"Communicate" Window: eeeeee!!!

Keep your eye on the Hipihi world, in development, and hopefully on the Shanda and uWorld virtual worlds to come. There might actually be some choices of simulations similar to SL before very long.

I don't really have a problem with the new window either. Change always takes some getting used to and frankly, having just upgraded to Office 2007 from Office 2003 the change in the way menus are handled was so drastic that the SL communications menu change is piddly by comparisson.

You learn to work with it and then later wonder how you could have functioned without it.

Thanks to Nicholaz, I'm back on the old version. Hhhhhhate the new voice version that I was duped into downloading. YAY Nicholaz!!!!! This may be a short celebration... but YAY anyway.

tear the history window out of it
open communicate windown and place it in the location of the previous im window
open a new IM opens it in the communicate window where the old IM window was, recieving an IM opens it there aswell

problem solved

Nope. The IM window is still far inferior to the old design.

I have made a few improvements to the XML files to make them look more like the pre-voice ones. This download is RAR archived, and does not contain the EXE. It is simply a add-on to yours. I couldn't figure out how to remove the tabs. This should help people like me who like the old design.

http://wolfeedarkfang.furrynet.com/downloads/Slimmed_Constacts.rar

Agreed.

I wish LL would quit letting programers design features that they have never used so have NO CLUE as to what works best.

This isn't an issue of getting used to something, this is cluttering the UI by putting too much into one window. Why the hell LL didn't jsut make a new "Voice" UI is beyond me.

LL:: "I know. Let's forget the simplest solution and come up with the most complex idea we can think of."
LL2:: "Great idea!!!"

~Jessy

This is another case of some whiz kid at LL deciding to "fix" something that is not broken!

This is soooo much like what they did to the snapshot feature which still is nowhere as flexible for rapid shooting as it once was

The new window is slightly larger than the old IM window, but doesn't it actually reduce clutter by making the local chat dockable within it and incorporating the friends list? I find it more efficient since I always have local chat history open, and I can still undock it if I want to. Dunno, it really doesn't seem like a very big change to warrant some of the reactions. *shrug*

I've not really used the snapshot UI since that change - it was just too much of a pain. I now zoom in, and do an 'Alt-PrtScrn' (screencapture) and edit offline. So, for me, LL effectively 'killed' the screenshot feature entirely way-back-when. Hopefully this situation won't turn out the same.

Good luck!

No. Because I don't /want/ the local chat docked within it, it's not the same "stream of information" if you will. It doesn't make sense to group it with those.

I been using Matthew's mod with my edit today and i kinda am ok with the results. of course the communications window is still the same. just theres 2 friends lists. as long as i have the stand alone one I'm happy. If you edit the XML's in my RAR you will notice i kinda used the old floater_freinds.xml from pre-voice to repair the crap LL messed up. i also got rid of most of those tripple dots at the end of each button name. Like Pay... Teleport... IM... (IMO that was pretty annoying in it's self).

For those who may not have read the other threads on this topic, I am posting this here.

I have spent more time trying to get a grip on the communicate window, and for now, I have decided that I am going back to the old style. My feelings in RL being "Acta Non Verba" (Actions Not Words), why should I change that in SL.

Posted on one of the other threads about the communicate window, was a link to downgrading back to the previous version. I don't know what, if any, effect this will have for Linden Labs, but right now, I am turning back to what worked best for me, and thought I'd post the link here for those who wish to do the same.

The link is :
(http://s3.amazonaws.com/download-secondlife-com/Second%20Life%201-18-0-6%20Setup.exe)

That's I'll take a look.

The tabs are there since I've tried to minimise the amount of code changes in the client - however, I think I may need to be a little more drastic.

Matthew

Thank you Jinny!
This is exactly what I wanted to do. the hacks and work arounds were good, but this is pure heaven - for as long as it lasts hehe!

yay!

*smooches returned screen real estate*

(and btw for Chip or whoever - I have a HUGE Viewsonic - that "communicate" window was just simply too huge even for me)

*huggs4Jinny!* weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehooo!!!!

First i heard of the new "Communications window" was someone complaining about it (With no real details) in the forums a Couple of days before roll out. Ok, I knew then there would be a Change to the Chat and IM windows.
Logged in the evening After the roll out, and Mastered the communications window in all of three seconds. It's no more, or less cumbersome than the old Windows, (Actually i find it slightly less, but that's me) it's just a Different Format, SO where exactly is the problem?

Angel.

There are many that like it, and many that do not. I am a 30 year old designer and gamer that's seen a lot--I can for no reason see why people are so hard on the new communicate and dialog windows. I think it's even sleeker and more efficient than the original. But no matter how sure I am of this, to myself, I have to realize it's all opinion.

Hey...some people prefer Corbel over Dom. *shrugs*

For some reason, I don't understand, stating whether you like the new patch or not is like labeling yourself. You put yourself in a group. And you are instantly open to flaming by those who don't feel the same way...as if it's a bad thing to think differently.

You can either say, "Hi" or you can say "Mooo"--as long as you're saying Hi...I respect your input.

I've already stated why i don't like it about a bazillion times. I'm not sure what else i can do to make it any clearer. I simply don't like my friends list being mixed in with the chat window. the rest of it i am ok with. Thats why i am glad to have helped in reverting it a little. I don't plan on ever using a official client again because LL refuses to take notice to their customers complaints.

Burn the heathens at the Stake!!

Angel.

i could get used to that but i guess my question is why should i have to? why should i now have to take steps to get teh sort of interface we had and everybody was happy with.
BUT, my real issue is grouping teh friends list with teh rest so now i have to constantly resize the window or have a friends list that shows about 4 or 5 people unless i scroll or have a im/chat window that is so narrow that it is only about 6-10 words wide and is constantly wrapping around and yes breaking up words in unnatural places.
My biggest complaint is that once again they have wasted time fixing a interface that was not broken while residents are losing objects and money due to server issues, i personally don't give a rat's rump one way or teh other about voice, nor do i think they should stop working on new features all together, but i do wish they woudl STOP screwing with interfaces that are working perfectly well,
and yes this was a big issue to me, i did not go back inworld until i found out how to get the old interface back and when forced to change to the new one, it may finally cause me to stop coming into Sl at all (but probably not as i am a addict)

i agree with stpaulsub. why should we have to get used to it? Just because a few people like? It? Or because LL doesn't want to listen? I refuse to accept that. Some may find it easy to deal with changes like this, but I'm not one of those people.

The reason is quite simple:

if you make the communicate window thin - you can't see more than two-three tabs for incoming IMs

if you make the communicate window short, you can only see three or four friends in the friends list.

As a result you need to make the communicate fat *and* tall which obscures the rest of SL.

The narrative at this page explains the issue in more detail - http://www.seal-cove.com/chatterbox/

Matthew

why should we have to get used to it?
The main reason is because it's here, and it's Not going to just Go Away if there is nothing wrong with it beyond peoples cosmetic Discomfort. Lets reverse your Question, why should LL remove it Just because a few people DON'T Like it? Yiffy. SL IS going to Change, that was always part of the package. If you want a Video game that doesn't Change, look around at junk stores, I'm sure you will find a "Pong" game out there somewhere. But SL is Growing, And Changing all the time.

Angel.

One way to look at it -

If the new UI is so bad,

it has just given the Open Source veiwer makers a big foot in the door.

Oh it would be quite something if an OS viewer became more popular than the official viewer.

Interesting form of protest.. if it was possible to get enough people doing it. Not sure they even log viewer version data at login though.