[TxMt] The shelf.

[Allan Odgaard]

On 08/08/2005, at 3.13, Chris Thomas wrote:

>> I love drawers, and I don't care too much about Mail's new look,  
>> so chances are low.
> I don't think Mail's look is one to emulate, but I would also find  
> a source list pane more usable than a drawer.

Actually it should be possible to edit the nib to place the source  
list in the main window :) Though for it to look good, there should  
probably be a custom view similar to that of Mail below the list to  
make the list extend to the window borders, but still have controls  
below it.

> See also <http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=Mac+OS+X+drawer 
> +bad&btnG=Search>.

I have yet to see any actual reason to why it's bad (while I didn't  
go through all 40,000 hits, much of what people say is subjective and  
the top-hit really only deals with particular applications).

As to why I do like the drawer:

  1) it can be hidden if not needed (e.g. for a fullscreen look)
  2) it can appear in either left or right side to suit personal  
preference or mood
  3) resizing the drawer (which is needed e.g. when expanding folders  
and meeting long filenames) does not affect the size of the text  
editing control
  4) in the drawer, the source list doesn't need padding on the sides  
and top (because of the bottom controls), which it would need, had it  
been in the main window (20 pixels on each side) -- although Mail did  
find a solution to that
  5) when I'm bored, I can toggle the drawer and enjoy the nice  
animation ;)