+1 for changing the default LAF to FlatLAF on Linux -1 for changing the default LAF to FlatLAF on Windows and MacOS.
We have very good Windows and MacOS LAFs that match the native look of GUI widgets (buttons, text fields, toolbars, tabs etc.). This is a big advantage of NetBeans compared to IntelliJ and Eclipse. The Windows and MacOS LAFs also now support HiDPI/Retina screens well, including fractional scalings such as 150% on Windows. See the long list of related improvements on https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/NETBEANS/HiDPI+%28Retina%29+improvements . One Linux, however, FlatLAF seems to be strictly better than the default GTK LAF. In particular, the GTK LAF does not support HiDPI screens well. There are also some further improvements to FlatLAF proposed on https://github.com/apache/netbeans/pull/3115 , which makes the tabs easier to see, and more consistent with other main window borders. (These changes also makes NetBeans look less like IntelliJ, which is probably a good thing from a brand differentiation perspective. But usability was the main motivation here.) (Be sure to consider the latest versions--there have been lots of improvements in all three LAFs over the past few releases--FlatLAF, Windows, and MacOS. I also see that the GTK LAF has had recent changes, e.g. https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/NETBEANS-5862 .) -- Eirik -----Original Message----- From: Mark Eggers <its_toas...@yahoo.com.INVALID> Sent: Monday, November 1, 2021 2:05 PM To: dev@netbeans.apache.org Subject: Re: [DISCUSS] Default to FlatLaf in NetBeans 13? -0 on this. I am red/green color deficient. I've tried using FlatLaf several times, and I just could not get the color selection to work where everything was different and yet easy for me to read. I'll try again on 12.5, but for now I've stuck with the Windows LAF for my Windows systems and Nimbus (don't laugh) for my GtK systems due to some font scaling issues. I'll try FlatLaf with 12.5 on Ubuntu 20.04 to see how it goes, but Nimbus seems to work fine for me at the moment. Changing the default is not an issue with me since I currently do it anyway. About the only issue with changing away from FlatLaf is that I have to change the editor LAF separately from the IDE LAF (last time I tried). I'm mostly a systems admin / architect these days so my NetBeans usage centers around proof of concepts and tracking down memory leaks in Java web applications. In short, I'm more of a casual user at this point. . . . . just my two cents /mde/ Thanks for a great platform, and hopefully one day soon I'll actually be able to contribute. On 11/1/2021 7:56 AM, Laszlo Kishalmi wrote: > +1 on this one. Maybe if we could even the installer should be on > FlatLaf (right now on GTK with dark schema, the license agreement text > is white over white, need to select it to be able to read that.) > > I use FlatLaf Light for the release versions and FlatLaf Dark on the > dev builds. > > On 11/1/21 07:01, Neil C Smith wrote: >> Hi, >> >> So, now we've branched off 12.6, and we know that the next release >> will be NetBeans 13, require JDK 11+, and hopefully ship with >> nb-javac included .. is it time we changed (improved?! :-) ) how >> NetBeans looks out of the box too? >> >> Should we consider FlatLaf (light or dark) as the default look and >> feel from NetBeans 13? >> >> This is partly prompted by working through a few JIRA tickets with >> HiDPI issues resolved by switching, a few snarky social media >> comments about NetBeans' appearance I've seen recently where the >> go-to replies seem to just be to tell people to switch to FlatLaf .. >> and the fact I'm constantly switching even when debugging because the >> GTK theme on Ubuntu is borderline unusable. >> >> So, what do you think? For or against? Maybe also add what you do >> use, and light or dark, in a reply - it might make some sense if we >> defaulted to what the majority of us use in practise? >> >> Best wishes, >> >> Neil
