Comment 3 for bug 433838

This suggestion is not invalid. The new path button code is about changing the outside appearance and connection of the elements, not about changing the actual contents of the elements. It would be just as reasonable to use an icon for the first element in the new path button as it would be with the current code.

I like the idea of using an icon for the first element, because while it would still be redundant with the icon in the navigation pane, repeating one icon would be less redundant than repeating ~20 characters of text.

However, to do this we would need to be confident that the increase in elegance outweighs any decrease in elegance and in obviousness.

I see two potential reductions in elegance:

1. The size of the icon relative to the button. In the current mockup the top and bottom edges of the icon are scraping the edges of the button. Either the icon needs to be smaller, or the button needs to be taller. Probably the former, because the icons look a bit cramped in the navigation pane, too.

2. The small appearance of the button as a whole on the top-level "Get Free Software" and "Installed Software" screens.

Measuring any decrease in obviousness would require user testing, and I hope to do that early next cycle. But for now, I suggest tweaking the mockup to address the spacing issue, and expanding it so that it shows what the whole location bar (including search field) would look like at the top-level screens as well as on a department or application screen. Thanks!