[Tango-artists] No rename icon in the theme

[Rodney Dawes]

On Sun, 2005-11-20 at 04:06 +0100, DaveMDS wrote:
> Instance wrote: 
> > On Sat, 19 Nov 2005 22:03:42 +0100, DaveMDS <list at gurumeditation.it> wrote:
> >   
> > > Hi,
> > > I can't find (nor in tango nor in the theme-specification) an icon for a
> > > rename operation.
> > > I think that an icon "actions/edit-rename" is a must-have in a theme and
> > > I can't make
> > > an application that use some icon from theme-spec and some other no.
> > > So the question is:
> > > it's possible to add icon to the theme-spec? how?
> > > do you agree with me that edit-rename is a must-have icon?
> > > 
> > >     
> > I'm just a lurker on the list, so feel free to disregard this, but in my opinion renaming is something that doesn't really need an icon. It's an action that is used rarely, and from what I've read the idea is that only major actions should have icons.
> > 
> > Jon Wood
> I think that a richer set of icon can only benefit the project. 
> 
> .. a brief list of program that need the rename icon:
> - nautilus, konqueror, rox and all the other filemanager (mine
> included)

Nautilus does not have a rename icon. Adding one won't make the UI any
easier to use, or more obvious to the user. Also, adding more icons to
the theme doesn't really make it a better theme, or necessarily benefit
the project.

That said, the naming spec is an in-progress specification that will
evolve. Have an icon name in the specification does not guarantee that
an icon will exist for it. Adding icons to every common operation in
an application also ends up just creating more visual noise than really
helping to make it more usable. If it's not in the toolbar, it should
probably not have an icon in the menus. And, I don't think rename is
something that belongs in the toolbar. So all in all, a rename icon is
not in the spec, as GTK+ does not have a stock rename icon, and nobody
else has suggested a name for a rename icon, or a need for one. I don't
think it's a must-have icon, and Tango's goals are to try to get the
most user-visible/important icons filled out first, and move on to
more icons, based on some prioritization that has not really yet been
determined. Even then, I would say "rename" is probably fairly low on
the list of things to have an icon for.

Feel free to file a bug in bugzilla against Tango, requesting this
addition, so that we can have useful tracking of it somewhere. It's
certainly not on the list of priorities, but I'm not opposed to having
it in the spec as an extended icon. The icon would also need a useful
metaphor defined for it. I'm not sure what the metaphor for rename would
be really.

-- dobey