GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 397312
Provide a Tango style application icon for Preferred Applications capplet
Last modified: 2008-06-15 17:50:56 UTC
The current icon for Preferred Applications capplet in control center is using wrong style (old GNOME instead new Tango). Maybe we should also change its name and use the same name of the executable or something like "preferences-desktop-preferred-applications" (see Icon Naming Spec).
Confirming.
The major problem with the icon will be the metaphor. There is a 6 year old bug on this - #61521
Since we're quite desperate, here's a fresh braindump: * split-screen female figure. half of it with blond hair, the other half brunette * split-screen emacs/vim icons * split screen cat|dog * document sheet asociated with application-x-executable || <-> <> None of these are right, but perhaps it's time to pick the least bad one.
Maybe I'm just hungry, but perhaps food choices and a question mark may help represent a metaphor that is essentially about "personal choice." Some ideas: * ice cream (cones?) - chocolate/vanilla or chocolate/vanilla/strawberry with a question mark. * coffee/tea with a question mark.
Here another ideas: * a path splited into 2 then merged at the other end * a street pole with 2 signs point to 2 different direction
Created attachment 85963 [details] Idea for the icon What about combining the "software package" icon withe the "favorite" heart? I'm not an artist and I re-used artwork from tango-icon-theme just to show the basic idea...
I think GNOME's icon for package manager with heart would also be great.
Michael's idea looks good to me.
Created attachment 109513 [details] Alternative icon Michael passed this alternative icon on to me. This icon is by Lapo Calamandrei and has more sizes available.
They are both not very clear to me. A window + heart would do the trick i think.
Then change applet's name to "I [heart] applications". Joking (; . Both are good to me too.
*** Bug 61521 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
I don't know. I would prefer that the capplet didn't exist, and there was a better way to do this. How about the application-x-generic icon with a heart emblem? I imagine if one only looked at the icon, the two windows with a checkmark/heart, might appear to mean "preferred window manager" or something similar, as the window manager settings uses the two windows icon. And using the box icon i think is bad, as it tends to be used for the install process instead.
generic icon may be confusing. what about box with globe, letter and checkmark emblem? probably too much elements...
box like that one for "other" in menu.
another approach is modal window with few checkmarks, globe, letter and note. no place for terminal :> .
No, trying to stuff the type of applications supported into the icon is bad. Especially as more types may be added in the future. Also, the globe icon must die.
that's a big dilemma... ok, another approach. your generic app idea, but slightly less visible than big green checkmark emblem from my idea :> .
Created attachment 109620 [details] Some ideas for the metaphor
(In reply to comment #19) > Some ideas for the metaphor I don't think these fit either, really. The question mark is generally associated with "help" which this capplet does not provide. And the paper sheet implies it is where one configures file type associations, which is also not the case. I still think something more related to application-x-generic would be best.
Created attachment 109624 [details] Window with grey question mark and heart overlay
What about this?
Hard to find out which metaphor is better... I think about mixing Hylke's and Jakub's (not mine :P ) metaphors - window with heart in the middle and checkmark emblem.
(In reply to comment #22) > What about this? Not fond of it either. Favorite help window? I am not sure the favorite emblem fits in for the needed icon. Windows and OS X don't have such a dialog. I'm not sure why we think we need one as well. Is there any icon that doesn't just involve overlaying some existing emblem over some existing icon? I think we've pretty much exhausted the window+emblem metaphor now.
> Windows Doesn't? And you'll 100% sure?
(In reply to comment #25) > > Windows > > Doesn't? And you'll 100% sure? Considering I actually use it, yes.
In "add/remove software" click last button from left pane. Shortcut in Control center exists (should) or at least in Polish version of Windows does...
http://img286.imageshack.us/img286/6707/domyslneustawy4jr.jpg The currently selected button's icon.
OK. So I'm sure you went out of your way to find that. And, until just now, I have never, on any Windows XP machine, clicked on that icon. I'm also pretty sure that doesn't exist in Windows prior to, or after, XP, except for maybe in Win2k, and maybe in NT. But I don't recall ever seeing it in NT 4. I would also expect that it's not how people manage what web browser to use. People who want to use IE, don't tend to install other browsers, and people who want to use another browser, install only that one, only using IE when required to (Windows Update). Also, this is not "It's own special settings dialog", and it is only one of several places where you can specify a default Web Browser or Mail client. Also notice how the icon has no real metaphor. It's just a circle with 4 sections containing the windows logo colors, and a check mark emblem. The equivilant in our theme would be the generic application diamond, with a check mark emblem. And that's pretty close to what I suggested in my first comment to this bug.
It's XP. Yes, the metaphor is gone. I don't remember who made all XP icons for Microsoft. iconfactory? Doesn't really matter now. EOT. -- What about few app/generic with checkmarks and/or heart? Hmmmm... Quite complicated.
Created attachment 109745 [details] binary mime with heart on it Per Rodney's suggestion. I agree that a pair of windows might be bad, as it's going to show up next to the Windows capplet in the preferences menu. Either way, the current one needs to die soon, as it looks too much like a package manager.
Hard to notice red heart...
Livio: we can change the color of the heart to, say white if needed.
Curious how this would look like...
Created attachment 109756 [details] Using the executable icons' watermark to signify the 'preffered'
Jakub, I love your idea however this would be unrecognizable in size 16x16. Unless you can put some magic on it...
Created attachment 109766 [details] preferred-applications in all currently used sizes It works quite well at 16x16, and this is a control-center launcher icon, so the critical size is 48x48.
Created attachment 109767 [details] svg source + chopped up bitmaps
As soon as somebody mentions dating services, I'm going to beat him up with a bat.
would it be more eye catching with color different from blue?
I like this idea. Jones, I would argue this is blue. More purple.
The icon is currently shipped by gnome-icon-theme. Should we ship this with g-c-c now and remove the one from g-i-t, or replace the one in g-i-t?
The icon is supposed to be a custom named icon and going to be shipped with gcc not git. We probably need to fill a new bug on removal the current icon from git. Rodney, can you confirm on this bug?
I've committed the new icon by Jakub to SVN. I've filed bug 538474 to deal with removing this icon from gnome-icon-theme.