A Proposal for Adium Next: The Main Window

[Evan Schoenberg, M.D.]

On Aug 25, 2011, at 8:40 PM, Peter Hosey wrote:

> On Aug 25, 2011, at 18:27:36, Evan Schoenberg, M.D. wrote:
>> 1.  Support opening a contact list which, by default, is the Collapsed, No Chats Open window.  It allows display of chats in the list to be toggled somehow, but it does not allow expansion.  It can do the sweet collapsed, contact selected behavior.
>> 	 - This window is not open when Adium starts on a fresh install.  The Main Window is.
> 
> I disagree. When the user connects for the first time, all they have are contacts, no chats. There is no reason to show the chat area.


GIven a window full of contacts double clicking a contact could potentially do one of two things:
 1. Open a window with a chat. This is the current behavior.
 2. Expand the window into being a Main Window.

I suggest that the default behavior be #2, if the default view is collapsed. I think you're suggesting the same.  My main point was that the separate contact list - which does not expand into a Main Window but rather provides behavior #1 - is not what is initially shown.

However, I don't know that the default view should be collapsed.  George, could you weigh in on how you see this looking on first launch (and subsequent launches with no open chats)?

> (Subsequent launches are a different case, as we should implement Resume by reopening all the chats the user left open.)

Agreed; we currently do that, though it's a preference.

> 
> In list-only mode, we can reduce the population of the toolbar to only:
> 
> - AV
> - History
> - Info/Block
> 
> (Why are Info and Block one button again?)

> 
> It'll still be a bit wider than we're used to, but workable. We can probably do further sacrifical collapsing as the user reduces the window's width.

Perhaps we could make use of the bottom action bar to avoid having to expand the width?

> 
> When the full main window is shown, we show the full toolbar.
> 
> Then, when they open a chat or do something else that requires the full main window, we automatically show it, and hide it afterward when that thing is done.

I agree that's the right behavior for the collapsed view.   Once collapsed, it'll recollapse when it's obvious that's the desired appearance (e.g. all chats are closed).

-Evan

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