Oh no, those changes to the user interface

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David.P
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Oh no, those changes to the user interface

Post by David.P »

Dear Tracker Team,

Unfortunately, I have to say that am somewhat shocked to see the direction of the design changes to the user interface with the latest build 9.2.357.0.

Now, of all times, at a time when the dreadful¹ and detrimental² trend towards flat, monochromic user interfaces finally has started to wane away³ after a (design-wise) miserable decade – now of all things, one of the most beautiful program interfaces in the world is also thrown on this bandwagon, sacrificing many of the wonderful visual details that have provided for pleasure, enjoyment and perfect ergonomics for its users.

In all modesty I believe that I know what I'm talking about, since I've been using PDF-XChange Editor/Viewer for thirteen years and for a reasonably estimated 15.000 hours.

Although the UI changes could of course have been worse, as was the case with many other software programs, I am still shocked, and hope to find time soon to upload some screenshots that make this as clearly visible as I feel it is.

I believe that this is the first time, ever, since I've started using PDF-XChange Viewer in 2008, two years after its first release in 2006, that I am disappointed and unhappy about a change that has come to PDF-XChange Editor.

Yours,
David
at 03:00 AM
--

¹) reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/902oxt
²) nngroup.com/articles/flat-ui-less-attention-cause-uncertainty
³) Although there is room for debate about taste, it is Microsoft, of all companies, that is starting to INDULGE in 3D again: vimeo.com/573224898
⁴) forum.tracker-software.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3801
⁵) web.archive.org/web/20061107130541/http://www.docu-track.com:80/downloads/users
⁶) community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/acrobat-horrible-cry/m-p/7112272#:~:text=Acrobat DC so horrible it's making me want to cry. Image

Last edited by David.P on Mon Nov 08, 2021 7:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Oh no, those changes to the user interface

Post by igorlima »

Personally I'm liking it the update so far, although I found a bug already* but hope that this will be resolved soon and although at first I felt strange about the new UI, later I felt that the program is still smooth as always and in some areas is even smoother and I'm not having problems using the options I always use. So although I really liked the old UI, so far I'm ok with the new one.


* https://forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=37477
Last edited by igorlima on Wed Oct 20, 2021 9:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Oh no, those changes to the user interface

Post by Tracker Supp-Stefan »

Hello igorlima,

Thanks for your input.

@David - I am afraid that those design changes were caused by Windows 11, and we had to update to be compliant with the requirements of the new OS.

Kind regards,
Stefan
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David.P
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Re: Oh no, those changes to the user interface

Post by David.P »

Hello Stefan,
Tracker Supp-Stefan wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 11:05 am@David - I am afraid that those design changes were caused by Windows 11, and we had to update to be compliant with the requirements of the new OS.
I don't think so – this is virtually impossible.

99.6% of the programs that run on Windows 10 also run on Windows 11, as per Microsoft's compatibility promise:

image.png
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/microsoft-extends-application-compatibility-promise-to-windows/ba-p/2810546

I would love to try that right now with the previous build of PDF-XChange Editor, but I just deleted my trial installation of Windows 11 for the time being.

As mentioned, I shall soon post some screenshots showing what changes I believe are major steps backwards, both design-wise and ease-of-use-wise.

Best regards
David
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Re: Oh no, those changes to the user interface

Post by Arnold »

I installed version 357.0 on my Windows 7 machine with my previous settings and did not like the look of it at all. The theme was listed as "Custom" and was primarily a dark shade of grey. The dialog boxes all looked really busy.

Using the white theme and making a couple of adjustments like font size, I was able to get the UI kinda close to "my normal". See attached screenshot.

The Windows 10 machine did not look quite as bad upon installation, but I will adjust it also. I look forward to David's post with his screenshots. I believe he uses the program as much as anyone. Way more than I do, for sure.
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mCHSNUg5Pz8cPap
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Re: Oh no, those changes to the user interface

Post by mCHSNUg5Pz8cPap »

I only recently started using PDF-XChange a few months ago. My first impression was that the UI looked outdated, especially compared to M 365 apps with the Windows 11 refresh and Acrobat DC. I messed around with it a bit and then uninstalled. I tried a lot of other pdf editing software only to find myself looking again at PDF-XChange. I decided to give it another shot. I'm glad I did. It is much better than than the other pdf editors.

I'm glad to see the UI getting updated. So far I like it. I am interested in seeing the things David does not like, however.
Features I really want:
1. Fully customizable toolbars: https://forum.tracker-software.com/viewtopic.php?p=167585
2. Sanitize documents w/o being forced into save as dialog (Acrobat has this!): https://forum.tracker-software.com/viewtopic.php?p=156130
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Re: Oh no, those changes to the user interface

Post by Vasyl-Tracker Dev Team »

Hi All.

We are happy to hear all your feedback., we do appreciated it. We recently tried to update our interface to make it a little lighter and more modern. But it is certainly impossible to satisfy everyone with any UI updates, especially on the first attempt. So, for sure, we will continue to update and refine our user interface to provide an optimal and user-friendly look for most people. And if you are not satisfied with any UI-stuff - please just provide a simple screenshot/gif with a short description of what is wrong or even not suitable for you. With this information, we can find the right way in our improvements...

Let's discuss the recent UI update.
Yes, the new UI is 'flatter', but it's actually NOT completely flat (and will never be) as MS Office products are (just compare). Currently in our editor you can still see soft textures, shadows, tiny gradients, rounded panes/tabs/buttons, etc. And the last notable changes are:
1. we removed the glass-effect from buttons on toolbars, dialogs, document tabs, panel headers, because it looks a little outdated and caused significant problems with dark mode of the user interface (specifically when light text is on top of the glass-light effect).
2. we removed the very dark background in the tab bars because it contrasts too much between the active tab and others. It was just uncomfortable for eyes..
3. In the default theme, all dialogs are slightly lighter to better match the current system color scheme.
4. The scrollbars have been modified to not grab the focus on themselves, especially when the mouse/finger is not over them. Actually - why do we need to constantly see the rich but heavy vertical/horizontal bars with a lot of visual details (gradients, glass highlights, shadows, etc.), while we just need to focus on the content of the scrolled window, and 99% of the time it's only important to see where you are in the content (a simple position indicator is enough) and where are the up / down buttons for quick clicking?
5. We changed the context/dropdown menus, other small floating windows - now they are more rounded, have a bigger drop-shadow, and instead of a wide dark border it now has a tiny light border (looks nice in dark mode).

As you can see, such changes are not so significant! So it's not clear to me why the dear David P. was so shocked by the recent UI update, and I look forward to hearing more from him..

Thanks.
Vasyl Yaremyn
Tracker Software Products
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christian kuhlmann
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Re: Oh no, those changes to the user interface

Post by christian kuhlmann »

Hi,

thanks for explaining Vasyl.
I hope it is OK to post this here, but it fits the topic title ;-) .

I noticed that with the new update the document tabs (classic toolbar style in single row height) are considerably higher.
image1038.png
(Vertical lines of the same color have the same height. Vertical lines on each side are bottom aligned.)

I am one of those people that have even moved the menu bar to the quick access space in the title bar to get more vertical screen estate (thanks for buiding an UI that is that configurable). Modern UI elements like ribbons seem to ignore the fact that the ubiquitous widescreen monitors are rarely used in portrait orientation.

I know someone at Tracker tried hard to compensate for the tab height by removing borders at the bottom of the document (and almost succeeded, which I do value), but I still think the tab height could be smaller, at least as an option. Then the new UI would actually be better with regard to screen estate. I'm not sure about the change of colors, but others have stated my objections already, and I might get used to it.

So please add a switch to make the tab-bar smaller.

Kind regards,
Chris
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Re: Oh no, those changes to the user interface

Post by Vasyl-Tracker Dev Team »

Hi Chris.
I noticed that with the new update the document tabs (classic toolbar style in single row height) are considerably higher.
Thanks for detailed description. We will try to fix it soon.

Cheers.
Vasyl Yaremyn
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David.P
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Re: Oh no, those changes to the user interface

Post by David.P »

Originally I was going to write some lengthy text about user interface design, and why I strongly believe that the flat design trend is an aberration¹ (that luckily is coming to an end, see my first post above).

In fact, my text was almost finished. However, I changed my mind. Instead, I'd like to let some pictures do the talking.

We professional users not only love the precision and performance of our favorite software tools – we also crave some eye candy from those high-end tools that we use to create awesome content every day.

Also, it has always been the case that the finest tools available to the masters of any art look just as terrific and badass as the things you can make with them:

Image

Further, it is simply a fact that PDF-XChange Editor is not only the best PDF tool available, but also one of the finest pieces of software in existence. And that's exactly what it should look like!

Image


Therefore, dear Tracker Team, please leave the dull-, bland- and flatness to...
...everyone else!


Image

Image=
Image


¹) nngroup.com/articles/flat-ui-less-attention-cause-uncertainty#:~:text=Flat UI Elements Attract Less Attention and Cause Uncertainty
Last edited by David.P on Tue Nov 09, 2021 2:36 pm, edited 7 times in total.
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Re: Oh no, those changes to the user interface

Post by Ovg »

2David.P

https://acegif.com/wp-content/uploads/gif-bowing-62.gif
Last edited by Ovg on Mon Nov 08, 2021 2:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Oh no, those changes to the user interface

Post by Tracker Supp-Stefan »

Hello Ovg, David,

Lets not start 'flaming' at each other even in a joking manner as things could polarize quickly! :)

Each of us has their own preferences and desired for UI, and while flat interfaces have their proponents, so do the new and more modern designs. We as the software developer are trying to both stay current and also appeal to as wider audience as possible - so that's why we still offer the Classic UI mode alongside the Ribbon UI. And whether you or I like it or not - MS are the ones setting a lot of standards, including visual ones, and if the majority of people are looking for a similar ribbon layout as they are used to from MS Office - we have to deliver.

Kind regards,
Stefan
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Re: Oh no, those changes to the user interface

Post by David.P »

I agree Stefan, and I hope it is clear that my above posts are meant entirelly constructive, and ideally helpful for the UI design team.

I'm also sure that OVG, whom I believe is also a power user of PDF-XChange Editor, was not going to flame anybody, but just express his general feelings towards flat UIs, and in a joking manner.

Anyway, maybe OVG can edit out the somewhat nasty part of his post in order to not offend other readers.

For simplicity, I suggest using this string instead "#%❢@★" :)

Please also note that this thread is not about the Ribbon UI.

Ribbon UIs not only have much matured as far as Microsoft's software is concerned, but are also brilliant for the novice user of PDF-XChange Editor, all the more so since PXE's Ribbons are totally customizable.

I shall put together some more annotated screenshots regarding some of the elements of the updated user interface soon.

Thank you
David
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Re: Oh no, those changes to the user interface

Post by Tracker Supp-Stefan »

Hello David.P,

Both your and OVG's comments are greatly appreciated, as well as any other suggestion from anyone else!
I am aware that both you and him are power users, and it was obvious his comment was a joke, so sorry if my attempt to reply half seriously and half jokingly got 'lost in translation'! :)

Please do prepare those screenshot and we will be happy to discuss further!

Kind regards,
Stefan
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Re: Oh no, those changes to the user interface

Post by Ovg »

I apologize for excess expression,
but the MS flat interface has already broke my brain ...

20211108_210446.png
20211108_210446.png (20.59 KiB) Viewed 1145 times
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Re: Oh no, those changes to the user interface

Post by Paul - Tracker Supp »

:|
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