Not using system settings/prefs...

[eschneider]

Hello,



I have noticed that some applications seem to have stopped using the windows
system settings/preferences. Even MS has violated this rule with Office
2007, the colors of Office do not match my other windows (Not sure where
this blue is from.).

I find it annoying when applications do not use my color themes and fonts.



I would even argue that websites should follow the host system settings or
at least support it. I know this is more of a stretch for websites, but some
people's ideas for colors schemes just don't work for everyone. Some
browsers allow you to force system settings/preferences, but typically the
site becomes unusable. I think ASP.NET may handle this better than most.



Some of these settings are also used for people with disabilities.



Anyway, just wondering about everyone else's thoughts on this topic.

I also feel MS needs to expand on the possible system settings/preferences;
they may have done some of this in Vista already.



Thanks,

Schneider

 

[Colbert Zhou [MSFT]]

Hello Schneider,

Glad to hear from you again! Based on my understanding, your biggest
concern here is some applications do not use our system setting color
themes and fonts, right?

I sympathize and can understand your concern, but, in my opinion, it is
really hard to make a deal that fits everyone's appetite. Actually, I
believe the product group should already consider this over and over. Some
users may prefer uniform color schema, while some software vendor companys
want their applications larruping. So, it is designed to be the Windows
Appearance setting will determines the overall appearance of the user
interface. But the third party software producer still can customize their
application appearance as they want. Office is one of them.

This does not mean that Microsoft violates the rule. Microsoft also wants
to provide a beautiful and larruping UI for Office 2007 and try to occupy
the market. So, the behavior we are discussing is as per design. I search
some blogs written by the Office UI which describes the original design
pattern. Actually in the Office 2007 beta, there are only two themes, the
black and blue. The default theme depends on the client machine's OS, black
for Vista and blue for XP. Of course the product team receives many
valuable feedbacks and suggestions from many end users. They do add another
theme, silver, in the RTM version. The default theme will be blue then, and
it can be configured via Office button->Word Option->Popular->Color Schema.
For detailed information you can read,
http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh/archive/2006/03/13/550407.aspx.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA101749121033.aspx#2

Technically speaking, the websites theme is absolutely another topic. They
are designed in the website's host server. And the client uses the web
browser to interpret it and display in front of the users. So except for
the ASP.NET website implements the theme detecting and setting, I do not
think we can do much to configure the behavior only from the client side.
As you already points, some browsers try to provide this function, but they
are not compatible with many websites.

For these topics are not related to the queue
Microsoft.public.dotnet.general, I just try to describe my thought on it.
What do you think about it now? Any feedback is very welcome.

Have a nice day!

Best regards,
Colbert Zhou (colbertz @online.microsoft.com, remove 'online.')
Microsoft Online Community Support

Delighting our customers is our #1 priority. We welcome your comments and
suggestions about how we can improve the support we provide to you. Please
feel free to let my manager know what you think of the level of service
provided. You can send feedback directly to my manager at:
(e-mail address removed).

 

[Colbert Zhou [MSFT]]

Hello Schneider,

Is there any assistance we can provide on this case? If yes, please feel
free to let me know and I will try my best to follow up! Good day!


Best regards,
Colbert Zhou (colbertz @online.microsoft.com, remove 'online.')
Microsoft Online Community Support

Delighting our customers is our #1 priority. We welcome your comments and
suggestions about how we can improve the support we provide to you. Please
feel free to let my manager know what you think of the level of service
provided. You can send feedback directly to my manager at:
(e-mail address removed).

==================================================

 

[eschneider]

No, this was just to vent my concern, and hear others thoughts.

Thanks,
Schneider