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pbek / QOwnNotes

QOwnNotes is a plain-text file notepad and todo-list manager with Markdown support and Nextcloud / ownCloud integration.
https://www.qownnotes.org/
GNU General Public License v2.0
4.7k stars 414 forks source link

[FEATURE] GUI revamp #2865

Open livingsilver94 opened 1 year ago

livingsilver94 commented 1 year ago

QON uses QtWidgets, and it's showing its age. The fact that it's software-rendered is irrelevant since it's all text, but the overall look and feel, and potentially the appeal to new maintainers/contributors are subpar.

I totally understand QON is a long-running project that predates QtQuick, still it's probably the time to cross a new path. It's no coincidence that most recent OSS note-taking applications are based on Electron. Can't comment the like of Bear, since it's closed-source.

Describe the solution you'd like

Move the GUI to QML and QtQuick. This way, we could achieve a modern and better look more easily compared to QtWidgets. Separating logic and representation is also a good practice, impossible with .cpp QWidget subclasses.

Easily noticeable visual defects

Qt theming has always been an issue so I won't blame QON for that. But, just by opening the application for the first time a user can notice how many separators are drawn in the main window. The main editing areas has 2 outlines and double separators divide many icons in the top bar, since the top bar is customizable. This shouldn't be the default in my opinion, since not to overwhelm the user should be a priority over personalization.

I think those two defects don't come from the design of QON but from QtWidgets itself.

A long-term goal

Oh yeah, it surely is. Don't take me wrong, my aim is not to complain about the look of QON but to highlight why other applications chose to use a different technology to achieve an objectively more modern look.

What do you think? :)

pbek commented 1 year ago

QML has its advantages, but QOwnNotes should first and foremost as fast as possible, even on old hardware. With QML you don't really get that anymore... But if you want to port components like https://github.com/pbek/qmarkdowntextedit and the preview to QML we certainly can talk again!

DendrocoposMajor commented 2 weeks ago

"to achieve an objectively more modern look" That I would say qualify as change for change's sake, putting form before function. I'm a strong proponent of Skeuomorphic GUIs. I don't want to have to guess what's clickable/usable/ or not. These modern and flat guis, I think, would make for a horrible experience in an aeroplane or a control room. As a sidenote, not everything is a mobile phone....

All that said, I for one prefer speed and predictability over design fads and the latest trends, And yes, there were a whole lot of, kind of abysmal UIs way back when but that's no excuse to repeat and rehash that with modern tools.