Re: panel menu functionality...

[Jörg Rathlev <joerg jrsoftware de>]

> That's what I'm saying -- although you can right-click to edit the
> launcher's properties, a feature that i like, i'd also like to be able
> to move/arrange/reorder the menu items just by dragging them around. i
> am always editing my menus, as apps come and go for me, and it is
> frustrating sometimes to be forced to start up a menu editing app just
> to change the *order* of my menu items.. it's not a problem that will
> kill me, but I think it would be convenient. If it's a usability problem
> for extreme newbies, then have it turned off by default, and let me turn
> it on if I so choose..

I think that there are some usability problems with the drag&drop menus not
only for 'extreme newbies'. The most obvious is that it is quite easy to
accidentally drag a menu item. Another problem is inconsistency: if you
click the menu button (that opens the menu) and hold the mouse button down,
you can move your mouse over the items, and release it above the one you
want to use.

However if you press your mouse button while it is above an item and hold
it, this results in a totally different behavior (dragging the item) -- but
only in some menus, while others have a 'normal' behavior. Besides, it is
also inconsistent with pushbuttons, where you can cancel clicking it by
dragging the mouse off the pushbutton before releasing the mouse button (a
feature that is important even to advanced users, IMHO).

What about developing an 'in-place-menu-editor' that gets activated using
the context menu, activates the drag feature and keeps the menu open
(similar to MS Office)? It should also display a message box somewhere
(somewhere meaning not covering the menu :-) ) where you can click Finish to
commit the changes and Cancel to cancel editing.


Jörg