This is a new re-design, as intended.

I think that was understood, but as with the situation with the non-hiding shelf up until M70, how can we request to make this new large shelf optional?

vjvake sums it up in comment 4.  Please give us the option to have it the way it was.

@manucornet It may be by design but the icons are way too large even on larger screens.  The user has put them there on purpose so it isn't necessary to have a huge icon so they can identify the right app.

I'll let Sébastien (designer) comment on this if he has something to add.

I wouldn't mind the size of the shelf icons if the size was only used while in tablet mode, where it makes sense to have larger icons to tap, but in a desktop environment where you have the precision of the mouse/trackpad, it's un-needed.

Because of the size of the icons the shelf also takes up slightly more space; it's not a lot but I quickly noticed it. It's not as noticeable when you have the shelf on the sides but when it's on the bottom, you're losing some vertical space which there is already less of than horizontal space.

I also agree that an option needs to be added to change the size of the shelf icons. It'd be great to have the option in the right click menu alongside the shelf autohide and position options.

Thanks for the feedback. For technical context, the shelf height was increased by 8px (from 48px to 56px) - a small but obviously noticeable change - to make it more touchable overall.

Going forward, we are exploring ways to make our UI more adaptive between form factors and use cases, the shelf is a big part of these explorations.

Thanks.

Basically, something like the new Chrome flag option for #top-chrome-md named Dynamic Refresh would be perfect here. It was introduced in M71 and I love it.

I agree that it would be wonderful to offer the option for independently sizing the size of the shelf icons as in Windows and Macs. On my small 11.6 screen the new extra large icons are eliminating premium real estate. Thank you

Screen real estate is too valuable on my Chromebook to use it unnecessarily on such a big shelf. Please allow an option to reduce the size of the shelf and, in so doing, reduce the size of the icons.

Chrome os is linux. In linux the shelf can be resized! So, why not Chrome OS shelf?

Feedback is noted and actions will be taken to address this the right way.
Removing myself from cc.

The new shelf is cumbersome for those of us with 11" or smaller screens. Please make an option to adjust icon and shelf size. Auto-hiding the shelf is NOT a fix.

The large, centered icons are oppressive in desktop mode ... even with the highest resolution settings.

Might we at least have the opportunity to again go into chrome://flags, search for #shelf-new-ui, and set it to "Disabled?"

PLEASE enable that flag for us?

And' of course, being able to adjust the tray/icon sizes at will would be fantastic!

The new shelf is just a bit too big, especially for those of us with small chromebook screens. Also, I don't care for the new centered shelf icons, far to similar to Mac OS. Gmail has multiple interface size options, like the "cozy" view mode, perfect for smaller screens. Why can't chrome os have the same options??? 

I feel like I have lost a lot of screen real estate after updating. I can hide the self as a workaround, but I'd prefer not to have to do that.

 Issue 887049  has been merged into this issue.

It's been two months and still the gigantic shelf forced to users.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD LET ME CHOOSE MY SHELF ALIGNMENT MY OCD IS DRIVING ME CRAZY.

I've had this update less than a day (i never power cycle my chromebook) and I can't handle it. I'm literally not going to be able to use my computer until/if this is changed. I'm so sick of companies (especially google) bragging about customisation and useability while FORCING constant changes. I despise centre alignment.

First I want to thank the chrome team for all the awesome work they do and how much the community can interact with and impact development. This relationship is unheard of even with other Google products.

Second, I was one of the many who have been frustrated by this change. I understand what you are trying to do, but it honestly feels like you are making many of the same mistakes Microsoft did with Windows 8 while making it touch friendly. I believe that you can do both. Keep in mind chrome is developing into a full fledged os. Many people are already running it on desktops with multiple large monitors. Please don't sacrifice the needs of your core users for the sake of small tablet improvements. 

Finally, is there a reason these things can't even be an option? One of Android's biggest flaws is limiting customization. I fear for chrome os going down that same path. I already wish there were more options in the settings like greater control over screen time out. If you are going to court power users with features like Linux, please give us the power options. Even if they are hidden somewhere like the flags ui.

> Even if they are hidden somewhere like the flags ui.

I'm not giving an opinion about whether this should be customizable, but I want to note from a policy standpoint, this isn't something we'd put in flags. Flags are temporary switches for Chrome developers to test new features before they are ready, and not a mechanism for exposing "power user" features.

If this was made a setting, it would have to be a full setting exposed to the user, designed, translated, tested and maintained like any other feature. That isn't a trivial task but there's no reason in theory why it couldn't be done.

I think mgiuca's comment (25) should be taken to heart when it comes to requests for customization.  One of the things I like about chromeos is how quickly it starts and how well it runs on minimal hardware.  It would be nice to be able to quantify how speed and start-up times are affected by some of the things we often ask the developers to include for us.  Many of us left windows years ago because it is so bloated.

With that said, I stand by my original request to revert the shelf and shelf icons to their original size, make it selectable or make the size different based on device or display type.  

I wrote Comment 12. I'm starting to warm up to the new shelf. I found that putting it on auto is actually a good thing. It improves the screen real estate with minimal inconvenience. I hover the mouse down to check the time, but that's about it.

I tried using autohide, but for me the delay before the shelf pops back up takes a little too long.  

Ironically, we could ask for an option to adjust that delay time, but as I noted, my fear is that the more "customizable" we ask for chromeos to be, the more bloated and sluggish it will become.  OTOH, I think the large icons were already a step towards a more bloated handheld interface at the expense of those of us that still like a desktop style interface.  Just my $.02.

I don't see how using auto-hide is a solution of lack of this option. I may work for some but that doesn't really takes away the fact that you are unable to choose.

I have never use auto-hide, and I hate auto-hide. I look at the battery/wifi signal/time/notification count way too often. Not having that permanently in my view is not for me.

I agree the option should be available to users. Specially because remember, it used to be fine before. They forced an update that make it worse without giving the option to roll back.

The redesigned bar center vs left alignment is a major issue for me as center alignment is much harder to use and the larger size of the icons takes up valuable space. I was able to disable the 70. version center alignment, but that option is not available for 71. Please return the option in flags! (or another method) Thanks. 

In the interest of not providing choices to the user, why not just default to the new shelf in tablet mode only, then switch to the original shelf in laptop mode?

Everytime I look at that shelf, it makes me concerned about my decision to go with Chrome OS. I'm no longer promoting it; I'm warning others. 

Seeing my limited screen space squeezed further for no benefit irks me. It was fine before. This reminds me of the Windows Metro move. Why repeat their mistake?

Comment #31 is a viable solution, or introduce customization. 

Agreed. Comment 31 is the right solution for this. I love my PixelBook but this interface change ruins the experience for me. Even my kids don't like it and they never notice or comment on UI changes. That says something.

This issue with 53 stars is marked as WontFix which probably means it is now off the radar of any product people looking at this issue list.  This issue is flagged as duplicating  issue #887049  "No transparency on shelf." which covers (1) the lack of transparency and (2) the awkward size of the shelf.  However the new issue only has 5 stars so again it is probably off the radar of product people. 

Users can take things "off the radar", too.

Maybe Google doesn't have what it takes to manage a high-end laptop. 

Apple sure does. 

We're always listening (even on "won't fix" issues) and take all feedback seriously :-)

I really respect the effort to improve the appearance and touch friendliness of Chrome OS, but this new shelf design is really hard to take: We're losing precious screen real estate on small screens in non-touch (and secondary touch) scenarios. And I think the curved corners look so bad when they're met by the right-angled corner of a window. What is this weird missing segment supposed to do for me?

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Issue 897154 has been merged into this issue.

The size and center alignment of the shelf immediately OCD'd me upon arrival and searched immediately for a work around until found. Now that that workaround is gone i'm kinda screwed like everyone else. Awaiting a Fix. I do agree any UI that triggers a hate stimulus that requires any kind of workaround else I can't stop staring at it wanting to strike it with a hammer is a bug even if intentional.

I also hate this centered dock.  Who is to say that a MacOS look is better?  Just because it is Mac means nothing.  Lets pursue what is best.  I cannot think of any reason at all that this centered dock is superior.  It seems inferior because it holds less icons.  

Please bring back the old dock or at least the option to use left justification.  Icon sizes and density would also be a nice option.  Thank you.

The new redesign was a shock to me as well. I understand how it fits tablet mode but why should they change be pushed to desktop mode as well? Google is obviously trying to androidify chrome os, but this look totally destroys desktop mode.
Icons are huge and centered and don't let me get started on the new notification tray. Its awful! The only good new thing is autohide option in shelf.
Please revert to the old desktop style while keeping the autohide option, and apply all those changes to tablet mode only, where they obviously belong!

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Reading through it, I can see some objective reasons why you dislike the larger size (it takes up more screen space, which is scarce on small screens, and auto-hiding the shelf doesn't work for everyone), but I can't really see objective reasons for disliking the centering, except for the novelty factor, which should wear off?

Flag is gone and forced to use new shelf...really dislike it for 2 main reasons:

1) The centering reduces the number of apps that can display before they hit the notification area and are forced to an overflow. I've had about 10 apps and Websites pinned to my Shelf so that I can open them quickly and navigate quickly. with this many, only 1 or 2 more apps can be open before it goes to overflow. Now there are additional steps to navigate while there is still wasted space on the left of the shelf. Has no purpose.  - taking apps off the shelf means launching from the drawer which is even more navigation, less efficiency. 

2) Centered apps move as more apps open and this means the same app is not always in the same place. The speed with which I can open an app because it's in the same spot, with some muscle memory, is reduced by this change and makes it more frustrating. 

Size change isn't great, as it reduces window size, but I don't find it as troublesome as the moving apps...

The centering annoys the heck out of me, but it's mostly because of the Fisher-Price appearance. It seems floating rather than solidly docked. With a shorter shelf and smaller icons, it would appear more professional again even with the centered icons. Adding an icon moves all of them, which is disorienting, but not the end of the world. 

Everyone is conditioned to left-oriented icons after years of use. Why torture us?

Again on Fisher-Price: I find the new appearance to be very unprofessional looking. It looks like a toddler's computer. I no longer want to be seen using it in professional settings. 

Lastly, I have to say I mostly LOVE my Chromebooks! 

I have to agree with both, disorienting moving icons, and really silly looking shelf. 

Before it used to be a minimalistic, transparent and small looking shelf that used to add beauty and comfort just to watch it. It was pleasant to have in the  screen, it looked professional, mature and goes with the approach of the products (Chromebooks, small, pretty, efficient). It was pure beauty and clean.

It didn't bother, it actually was nice to have.

Now you have this giant juvenile rounded-cornered ugly stick at the bottom. The centered icons, in combination with the size and the ugly, not transparent, make the shelf intrusive.

It looks bad, and it doesn't goes well with, for example, my Pixelbook. You have a strong, minimalistic design with a software that looks of a kid-oriented computer. 

The shelf was superior to the Windows' taskbar because it was transparent. It was a floating unintrusive place for opened or pinned apps. You only have to see it when you needed it.

 The centered icons make work for tablet mode, but for desktop simply doesn't feel right. It does NOT look good for a laptop and it takes way too much space.
The whole design is plain a suffering. ANd the fact that is being forced to me have me question myself about this OS. 

It really looks and feels bad. 

Most people read from left to right or right to left.  That is why most books are left or right justified.  

Why naot add a dock appearance option to the settings
Dock Alignment: Left, Center, Right

re manucomet's comment 42:
Thanks for the positive response.

As to the centered icons, comment 43, sums it up for me in regard to my little 500e display.  Centered overflows before all the space is used on my 500e.  

OTOH, on my chromebox with a 24" monitor, the icons are just plain way too far away from the launcher.

I also tend to agree with comment 44's Fisher Price analogy.

The old shelf was the best implementation of a "dock/taskbar, etc" on any OS. Practically invisible while working in apps but there when you needed it. I can see how a new shelf might be needed for a tablet mode, but forcing it on desktop user isn't any better than forcing a desktop-style shelf in tablet mode.

I have no idea what the ratio is, but I am willing to bet that MOST people using Chrome OS are using it as a laptop.

I agree with the comments so far about the centred icons, and I'll add one more: it looks off-balance, especially on a smaller screen. All the control panel icons on the right are significantly wider than the single launcher icon on the left. As a result, there's way less empty space to the right of the centred icons than to the left. Right now, with the number of icons I have and the size of my screen, it's about twice as much space on the left. So it just looks weird. Having all of the icons left-aligned actually gave a more balanced look overall. Also, because the blank space wasn't split into two areas (and because the icons were smaller), it looked way less crowded on a small screen.

Comments 45 and 48 hit the nail on the head. The old look was subtle, minimalist, and refined. The content drew all the attention. This big black bar, with its giant centred icons and its jarring curves, screams LOOK AT ME. Why? It's not the thing users care about.

Regarding Comment 42, there are now several objective reasons in this thread explaining the objective negatives of a centered shelf. Many users come from Windows or Ubuntu, which for decades, have used left-aligned taskbar icons in desktop environments. Why push this change on everyone?

Please tell me this is fixed, the large icons get in the way of certain applications and drive me crazy. I want to have full control of sizing and options,just like non-chomebook OS as Windows does. I appreciate you all following up on this as I'd think this would be a huge issue for us OCD people. When I use my XPlayer video app I can not click on the 10 second rewind and fast forward with out accidentally hitting an application that is lying on the shelf, or just the shelf blocking actions in the spot in general. I really do not like putting my shelf's on the left or right either, and I do not like the fact that they made, or didn't give you the choice, as to where to put the circle of all your apps at, which they place at top. I'd rather have it on bottom and my time and date stamp on top if I used left and right. I just beieve there should be more options. Please email with any fixes at ryanheathsales@gmail.com, Thanks!

I want the icons to be small...

I want the shelf and icons to be small and apps to be located on the left, not centered...

I personally do not have a tablet, If I wanted a tablet I would have bought a tablet. I would prefer at the very least the option to move the icons in the dock to the left side of the screen.

I have the X2 laptop/tablet, and I'd be content with the scenario I mentioned above - to have the old shelf only when docked with a keyboard and/or in laptop mode, and the new shelf when detached/in tablet mode. That way both sides can be happy.

C'mon, I get it. But at least give us the option. Why can't we choose?

strong reactions assaults to the eyes and mind don't wear off people just
try to adjust but it because they have to yet its still there beneath the
surface waiting for the next assault to pile on top or for them to get
annoyed all over again at how its still there. The centered and large size
are the kind of assaults that cause people to go looking for programmatic
OS editing type of fixes. Like if this were Windows me and others would be
looking for regedit fixes. and some of us were using flags. Not into the
get over it. but essentially we all know that is what will happen. it is
what it is. Just trying to comment. Centered is an insult and assault on my
eyes. It is what it is.

I know the Chrome OS team is working hard to make Chrome OS better, but I strongly agree with the other comments here (particularly 43, 48, 49, and 57).

I use a Chromebook Pro which is often in tablet mode, so I'm one of the users this update is specifically targeted at, but the redesign that has been slowly rolling out over the last several months has been chipping away at the usability and functionality of the OS as a whole.  Notifications can no longer be dismissed in one go; for a while the shelf couldn't be hidden; and now the top tabs and lower shelf are larger, reducing screen real estate by an amount that looks small on paper, but feels very large.

I know that the height of the shelf and the centering of the shelf icons doesn't seem like a large issue to the devs (and I'm certain some of them feel this is an XKCD 1172 situation), but this really is something that impacts people.  And if we could please have an option to move the shelf icons back to where they were, we would really appreciate that.  It doesn't need to be incredibly obvious, and I wouldn't even expect a lot of support for it since it's obvious that Chrome and Chrome OS are moving in a different direction, but please just give us something.

@Comment 42

My objective objection to the centred icons is twofold.

First is that it's extremely irritating to have pinned icons (icons that the user has explicitly specified they don't want moving around) jump across as you open and close applications. It's rather jarring to not have the icons where you expect them to be.

Secondly is that my Chromebook is not my only computer; I have a Windows desktop and I like to have my icons arranged in a broadly consistent way across both machines. I understand that Chrome OS wants to differentiate itself from other operating systems, but if doing that comes at the expense of user experience or choice is bull headed and frustrating for us to deal with. Why can't you just let us choose alignment? Centre can be the default when setting up initially, but give us the choice to align left (or right) somewhere in the settings. Please.

My subjective objections are that centred icons are ugly and more at home in a mobile environment than a laptop. Obviously some people have 2-in-1s and you've recently released a Chrome OS tablet that you want to push, that's fine, but let us, the users, customise our devices as we see fit.

Thank you.

Not to be dramatic, but I have pretty bad OCD and now cannot use my Pixelbook because of the center-docked icons. And no I do not want to hide the shelf because I like to be able to see the time.

I also prefer left alignment, but my biggest problem with the dock is the wasted space.  Why not let it also expand out more.  When I put my Pixel Slate in portrait mode, I can only fit five or size icons on the dock.  

I found this page searching for ways to resize the shelf. Any way to do that independently from resizing the entire view would be greatly appreciated. The rational centering issues presented above (predictable icon location, better use of space, etc.) would also be of much interest.

Regret updating the os when I first purchased my Chromebook. Please allow users to manual change the icons to smaller icons please! 

 Issue 917713  has been merged into this issue.

Please change the status of this issue from WontFix to NeedFix.  The functionality may be working as intended, but does not function well and a definite downgrade from the prior functionality.  Most people want the option to choose size and alignment of the dock.  This is very important.

I have the same issue, I have OCD and the new shelf UI is causing me to not want to use my chromebook. 

Yes, I liked the previous placement, left-aligned, better. And the icons are too large.

I want the shelf back! GIVE US THE SHELF! GIVE US THE SHELF! I can't stand the new look. Why in the heck did they get rid of the option to make the shelf how we like?!? Its too big!

The new redesign looks blatantly child-like. Safe curves, (edges are too scary), big goofy icons, shelf, and tabs. Centering and moving icons because your simple human mind can't comprehend how you set up your own shelf. I want my professional looking device back please.

Literally just give us the option, its not that hard is it? There are tons of people who are complaining. Tons of people saying "we know you don't like it, but get used to it, bud". Which is making us less enthusiastic about wanting to continue using our devices.


I straight up refuse to update my system to the new 71. I'm more willing to be prone to security and function failures than to update and ruin my device's entire looks. If I accidentally let it die, I will probably sell it, or mail it back to google broken into pieces.

There was nothing to fix, just give us back the option to have the old look back. YOU devs didn't have to take away the flag. Either gives us it back, or put the option in the settings page.

-Do not force centered/moving icons on us.
-Do not force a shelf/dock redesign on us.
-Do not force bigger tabs or take away the trapezoid design.

I'm already starting to plan my transition away from Google. I doubt this will be given any consideration. 

My "professional" laptop that I paid $1,000 for now looks like a Fisher Price toy. I cannot confidently be seen using it on a professional basis. I'm already carrying my ten year old Dell instead. 

I'm also warning everyone I know about this. I have to do it because I highly recommended the Chrome OS to many people, and now I must back away from it. 

Yeah this is just bad. It looks awful and is pretty invasive. Like Comment 58 mentions, this got me googling how to change it. I wish there would be a registry modification kind of fix like in Windows. 

I turned to this because I loved Remix OS. Now my Pixelbook look juvenile.

I don't disagree that there is a bunch of people there that are loving this, although I doubt it based on all reddit posts about this change, anyway all I asking is, give me the option. I'm sure most of the users will stick with the old (let's call it "the better") shelf. 

I miss the better shelf. I want the better shelf back. 

I also dislike the shelf redesign, I agree with other posters here that the new shelf looks childish.  Personally I never had a hard time hitting the icons before and don't really see the need to make them bigger/centered.

The shelf change seems IMO to cause more problems than it solves (less space for icons, takes up more screen, icon position inconsistent).  

I feel like the changes that are being made to Chrome OS to make it more tablet friendly frequently hurt the overall experience. For example apps being forced into fullscreen in tablet mode has seriously reduced the usefulness of tablet mode.

I really hope this issue gets further consideration, it would be great to have options for shelf height and icon alignment.

The shelf is really too big on a 1336x768 monitor and lots of 11" chromebook have this resolution. It's a big waste of space.

Am I the only one having technical difficulties with the dock glitching out sometimes hiding, sometimes not, also full-screen android apps are not behaving properly with the new dock behavior.

Is this still in "WontFix" mode? (no notice of change or ability to do so in 1/17/19 update)

My screen is 768 pixels high. An extra 8 pixels of shelf is a hell of a lot. We're not talking 4K displays here. Resizable would be best - it doesn't need to be anywhere near as big as it is. 

Wow Google just make this horrible design. Turning useful feature into annoyance
Old UI and Left alignment were better

This new design is indeed terrible. Just terrible. And it's not only the shelf. The notification tray is a mess as well. The clear all button is hardly visible, multiple notifications collapsing in a non pleasant (design wise) way eth..
Please make the notifications stand alone like it used to be. And the shelf left - oriented and with smaller icons obviously.

You guys completely destroyed a beautiful professional design for this tablet - friendly childish crap.

Like you couldn't introduce this new design in tablet mode only and leave desktop mode untouched !!

Within the first 79 comments thusfar, the notification methodology isn't mentioned much. I also am appalled by it, but have been trying to live with it. The original method was fine! Now, one must sweep the messages to see the clear button, and it's far to easy to trigger the notifications and inadvertently open apps. 

It's probably justifiable to say this issue should be on its own thread. 

@Comment 79 & 80

I have wondered why the revised notification interface hasn't been mentioned more as an issue.  It feels buried as a sub-menu and I nearly always trigger the opening of a notification in desktop mode when scrolling through them.  Very annoying.  I have yet to figure out how to prevent that from happening.  I suspect many users still don't know there is a "clear all" option.  The current UI for notifications tends to get in the way of dealing with them compared to the previous more direct and efficient method.

What is fascinating and frustrating about all of these issues is that they only exist now by intentional design and working well prior to the change. 

PLEASE let us have our professional DESKTOPS back!