[Pidgin] #4986: automatic chat input field resizing should be optional, regression from 2.3

[Pidgin]

#4986: automatic chat input field resizing should be optional, regression from 2.3
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  Reporter:  swbrown       |       Owner:                   
      Type:  enhancement   |      Status:  new              
  Priority:  minor         |   Milestone:                   
 Component:  pidgin (gtk)  |     Version:  2.4.0            
Resolution:                |    Keywords:  chat input resize
   Pending:  0             |  
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Comment (by seanegan):

 Replying to [comment:29 kdorff]:
 > No, actually I think people ARE disagreeing with the new feature. The
 default of two lines is small. When I mouse into the compose box to start
 typing, two lines it is a small target, especially on high resolution
 screens. For you, the tiny target is probably great, for me I want to make
 it an inch or so (whatever size is comfortable for "me").

 Ok, this is actually a good point that I've heard before, so I'm gonna
 bold it (I'm bolding these things so I can easily scan what seem to be the
 core issues).


 '''People don't realize the entire window is a click target for giving the
 input area focus'''


 Clicking on the message area and typing has pretty much forever given
 focus to the input area and typed in there. It's a good point that this is
 not necessarily easily discoverable, but perhaps it's more discoverable
 now.


 Similar example: when we got rid of the 'Send' button, it turned out that
 the Enter keybinding is also not obviously discoverable. But typing your
 message and hitting Enter is way more efficient than typing your message,
 switching over to the mouse, and hitting a Send button. By removing the
 Send button, we removed the more obvious feature, but forced people to use
 the better one. Similarly (but obviously not exactly the same), by making
 the input area small by default, it's perhaps more discoverable that the
 entire window is a click target, which makes for a better experience?
 Maybe?

 > Every IM client I have tried (MSN Live, Yahoo, Trillian, Pidgin 2.3.1)
 has the compose window as sizable; the reason is probably because person A
 wants it tiny and person B wants it big.

 Hehe, that's funny. Every IM client I've tried in the past 5 years or so
 (iChat, Adium X, Google Talk, Gmail) do it this way.

 > Maybe person B wants it big so he can review what he is going to send
 when he types more than "LOL", maybe he wants it big so it is an easy
 target for mouse into. Maybe he wants it big because he has a big textbox
 fetish. Why take that away when it is now standard functionality in every
 other IM client (including Pidgin 2.3.1).

 Obviously you can still review messages so long as Pidgin has increased
 the size of the text box appropriately enough. Increasing the 4-line-
 maximum seems to be the major take-away from this. You do, however make
 another point:


 '''Some people are white-space fetishists''' :)

-- 
Ticket URL: <http://developer.pidgin.im/ticket/4986#comment:36>
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