Aesthetics of the New Filter Bar
 

What was wrong with the old Filter Bar (and the old Look in general)? This new one is way too bold, dark and distracting. Very obtrusive. It doesn't look like OS X, and it sure doesn't look like Omni.

Please bring back the old subtle Filter Bar.

I agree. No improvements in the visual department for 1.7. On the contrary. Everything is too dark, the toolbar, the folders and even the due badges--all looks kinda dirty and heavy. (Compare OmniFocus folders with Finder folders and you'll have the urge to wash them.)

The toolbar has not only cosmetic shortcomings, it's also clumsy. Isn't there a [I]defaults[/I] way to get the old one back?

Hmm, most of the feedback we've received has been positive.

The view bar in OmniFocus 1.7 looks a bit different on Tiger (10.4) and Leopard (10.5) (since window toolbars look different on the two operating systems); which are each of you running it on?

I'm running it on 10.5.

Maybe if I had a 24" screen it wouldn't bother me that much (though I still wouldn't like the dark look), but on my 13" screen it takes up too much valuable vertical space (at least it looks as if it would because of the dominant appearance).

I like the new one better. I think it looks more polished.

I second this. Too dominant. Too distracting. -- And too black. ;-)

I have assigned keyboard shortcuts for my most used filters* so I can hide the the Filter Bar and access filters via keyboard. But, of course, that's a bit awkward.

* System Preferences > Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard Shortcuts

PS: I also don't like the new default Style preferences, but I love the fact that they can be changed back to the old (Helvetica) settings.

ricot, why not use perspectives to store these settings? In 1.7 you can set up a perspective to only restore the view bar settings by unchecking all the Restore checkboxes in the Perspectives window. Then you can set up your shortcuts right inside OF.

[QUOTE=ricot;65388]I second this. Too dominant. Too distracting. -- And too black. ;-)
PS: I also don't like the new default Style preferences, but I love the fact that they can be changed back to the old (Helvetica) settings.[/QUOTE]

I triple this. it's way to bold! and not discreet enough!! Any settings to make it blend more in the window? It's not classy at all.

I utterly hate the Lucida Grande font when used in text. it's horrible. Any way to get the old style theme somewhere?

Gam.

[QUOTE=curt.clifton;65391]ricot, why not use perspectives to store these settings? In 1.7 you can set up a perspective to only restore the view bar settings by unchecking all the Restore checkboxes in the Perspectives window. Then you can set up your shortcuts right inside OF.[/QUOTE]

Good point. But most of the time I'm already in a Perspective (that I don't want to leave) when I wish to change filter settings.

Viewed from Leopard, the contrast between lozenges and dark background is gratuitously high.

Anything beyond the minimum effective difference is essentially shouting - distraction that carries no additional information.

The long horizontal high-contrast edges between the filter band and the adjacent grays have a particularly weak signal to noise ratio.

Perhaps it would be helpful for someone in Omni to read a basic text on graphic design - one of the readily available books by[URL="http://www.amazon.com/Envisioning-Information-Edward-R-Tufte/dp/0961392118/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251449577&sr=8-1"] Edward Tufte[/URL], for example.

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