basic and least intrusive.
My current pet peeve with Pidgin 2.3 is that different contacts groups are now separated with a dark gray line, which I find a bit intrusive.
mantric: select 'Buddies - Show - Buddy Details' to uncheck it and you can see many more buddies in the list.
im on the same screen resolution, personally i like to see the buddy icons and im ok to scroll as i have 100's of buddies but only a handful are online at any given time. i also use the transparency plugin so i see my background through the buddy list. just my 2 cents
pidgin does not have options for changing the interface font because it should not be up to the application to control that, the pidgin interface fonts are controlled by your GTK+ theme. If you want to change the interface font you do that by configuring your GTK+ theme settings, the FAQ should have some information on how to do this. There is also the Pidgin GTK+ Theme Control plugin which was a compromise plugin written to make people who don't want to mess with their GTK+ settings by hand a little happier, you can try that if you want to.
Problem is, the GTK "theme" may be familiar to Linux users, but totally alien and very unfriendly to non-Linux users, such as those using Windows. Since the default GTK theme is tied to Windows' settings, perhaps it is better to tell the users what they are familiar with - the settings in Windows.
IMHO, having a fairly minimalist interface is a good thing, as long as it does not interfere with the ultimate purpose of the software.
Here's how I think about it:
-The primary purpose of the software should be powerful. An artist using a paint program wants to be able to control every pixel, and should have a lot of power for creating art.
-Going along with the art example, the artist should *not* have to worry about non-art things, such as the technical details about the file formats.
-Therefore, while the art stuff should be very powerful, the non-art stuff should be simple and straightforward.
I'd say the same thing applies to any software, including GAIM: The focus should be on chat and friends management - and other things should be simplified.
That being said, the user should see what is expected: In the case of Windows, the font size should be sized based upon the current Windows theme, and there should be no "GTK theme" at all.
I just tested it, and GAIM using the default GTK theme is indeed tied to Windows' settings. The user list font size is tied to the Message Box font size.
I can not agree with you. Pidgin is the best software which I know, because it is very stable. Everything what you want is working. Buddy list looks fine and you can find everything what you want. How offen are you still looking on your buddy list? Just find user and you can talk with your frends and buddy list can be in system tray. (if you dont like the skin). About scroll - you can type the name of your friend or use the groups. It is very easy. And the same question - how offen are you searching for buddy?
I like pidgin and I am very glad that guys made this great software and they are still working on it. Pidgin is more and more better and I am like a virus and I am attacking my friends to use it too. Because if pidgin will be much more knowen then it will be a veru huge rival for others.
First think is made it powerful, then made it comfortable with fonts etc.
But it is my suggestion.