First of all, XnViewMP has come a long way.. it's a unique tool which becomes more powerful from build to build.
Since 0.33 it supports the native icon and gtk theme on my system which makes XnViewMP more fun to use which is great.
So my suggestion also target the look and feel of this application.
How about sizing down the tab bar abit and moving the menu bar up?
In the recent past there was discussion in the forum about the relative positions of the menu and the tab bar. The current MP design (0.3x) is the result of that discussion.
There is a trend in the software industry toward a tab (then menu) GUI layout (q.v. Chrome). If you think about it, the subordination of the menu to the tab makes logical sense if there are different kinds of tabs available (XnView MP: browser, view, compare... so far!), with a different menu appropriate for each type. In the Chrome interface, the user can tear off tabs and float them elsewhere, so the menus should "go with the tab". (MP does not -yet- support the tab tear-off metaphor, though.)
After initial dismay at the new design, I have "come around" to thinking that subordinating a menu to each tab is actually more natural than a single menu above the tabs.
Work with it a little, you might learn to like it better!
