Inconsistent height in bars at the top

Started by Mees Dekker, March 26, 2024, 08:57:37 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Mees Dekker

Since this latest version (2024.8) the inconsistency in height fot several bars at the top of the screen became even more visible (see screenshot). 

Where should I go the set them all to the same height?

Mario

#1
Which bars do you mean? When I make some measures in your screen shot, it checks out:

Image1.jpg

What do I miss?

-- Mario
IMatch Developer
Forum Administrator
http://www.photools.com  -  Contact & Support - Follow me on 𝕏 - Like photools.com on Facebook

Mees Dekker

#2
Look at the size of the characters at the very top (Database Edit Commands Search ...) These are significantly smaller in size than in the bar directly below (Media & Folders  Categories Timeline ...)

Then below that: Media & Folders is somewhat smaller than the the bar further right (Standaard and the rest of the icons).

So we have 4 different heights of bars at the top of the screen. The UI would be looking a bit more professional if all these heights were the same (and user adjustable).

Mario

#3
The menu at the top uses the standard IMatch/Windows menu font.  Windows picks a menu size based on version, screen dimensions, DPI scaling settings and text scaling settings made by the user. IMatch asks Windows for the font used for menus and uses it.

Users can control the menu font size for menus via Edit menu > Preferences > Menu Size. The default is normal (same as Windows). If a user prefers larger menus for easier tapping, IMatch also offers large and Big menu sizes.

The user-selected menu font size applies to all "modern" menus (main menu, context menus, ...) IMatch provides when experimental mode is enabled (as in your case).

For display text and text in controls like drop-down controls, Ribbons use the Windows control font, which also varies based on Windows version, DPI and text scaling settings.

Usually the menu font and control font use the same height, but that's controlled by Windows. Assuming the user leaves Menu Size to normal.

The ribbon height is based on the height of the control font, with some padding and margins. The DPI settings and test scaling dialed in by the user are considered when setting the default and minimal ribbon height.
If the user prefers larger icons, the ribbon height can be configured Edit menu > Preferences > Application > Ribbon height.

The user interface toolkit uses some bold/normal font for the panel captions, I assume they derive it from also the Windows control font. Not sure at the moment.

I've deliberately selected a slightly larger font for the View tabs on computers with a screen height >=1200 pixel to make them a bit higher and easier to tap / click on touch screens.

This is how the View tabs look on a screen with a height < 1200px (ID plate disabled for better overview):

Image3.jpg

I've made some measures on my 4K monitor with 150% scaling (default) and text scaling at 100%.

The menu font at the top, the caption font used for panels and the font used for ribbons (and the sort profile selector) all measures at the same 25px height. The larger View tab font measures at 32px.
-- Mario
IMatch Developer
Forum Administrator
http://www.photools.com  -  Contact & Support - Follow me on 𝕏 - Like photools.com on Facebook

sinus

Best wishes from Switzerland! :-)
Markus

Mario

Quote from: sinus on March 26, 2024, 01:15:18 PMImpressive lots of possibilities.  :)
Having the ability to make menus fonts and ribbon icons larger can be a big help if the monitor is very small or the eyesight is not 20/20 anymore ;)

IMatch always had this (Configuring IMatch for High-DPI Screens and Easier Reading) but now that IMatch uses my custom ribbons and custom menus and vector-based icons (almost everywhere, still a work in progress), I can enforce consistency and compatibility with assistive technologies.
-- Mario
IMatch Developer
Forum Administrator
http://www.photools.com  -  Contact & Support - Follow me on 𝕏 - Like photools.com on Facebook

Mees Dekker

#6
One thing that caught my eye is that in my screenshot, the icons are bigger than the text while in  Mario's screenshot the icons seem to be the same size as the text.

Both my screens are 1920 x 1200

Anything I can do to decrease the size of the icons? (see screenshot of my settings)

Mario

The icon size for the View tabs is based on the font size. If your sceen is 1200, IMatch defaults to using slightly larger tab height (on my system 32 instead of 25 pixels). My second screen shot shows IMatch on a monitor with < 1200px height, where the font size for the View tabs is smaller. There is no option for this.

You can control the height of the ribbon via Edit > Preferences > Application: Ribbon height. The minimum height is based on the height of controls like the drop-down control in the File Window ribbon. These controls are sized by Windows and IMatch cannot draw ribbons smaller than that.
-- Mario
IMatch Developer
Forum Administrator
http://www.photools.com  -  Contact & Support - Follow me on 𝕏 - Like photools.com on Facebook

Mees Dekker

Thank you taking time to explain this in detail. As always: excellent service.

I'll have to live with this minor point, I guess

Mario

Quote from: Mees Dekker on March 26, 2024, 04:15:43 PMThank you taking time to explain this in detail. As always: excellent service.

I'll have to live with this minor point, I guess
If you would IMatch always use the smaller font size for the View tabs or even an option to choose, open a Feature Request.
This dynamic sizing is around for a while in experimental mode and you are the only user so far commenting on it.
I don't know if you are the only user who does not like this, or if there are others.
I would prefer a "do / no-do" solution over adding yet another option.
A FR will tell me.
-- Mario
IMatch Developer
Forum Administrator
http://www.photools.com  -  Contact & Support - Follow me on 𝕏 - Like photools.com on Facebook