Styles Problems i see with vb4 styling
 

1. It seems to me that we have gone from a reasonably easy to manage styling system to an needlessly complicated system that seems to have gone backwards in useability. Whilst i love the idea of being able to change 30*000 parts of the style* the way it has been implemented is a nightmare to work with* espically for the layman (IMO). Whilst i have been working with vb since 2006* i can see that those new to the system will be overwhelmed with the amount of options* and how they are set out.

Having said that though* i love the additions such as a larger preview for different elements* the breaking up of image use into a separate box* the addition of drop downs for frequently used tag additions and the other smaller additions that make a stylers life easier.

2. Buttons. Arrrrhhhh! How am i to customise my buttons (new thread* edit* etc) when it seems i am stuck with the rounded edges type that is mostly code rather than a good old solid image. This move seems to me to be a step backward in customisation that vb3 offered.

What if i want my buttons to be a square* star shape* or another type of shape? Do i then have to go through the templates and edit each one to use an image instead?

The new buttons are probably going to load faster in the browser* but it is at the cost of customisation imo.

3. Borders. There is no room in any of the stylevars for additional css. What if i want to add a border-left* border-right etc to my style elements? Whilst this was not only possible but easy in vb3* we seem to have taken another step backward in customisation in vb4 imo.

4. Variable names. These are making my tear my hair out. Whilst i am aware that with any major upgrade of a piece of software* there will enviably be a learning curve* i noticed that all the vars i have grown used to over the years have been totally renamed. Not only that* but the var names used are not very descriptive at all.

5. Shadowing. The use of shadows in vb4 is a reasonably good idea* but imo poorly implemented. Why did the devs decide to use a light color to shadow everything? Why couldn't a dark color be used to accommodate both dark and light styles. Because i have a dark style* i must now track down all the shadowing and change it. A needless job when a color could have been chosen that would have complemented both light and dark.

6. Rounded corners on everything. Whilst implementing rounded corners in vb3 was a royal pain* the use of them in vb4 leaves the same issue but in reverse. Allow the user to decide if they wish to have rounded corners or square. The styler and laymen needs to be given the choice.

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Overall* vb4's styling is a leap forward that i look forward to working with and learning* but in some crucial areas* it is a step backward from the spirit of vb3* that is* customisation.

Also* if any of these things are being addressed* or have been discussed previously* i apoligise for my ignorance.