Re: Avoiding the name of an application in Menus?

[Shaun McCance <shaunm gnome org>]

On Wed, 2006-02-22 at 17:43 +1030, Clytie Siddall wrote:
> On 22/02/2006, at 5:01 AM, Shaun McCance wrote:
> 
> > Now, I'm all for saying what an application is in the
> > menu, regardless of whether we use the real name.  I
> > have no problems with items like "Epiphany Web Browser".
> > This is what Sound Juicer does right now: Sound Juicer
> > CD Ripper.  Best of all worlds.
> 
> Too long for some places, though, aren't they?
> 
> Also, in translation, it's often difficult to find a way of  
> translating a string so it fits in a menu item, on a button or toolbar.
> 
> We do our best, but having longer or more detailed descriptions makes  
> it harder for us, if it has to fit in or on something.
> 
> A longer description, like "Epiphany Web Browser" is excellent for  
> window titles, and possibly the application-list menu. Will it fit  
> everywhere else it needs to be displayed?

You don't need to display the generic name everywhere.
Here's an analogy: Let's say you head downtown, and
there's this wonderful bakery and caf� Fro the sake
of argument, let's say it's called Pekara.  They have
their name written on the awning outside, and it says
something like "Pekara - Caf�nd Bakery".  That way,
when you're walking by, you know exactly what it is.
But they don't have to subtext every single occurrence
of their name.

Similarly, a menu item can say "Epiphany Web Browser",
but we don't have to write that whole bit everywhere
we mention Epiphany.  In fact, the title of the help
file can just be "Epiphany Help", because we can also
provide a long description that will be shown in Yelp.

Using generic names in the menu is simply a matter of
discoverability.  If you see just "Epiphany" in the
menu, how are you supposed to know what it is?  But
if you have "Epiphany Web Browser", you immediately
know that it's a web browser, and you also know it's
named Epiphany.  Once you have the application open,
we don't have to constantly tell you that it's a web
browser.  We can just use the name Epiphany.

--
Shaun