Path Finder 4.8: now with new duds
September 22, 2007As Sasha alluded to in the previous post, we have lots of cool stuff coming soon for you to play with. I’d like to talk about a couple of them to give you an idea what we we have in store for you in the upcoming Path Finder update, version 4.8.
Depeche Mode
One of the trickiest things for OS X developers is designing how their application looks. Like or hate it, every time Apple releases a new version of OS X it’s like the designers at Fashion Week in Milan trotting out next season’s hot new looks. Will it be a new version of aqua? Will brushed metal get called back from the minors? Or will the spinning beach ball get a high fashion makeover?
From what I can tell there are least three major window styles in Mac OS X 10.4: aqua and the unified toolbar, brushed metal, and the newish “dark aqua” as seen in iTunes and the iLife applications. (Let us not talk about the weird wood panelling found in Garageband.) For the most part, though, there’s two major window styles: aqua and brushed metal.
Path Finder has historically straddle the divide between these two window styles by offering a preference to switch between either one, with a recent Path Finder update swapping in an approximation of the iLife dark aqua look for brushed metal.
In some ways this is great - the aqua lovers get all of their unified toolbar goodness and those who prefer the darker, more manly brushed metal / dark aqua look can have their macho and eat it too. This made things difficult for us, however, as we were constant tweaking and fussing with two separate but equal visual styles.
The Style Council
In Path Finder 4.8 this dual technicolor dream coat is no more. We are now introducing a new, single look for Path Finder based that closely follows the Mac OS X 10.5 window style. This means that we no longer have to split our efforts across two separate visual styles and as well Path Finder 4 users running Path Finder under either Tiger or Leopard will get the same visual experience.
Pictures speak louder than words, so here’s a couple of screenshots:
Here’s Path Finder 4.8 running under Mac OS X 10.4:
And here’s Path Finder 4.8 running under Mac OS X 10.5
Having a unified look means we can start really optimizing Path Finder from a visual standpoint. We know Path Finder is far from winning any interface beauty pageants and this is something we want to start addressing as we continue to refine and improve its interface.
There are no bands I can think of with the word “leopard” in their name
If you haven’t sussed this out by now, the fact that we’re showing Path Finder 4.8 running on Mac OS X 10.5 means that this upcoming Path Finder release is our first to officially be considered “Leopard (unless Apple changes something before the October release) compatible”. Things still may break when Apple finally gets OS X 10.5 into our grubby hands, but from what we can see we are Leopard ready.
So you get OS X 10.5 compatibility (with a caveat) and a brand-spanking new interface, and we’re just getting started. We’ll be posting more information about the upcoming Path Finder 4.8 release in the coming days, so check back for more details soon!
Posted by neilio at September 22, 2007 7:44 AMComments
I very much look forward to the new version and judging by the images above it will look fantastic.
Mais Steve tu oublies un point essentiel…!
Quand on travaille avec PathFinder, c'est l'esthétique de PathFinder qui prime dans notre environnement de travail…! Bref, que l'on soit sous OSX 10.3, 10.4 ou 10.5, nous sommes d'abord sous PathFinder…!
Bon, elle sort quand cette 4.8…?!!
Amitiés…
@ jean-Christophe Courte :
UH?
>>"There are no bands I can think of with the word “leopard” in their name"
Def Lepard perhaps?
Looking forward to the new release.
@ matt…
!!!!!
Use as me the google translator (or other)…! I use it for German to French and other languages I d'nt speak…
Also, in Google, my post was translated as:
But Steve you forget an essential point…!
When one works with PathFinder, it is the esthetics of
PathFinder which precedes in our environment of
work…! In short, whether one is under OSX 10.3, 10.4 or 10.5,
we are initially under PathFinder…!
Good, it leaves when this 4.8…?!!
Friendships…
Ok matt…?!
If you must. Personally I hate battleship grey.
Is there an image of this new version with the System Preferences>Appearance set to Blue rather than Graphite?
I'm so happy! Thank you! Both for the UI and the per-folder settings. Two things i've been waiting for but never thought i'd get.
I've never understood the point of having the tabs attached to the toolbar. It seems completely upside-down to me. (I know this is how Safari does it) Shouldn't the tab be linked to the data it labels, which is the file listing below???
Very nice. Can't wait. Any release dates yet?
I'm not sure if I like the new look. It doesn't conform as well with Shapeshifter as it used to. I've never liked the drab gray appearance. With this new version, now only some parts of PF are customized; but the toolbar remains the drab gray.
ugh, i hate that the "open with bbedit" menu got moved... that sucks :(
Why didn't you show us scrollbars? Do they have that obnoxious gel-toothpaste look or the newer, less hideous iTunes scrollbars? (the only thing I like about the iTunes interface)
And why do all apps have to look the same, for God's sake? I HATE these space wasting, simultaneously drab and over-candified looks (a paradox, I know, but the Apple geniuses mangage it)
How come the sidebar (shelves) on the screenshot can have a different background colour? I'd like to have that as well!
I've been going about trying to find it, but I have no luck in finding it.
Devs, point me to the right direction?
Still doesn't play well with Shapeshifter, and now instead of merely ignoring the back/forward, Views, Actions, etc. graphics inside the toolbar buttons (because they're hardcoded instead of utilizing OS X's Finder.rsrc & Extras.rsrc) — it now also ignores other changes Shapeshifter would otherwise make, like the entire toolbar! With no split pane in sight, I've no choice but to wait for Forklift to implement tabs. Gray gunmetal, no Aqua option, and still no way to work between 2 folders, each visable at the same time is finally a deal-breaker.
P.S. I must add that you've still got one of the best apps in existence, just less and less suitable for me in particular. Besides, Apple's love affair with drab, metalic, and now dark gray environs has a wee bit to do with it, as well. All I know is, when you stare into a monitor all day there's gotta be some customizability. I don't wear the same suit every day, don't paint my walls gray, and won't rent an apartment with gray carpeting. But that's just me. Or is it?
Please, let's move the discussion to the forums so that your feedback/wishes/issues don't get lost: http://www.cocoatech.com/forum/
This comments thread starts to become difficult to follow.
Looks good!