Conemu: Request: please darken background tab color for better contract with active tab

[mikemaccana]

I use ConEmu all day but constantly have trouble trying to find the active tab - my eyes aren't great but still, ConEmu has a lot less contrast than similar apps. Here's a comparison of ConEmu and Chrome's background tab colors:

Could you please darken the background tab color a little?

(This might be tweakable by users but a more accessible default would be better)

Thanks!

[Maximus5]

No. Impossible. Search through existing issues.

[mikemaccana]

Fair enough I see it's a Microsoft-controlled thing. For anyone else: https://github.com/Maximus5/ConEmu/issues/552 and https://github.com/Maximus5/ConEmu/issues/164

[mikemaccana]

Thanks for the quick reply anyway Maximus!

[mikemaccana]

@Maximus5 Is it possible to use a different control than TabBar? Eg, what MS Edge uses?

[Maximus5]

ConEmu is native Windows application with absolutely no dependencies which can be used in any Windows version from 2000.
And I hope it will be further.

Edge is Metro application. Will not use .Net for simple application!

[Maximus5]

Why don't complain to Microsoft on their bad UI design instead?

[mikemaccana]

Not complaining to anyone, just asking. Didn't mean to annoy you! Though I'd worry if someone was using Windows 2000 in 2017!

[Maximus5]

Windows XP is still used by many people, and it doesn't differ a lot from 2k.
I'm trying to convince users that without telling Microsoft of bad design, it would never been improved.

[mikemaccana]

Fair enough re: telling Microsoft. Is it possible to do console apps in Metro (for when XP usage eventually dies)?

[Maximus5]

1. I don't see any sense in that. Small and fast application would become huge (with dependencies) and voracious.
2. Even if one use .Net (not Metro) they would face necessity to implement parts of code in either native dll or pinvoke.

[swiftSwathSee]

Surely you don't need dependencies to just change the tab text colors? That isn't as good as full tab dimming but it's better than nothing.

Also, another solution is what someone proposed in another issue: just dimming the inactive tab icon. You replied that it was a poor solution (I disagree), but I'd rather have a poor solution instead no solution.

This is something that I think is important, and something that lots of people have asked for.

[jdownie]

I found this feature which might help you. If you want "XYZ" to appear in the tab's title (on the active tab) you can set this field to "%MXYZM". Not exactly what you're asking for but it's addressing the same "difficult to see active tab" problem that I think we're both having.

Hope that helps.

[mikef-nl]

%m■m alternatively adding that to the Console field. That marks the active tab nicely

[mikemaccana]

Thanks @mikef-nl, I ended up using %m■m %s and it helps with visibility significantly. 👍

[gawie-kellerman]

Hi @Maximus5 . Really appreciate your comments and cannot differ with you. Let's put the problem in context; the problem is in identifying tabs to switch between shells/tasks/servers etc. The tabs really gets lost and in all likelihood needs different styling altogether. Since you are bound by the shortcomings of old controls; why not simply tackle the problem differently. How about a hotkey to bring up a list of "tabs". These tabs could be named differently and colored differently; and take up, on the popup/popover much more space for detail than a tab could. That way one could even lose the tabs altogether. The bottom line for me is that the tabs are impossible to read/distinguish where one ends and the next one starts; this while there are a number of ways to tackle it differently (popup table, floating/docked panel with list/table etc). Regards

[mikemaccana]

I totally support changing the tab text colors for unused tabs, but in the meantime, here's what @mikef-nl's workaround looks like - worth trying in the meantime:

[Maximus5]

There is already hotkey to show list of tabs, but this issue is not about that.

[mmoore99]

%m■m alternatively adding that to the Console field. That marks the active tab nicely

When I put %m■m in the Console field the appended text appears in all tabs. How does this mark the active tab?

[Maximus5]

@mmoore99 Nope, it doesn't. Show the screenshot

[mikemaccana]

@mmoore99 It puts a big square in the title of the active tab. See the screenshot above.

[mmoore99]

Here are screenshots from my machine. Is something set incorrectly?

[Maximus5]

Yep. You are using a build from year 2016

[mmoore99]

I am an idiot!!! Thank you.

[siran]

this suggestion helps [1], but it'd be nice to be able to color the active tab

[1] https://github.com/Maximus5/ConEmu/issues/1017#issuecomment-357131848