AquaMail Forum
English - Android => How do I... => Topic started by: lphilpot on March 16, 2017, 05:40:06 am
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Just updated to 1.8.2-216
I've disabled Material UI and disabled thin fonts, but it's still not like I had it. How do I get back to the same UI as before? Colors have changed, etc. Am I forced to manually reset everything.
Specifically, it's apparently impossible to change the foreground color of the text and icons on the screen header/footer. I have a moderate dark background so I need white text. But it's black and I can't find any place to change it. I'm not talking about the message headers, etc. I mean the colored bars at top and bottom.
Sorry if I sound irritated, but it's getting so old seeing one good app after another be ruined by Material. Every time any app gets "upgraded" to Material it invariably goes downhill... Still love the AM functionality but as a UI, Material stinks regardless of the app it's on.
Thanks.
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Agreed! I was irritated at the last version but tried the new one today as the black screens are back. Well, not really. Some are still gray and should be all black. Not crazy about the Aqua colors either. The old icon was original, the new one is rather generic. And finally, when a new version comes out it should ask you, "Do you want to try the new UI/Features?" and if you say No then it should leave it set up the way it was and how we like it.
Again, I can appreciate the efforts involved, I just did not want nor ask for them.
Butch
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Same here. It's not the app, really. It's Google's simple-minded UI. I've seen so many apps, formerly attractive and easy to use, go to Material (or Material-like UIs) and they became ugly and clumsy. Not because of the app, but due to the UI. Personally, I'll trade simplicity for power every time. Most apps are far too simple, the onscreen widgets are too few and too large. Aqua has way more power than most email apps, which is why I bought it. But to trap that under the Material UI is a shame. If I wanted to be hemmed in I'd be an iSheep by now. :-)
I agree that any upgrade should be an option, not mandatory. Also agree about the icon. It looks too Google-ish, but that's just my preference.
At this point, I'd like to be able to change the foreground / text color of the icon bar and header, but if it can be done I haven't found it.
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You'll get an answer soon, these guys are very supportive.
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At this point, I'd like to be able to change the foreground / text color of the icon bar and header, but if it can be done I haven't found it.
You will find Kostya's statement in his post in another thread:
https://www.aqua-mail.com/forum/index.php?topic=5461.msg33239#msg33239
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Re: At this point, I'd like to be able to change the foreground / text color of the icon bar and header, but if it can be done I haven't found it.
I think the question here was *not* about "context action mode", but rather the overall app's "accent color", the one that used to be "juicy blue" before.
Yes this is possible.
App settings -> look and feel -> title bar and icon bar color.
And by the way, the old color was #5677fc.
http://www.color-hex.com/color/5677fc
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That changes the background only, not the foreground icons nor text. And when I select a message, a teal/seafoam background pops up from the bottom (also with black text). I've not found where to reset that either.
Thanks.
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The background of "panel for actions on selected messages" is not change-able, sorry.
Judging by your comment about icons - you must have been using the "light" or "dark" theme not "material".
In 1.8, all the themes have been material-ized this includes the icons, they're now from Google's own set:
https://material.io/icons/
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Yes, I'm using the "light" theme - I don't like the Material UI at all. I know how to change the background color of the top bar, but I need to change the foreground color of the text so there's enough contrast to read it. Why are some colors changeable but others apparently not?
I'm curious - From a visual / design standpoint, why use Material? It just makes your app look like every other Material-based app, not unique. Why jump on the Google bandwagon?
I still love the functionality of Aqua, but not the looks with the Material influence.
Thanks.
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It's big, bright, ugly and too simple. Too much color ("explosion in a paint factory") - I prefer largely monochrome w/occasional muted color highlights. Buttons and other widgets are too big, generally there's too little on screen simultaneously. Visually, I much prefer the look of, say, the Kit Kat UI. Material1 definitely looks like a Google app and that's not good IMO.
If it helps you understand my viewpoint, I'm a unix sysadmin and I like a technical approach. I'd rather have functionality visible, not hidden. After all, it's not "just a phone" or "just email", really - It's a computer that happens to fit in your pocket and merely has (among many other things) telephony, networking, graphics, etc. I don't often use it as a casual "quickly check this or that" device, I treat it like any other computer. After all, with computers it's as much (or more) the journey than the destination.
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... mmh, I can't see any "explosion in a paint factory" with my settings (color settings and others) with the "Light (Material design):
-> see screenshot "Message list" for example
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No, I'd call yours more of a minor spill. 😊 But that's not typical of Material from what I've seen. I prefer less color than what you have, but not completely mono. But the widgets are still too large and waste screen space.
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However, I could generate a "color explosion" if I really want this. AquaMail provides almost endless settings for customization,... and AFAIK it's the only application that offers such a variety of options:
-> screenshot "Account list" for example
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I agree in general about the configurability (that's a major reason I bought AqualMail) but I think in the long run using Material, or any other third-party-dictated elements, will limit that.
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No, I'd call yours more of a minor spill. 😊 But that's not typical of Material from what I've seen. I prefer less color than what you have, but not completely mono. But the widgets are still too large and waste screen space.
Okay, you prefer "less color"
Here we go:... "colorless" Message list
Whatever you want, you can get in AquaMail
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What about the big widgets, wasted screen space, hidden controls, etc.? Try switching to the light theme and setting colors of all the individual screen elements... Can't be done. And even the light theme doesn't fill the screen. It's very Material-ish in appearance, too.
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What about the big widgets, wasted screen space, hidden controls, etc.? Try switching to the light theme and setting colors of all the individual screen elements... Can't be done. And even the light theme doesn't fill the screen. It's very Material-ish in appearance, too.
I just choose a theme that meets my requirements best and then adjust all these settings so it meets my requirements best.
I don't need to adjust all themes to fit my preferences.
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Well, we could go tit-for-tat forever I suppose, but after working on systems elsewhere that can be easily adjusted to fit preferences (Solaris, Linux, etc.) it's frustrating having to deal with needless rigidity, particularly when it wasn't always that way. YMMV.
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But that kind of misses the point - I'm not wanting to remove icons. I want to see more of them, and smaller. Less white space. I'm not talking inoperably crowded - Just more on screen. There's a legit use and requirement for a certain amount of whitespace, but Material is over the top in that regard. I'm well aware of design requirements (I was a graphic designer in a past career).
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Re: big widgets
I can't see any colorful 'pain' in the widget, sorry!
Would you please clarify, post screenshots or describe your concerns in detail. Thank you.
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But that kind of misses the point - I'm not wanting to remove icons. I want to see more of them, and smaller. Less white space. I'm not talking inoperably crowded - Just more on screen. There's a legit use and requirement for a certain amount of whitespace, but Material is over the top in that regard. I'm well aware of design requirements (I was a graphic designer in a past career).
Even the icons are a lot smaller now than, let's say in version 1.6.... and they are from Google's original icon set: "Material design" of course
https://material.io/icons/
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Obviously we have a different idea of what works. For example, why would anyone (AM or otherwise) want to use generic icons made by someone else, that clearly belong to them? Why not be unique?
For example, see the red highlights below:
- Header is too tall; the red rectangle looks more appropriate to me
- Round color chips are too large and there's too much space on either side (red is a highlight only here, not a suggested size)
- Space between messages is too large (also just a highlight)
Also for my tastes, the fonts are too large, but that's configurable.
(http://pages.suddenlink.net/lenphilpot/AM.jpg)
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Re: I'm not talking inoperably crowded
Everyone will agree to that, and then differ in what that actually means.
"inoperably crowded" to one is "wastefully sparse" to another.
Re: Material is over the top in that regard
You know, I personally agree. But fashion is fashion, maybe it'll swing back again.
Re: Round color chips are too large
In another thread, somebody's complaining that they're too small.