Packaging
Widgets are installed on the device using a normal Debian application package. As the package information of your desktop widget can be seen in the Application manager (the application used to install widgets), it is recommended to fill in the following information in the package:
• Application name – a descriptive name shown in the application package list view in the Application manager
• Application short description – the first line (or the first 60 characters) of the application description
• Application icon – a base64encoded PNG image (sized 48x48 px). This icon is only shown in the Application manager
Unless the installation script of the widget package contains commands to place the widget on the desktop, users have to manually do so via Edit mode. Since this is an unnecessary step for the user, the installation script should handle the placement automatically. It is also possible to direct the widget onto a specific desktop view; however, the exact placement of the widget cannot be specified in the script.
Showing posts with label maemo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label maemo. Show all posts
Visual look-and-feel--Maemo5 Desktop widget UI Guidlines
Size
Widgets should be designed to be as compact in size as possible, avoiding any excessive graphical elements that do not provide any meaningful information or controls. As a rule of thumb, the footprint of a widget should never exceed half of the Desktop space allocated for widgets, including a 24 px padding around the widget (132,352 pixels total). The largest default widgets, Location and RSS, are close to the maximum footprint of widgets, as seen in Figure below. Another widget, Tutorial, spans the entire Desktop, but remains limited in its height.
Figure : The Location widget is close to the maximum size of widgets
Margins and positioning
Layouts in Maemo 5 utilise a standardised set of margins. The supported margins for widgets are outlined in Table
Table : Standard margins for widgets
Default widgets share common margins and positioning rules. Elements within widgets are separated from each other by HILDON_MARGIN_HALF, and widgets are surrounded by HILDON_MARGIN_DEFAULT.
The surrounding area includes both the outer border of the widget, as well as a drop shadow. Some examples are presented in Figure s below
Figure : Examples of margin use in default widgets
Figure : Examples of visual widget construction
The positioning of graphical elements such as text labels, buttons, icons, and so on, should be in line with the rest of the Maemo 5 guidelines.
Visuals
In Maemo 5, the overall graphical look-and-feel is designed with light-coloured text and icons on dark backgrounds. All of the default widgets follow this principle. Graphic themes also contain a reversed colour palette, which enables the use of dark text on light backgrounds.
Typography
Due to their compact size, default widgets generally use HomeSystemFont or SmallSystemFont as the font size, while DefaultTextColor is used as the default text colour. A standard sans-serif font is also available.
Text labels in widgets should be separated with at least HILDON_MARGIN_HALF from the edges of their respective container elements to make sure that long labels do not touch element borders. See Figure 9 for visualisations.
Figure below shows an example of the use of typography in widgets.
Figure : An example of the use of typography in widgets
Widgets should be designed to be as compact in size as possible, avoiding any excessive graphical elements that do not provide any meaningful information or controls. As a rule of thumb, the footprint of a widget should never exceed half of the Desktop space allocated for widgets, including a 24 px padding around the widget (132,352 pixels total). The largest default widgets, Location and RSS, are close to the maximum footprint of widgets, as seen in Figure below. Another widget, Tutorial, spans the entire Desktop, but remains limited in its height.
Figure : The Location widget is close to the maximum size of widgets
Margins and positioning
Layouts in Maemo 5 utilise a standardised set of margins. The supported margins for widgets are outlined in Table
Table : Standard margins for widgets
Default widgets share common margins and positioning rules. Elements within widgets are separated from each other by HILDON_MARGIN_HALF, and widgets are surrounded by HILDON_MARGIN_DEFAULT.
The surrounding area includes both the outer border of the widget, as well as a drop shadow. Some examples are presented in Figure s below
Figure : Examples of margin use in default widgets
Figure : Examples of visual widget construction
The positioning of graphical elements such as text labels, buttons, icons, and so on, should be in line with the rest of the Maemo 5 guidelines.
Visuals
In Maemo 5, the overall graphical look-and-feel is designed with light-coloured text and icons on dark backgrounds. All of the default widgets follow this principle. Graphic themes also contain a reversed colour palette, which enables the use of dark text on light backgrounds.
Typography
Due to their compact size, default widgets generally use HomeSystemFont or SmallSystemFont as the font size, while DefaultTextColor is used as the default text colour. A standard sans-serif font is also available.
Text labels in widgets should be separated with at least HILDON_MARGIN_HALF from the edges of their respective container elements to make sure that long labels do not touch element borders. See Figure 9 for visualisations.
Figure below shows an example of the use of typography in widgets.
Figure : An example of the use of typography in widgets
Maemo5 Interaction ---From Maemo5 Desktop widget UI Guidelines
Within the desktop, you can interact with widgets using taps only (events should be initiated when the finger is released, not pressed down). Due to the prioritisation of screen switching, widgets do not support dragging or swiping gestures. This ensures that desktop screens can be effortlessly panned even if they are filled with widgets. Furthermore, long-tapping (tapping and holding the finger on the screen for an extended period of time) cannot be used for widget interaction, since it activates the Edit mode by default.
Note: Dragging gestures are naturally enabled in Edit mode for repositioning widgets, where screen switching is not supported.
In Maemo 5, widgets do not support resizing. If possible, do not develop widgets that dynamically change their size as their visibility cannot be ensured. Since widgets can be placed near the edges of the screen, or near each other, any elements that appear can become obstructed or entirely overlapped by other widgets, or hidden outside the boundaries of the screen.
All tappable elements on widgets should contain a graphical highlight (pressed-down) state for providing visual feedback about the action. If the entire widget is a tappable element, such as web bookmarks, the highlight state also encompasses the whole widget. Examples of highlight states are shown in Figure below.
Figure : Examples of highlight states of various widgets
Text entries and areas (also known as text input fields) are not supported in UI widgets. If text entry is required, for example, to log in to a service, it can be provided either via a custom dialog or utilising the widget’s configuration dialog.
Note: Dragging gestures are naturally enabled in Edit mode for repositioning widgets, where screen switching is not supported.
In Maemo 5, widgets do not support resizing. If possible, do not develop widgets that dynamically change their size as their visibility cannot be ensured. Since widgets can be placed near the edges of the screen, or near each other, any elements that appear can become obstructed or entirely overlapped by other widgets, or hidden outside the boundaries of the screen.
All tappable elements on widgets should contain a graphical highlight (pressed-down) state for providing visual feedback about the action. If the entire widget is a tappable element, such as web bookmarks, the highlight state also encompasses the whole widget. Examples of highlight states are shown in Figure below.
Figure : Examples of highlight states of various widgetsText entries and areas (also known as text input fields) are not supported in UI widgets. If text entry is required, for example, to log in to a service, it can be provided either via a custom dialog or utilising the widget’s configuration dialog.
Configuration options in Maemo5---From maemo 5 Desktop Widget Ui Guidlines
Widgets that can be configured include a configuration button accessible in Edit mode. Tapping the button opens a dialogue containing all the available configuration options. Figure below shows a fictional example of a configuration dialogue.
Figure : Configuration dialog for a widget
Figure : Configuration dialog for a widget
Default widgets provided in maemo5- from Maemo 5 Desktop Widget UI Guidelines
Default widgets
Maemo 5 ships with a default set of widgets
Overview of default widgets included in Maemo 5
Maemo 5 ships with a default set of widgets
Overview of default widgets included in Maemo 5How to Design Widgets in Maemo5-Desktop UI Guidlines
Widget design
Design philosophy
While widgets can be understood as small applications, the design philosophy for developing a widget differs greatly from that of an application. Most notably, widgets are not supposed to replace applications in terms of their use and feature set, rather they compliment them. The following guidelines should be considered as the fundamental design goals of building an appropriate widget:
• Widgets should provide information or controls quickly and in an obvious manner. Every feature and command should be immediately understandable and accessible with a single tap.
• Widgets should provide only the most crucial features. They should be simple and efficient, designed to accomplish only a few tasks – but accomplish those extremely well.
Note: Widgets should be as compact in size as possible. Even though Maemo 5 offers a generous amount of screen space, users should be able to place several widgets on each screen to minimise the need for excessive screen switching.
Note: Due to the high pixel density of the physical screen, tappable elements should be at least 70x70 pixels in size for convenient finger use.
Due to the aforementioned design goals, not every application or data set can be transformed into, a legitimate widget. Before starting development, it is worth considering whether the widget provides any value to end users in comparison to existing applications or websites that can be one tap away using application shortcuts or web bookmarks.
Design philosophy
While widgets can be understood as small applications, the design philosophy for developing a widget differs greatly from that of an application. Most notably, widgets are not supposed to replace applications in terms of their use and feature set, rather they compliment them. The following guidelines should be considered as the fundamental design goals of building an appropriate widget:
• Widgets should provide information or controls quickly and in an obvious manner. Every feature and command should be immediately understandable and accessible with a single tap.
• Widgets should provide only the most crucial features. They should be simple and efficient, designed to accomplish only a few tasks – but accomplish those extremely well.
Note: Widgets should be as compact in size as possible. Even though Maemo 5 offers a generous amount of screen space, users should be able to place several widgets on each screen to minimise the need for excessive screen switching.
Note: Due to the high pixel density of the physical screen, tappable elements should be at least 70x70 pixels in size for convenient finger use.
Due to the aforementioned design goals, not every application or data set can be transformed into, a legitimate widget. Before starting development, it is worth considering whether the widget provides any value to end users in comparison to existing applications or websites that can be one tap away using application shortcuts or web bookmarks.
Maemo 5 Desk top UI Guildelines from nokia
Introduction
Desktop widgets can be defined as miniature applications – or applets – that reside on the desktop for convenient, fast access to useful information or controls. Maemo 5 contains up to four desktops, as illustrated in Figure 1, totalling in 3200x424 pixels of screen real-estate for desktop widgets.
Figure 1: Maemo 5 includes up to four desktops for widgets.
Note: In Maemo terminology, in addition to widgets, Maemo 5 also includes application shortcuts, web bookmarks, and contacts. Technically, however, these are considered desktop widgets as well, and the same guidelines apply. Therefore, for the sake of readability, the term ‘widget’ used in this document encompasses all the aforementioned applets.
Desktop widgets can be defined as miniature applications – or applets – that reside on the desktop for convenient, fast access to useful information or controls. Maemo 5 contains up to four desktops, as illustrated in Figure 1, totalling in 3200x424 pixels of screen real-estate for desktop widgets.
Figure 1: Maemo 5 includes up to four desktops for widgets.
Note: In Maemo terminology, in addition to widgets, Maemo 5 also includes application shortcuts, web bookmarks, and contacts. Technically, however, these are considered desktop widgets as well, and the same guidelines apply. Therefore, for the sake of readability, the term ‘widget’ used in this document encompasses all the aforementioned applets.
Maemo advantages
Maemo advantages:
1. Better game development, especially cross-platform game development.
2. Qt can (and should!) be used for cross-platform development for both Maemo and Symbian OS, which equals developing with modern app dev framework for the largest smartphone install base.
1. Better game development, especially cross-platform game development.
2. Qt can (and should!) be used for cross-platform development for both Maemo and Symbian OS, which equals developing with modern app dev framework for the largest smartphone install base.
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