It would be good to keep the perspectives list open on the desktop, next to the sidebar and contents panel.

Alas, it is mysteriously decorated with a barber's pole motif, introducing about a dozen redundant visual contrasts which serve only to distract the retina and generate cognitive noise which has to be filtered out.



As a result, I keep it closed except when needed (rather like the current Filter bar), and have to over-use Cmd Ctrl P.

Would it be possible to remove these distractions by making the barber's pole optional ?

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[Greg Jones]

I suppose I must have dulled visual contrasts as I don't see a barber's pole in the perspectives list. What am I overlooking here?

A system of parallel contrasting edges, which draw the eye's attention, but convey (in this case) no information.

The classic barber's pole, of course, has a system of oblique edges. Unfortunately the retinal system is even more sensitive to horizontal edges.

[BevvyB]

You mean the OSX way of showing lists of things?

[Greg Jones]

All I can see that may be what you are speaking to is the use of horizontal, parallel lines in the icons, but I don't believe that is the issue? Beyond the icons, what I see is what BevvyB said-the OSX standard of a blue bar with white text to indicate a selection in a list.

[Ken Case]

I believe Rob is referring to the background color in the table rows, which alternates between white and light gray (exactly like list mode in the Finder).

If you assign keyboard shortcuts to your perspectives (which appear on the right edge of the table) and if some of your perspective names were longer (giving you a fair distance between short names like "Due" and their corresponding shortcut), those alternating backgrounds are useful to help you match up keyboard shortcuts with their corresponding perspective.

But since you don't have any keyboard shortcuts in your screenshot, I can see how those alternating backgrounds might not appear to convey any useful information.

Brief translation: 'no need for stripes' :-)

Slight expansion: They are visually distracting but not helpful

Further comment: Where there is a wide display, with several columns, shaded bands might just help the eye to track horizontally and stay on the right row. Here, however, the stripes have a cost (contrasting edges distract the primate retinal system) but no value (they convey no new information).


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Originally Posted by Ken Case

If you assign keyboard shortcuts to your perspectives (which appear on the right edge of the table) and if some of your perspective names were longer (giving you a fair distance between short names like "Due" and their corresponding shortcut), those alternating backgrounds are useful to help you match up keyboard shortcuts with their corresponding perspective.

(The last post overlapped with Ken's helpful response)

Point taken, but I would appreciate an option to switch these stripes off.

In Finder list mode they almost pay their keep, because the number of columns is potentially large. With only two columns, however, the permanent distraction outweighs any occasional (and probably unneeded) help with matching keystrokes to perspectives.

With only one column, they are (as I think you acknowledge) simply a source of noise.

[Greg Jones]

I suppose I need to calibrate my display. I now know what you are referring to, but I don't see on my screen.