## About Thorium 2024 UI
Google started an initiative to refresh and redesign the UI of Chromium/Chrome
at the end of 2022 with [this commit](https://source.chromium.org/chromium/chromium/src/+/9bebadaa2a460012b124ba795587b1603bb3f6a2).
The previous redesign of the UI that occured in 2017 with M70 was called GM2.
This new design was given the codename Chrome Refresh 2023. It is also sometimes
referred to in the code and comments as Cr23, CR23, or GM3 (meaning sucessor to GM2).
See more about Chrome Refresh 2023 [Here](ss).
It made a really ugly, harder to use UI. Everything is super rounded, and spaced out.
Tabs are shorter, the bookmarks bar is larger, menus are so large as to become
annoying to use. And I wasn't the only one to notice or think this. See [this](https://www.tomshardware.com/software/i-hate-chrome-browsers-new-design-with-a-burning-passion-heres-how-to-revert-to-the-classic-one)
So I started an initiative after the M126 release (M126 was so
bad looking and annoying to use that it was the only Thorium release where Chrome
Refresh 2023 was the default and Th24 wasn't an option yet.) tentatively called Th24.
It aims to restore the look and feel of Chromium/Thorium to the way it was before Cr23,
while not completely restoring all code paths (the amount of code changed and removed is
too geat for one person to restore and maintain). It uses existing codepaths when possible,
to allow for easier rebasing work. It doesn't restore most icons or chrome:// WebUI pages,
but colors, shapes, layouts, metrics, and sizing of tabs, the top bar, menus, dialogs, and
buttons should all be back to the way they were before.
It is enabled with the chrome://flags flag `chrome://flags#thorium-2024`. You can also
enable it in the Thorium Experiments i.e. "Chrome Labs" menu accessible with the
"laboratory flask" (actually an Erlenmeyer flask) button, then turning __Enable Thorium
2024 UI__ to "Enabled". You can also enable it with the command line flag `--th24`
Rather than try to explain everything in text, the rest of this document contains
screenshots comparing stock Thorium to Thorium when the Th24 flag is enabled, along
with a description.
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First, the browsers in their entirety, on the New Tab Page. (Open each image in a separate tab
to make it easier to view the differences, or even better, download the two images, and then open
them fullscreen or maximized and use Alt + Tab to switch back and forth between the two windows.
Menus:
Top Bar:
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Tabs:
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Tabstrip Buttons:
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Omnibox left and right side area:
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Dialog:
Buttons:
Toggle Switches:
Colors:
