[OTR-dev] Pidgin plugin development and GUI look

[hcat at gmx.net]

> Except that that expander is part of the notebook pane; 
> there are separate instructions for each authentication 
> option.

Another thing which I did not notice right away!

Ok, let's restart this. The main problem of the dialog as I see it is that the workflow is backward or upside-down :)

Dialogs should work from top to bottom. In this case, if you want to change the auth method, you have to use the last control first, which then changes the (hidden) help text and the input fields above that. The last thing you actually do is input secret and/or question at the top of the dialog.

I have redesigned the whole dialog to work around these problems:

http://userp.uni-koblenz.de/~monreal/tmp/otr/otr-mock-4.png

- The "Authenticate <user>" line stays but "again" appended to show that you already authenticated the user once (instead of the string that was shown below... is this enough?)

- Below the line the first part of the help text is drawn. This is short and catchy and guides the user through the dialog, so I don't need the use of hiding it first. Also, this place is definitely better than below the input fields.

- Next I put the auth method selection, as a combo box instead of a radio. IMHO this is easier to the eyes and takes away less space. Again, no real need to hide this by default IMHO.

- The next parts will change if the combo selection changes.

- Following is the second part of the help text. This is drawn using a slightly smaller italic font. We do the same in the preferences menu of Banshee btw.

- Last, we have the actual input boxes for the secrets/questions etc.

- I also changed the "OK" button to read "Send Request", as the HIG discourages the use of generic button labels like "OK"; instead the button should always say what it does.

How do you like this? I have to say I'm really happy with this design.

Cheers,
-Michael


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