Il giorno mar, 26/04/2011 alle 11.57 +0200, Elia Cogodi ha scritto: > Since the work towards 3.2 seems to have started... > > The behaviour currently presented in the shell (dynamically managed, > ad-hoc workspaces) is a great way to introduce even a casual user to > the concept of separate workspaces and solving the simple problems of > "I need more space for my windows" or "I don't want to see this window > right now". > As users become familiar with the concept, though, it's possible that > many of them will start thinking along different lines, where the > spaces are planned beforehand and consistently to organize their work > (a space for the editor, a space for a "research" browser window, one > for email and so on), in line with what power users of unixy OSs have > been doing since the dawn of time. > I remember even reading something from Federico about how one goes > when organizing a real work place, planning the work areas in advance. > And on the same tone, I've read of many expert users who can't really > come to terms with the totally dynamic management as it gets in the > way of their habits, and forces them to set up their spaces every > time. > > What's in a name? > --------------------------- > I propose to introduce an "advanced" workspace behaviour that is > practically transparent for the new users, but allows for growth in > usage pattern and would be more palatable to expert ones. It would > simply mean to distinguish between "named" workspaces and "anonymous" > or ad-hoc ones. > > Ad-hoc workspaces are the currently dynamically managed ones, and the default: > - an ad-hoc workspace is created by middle clicking a launcher or > dragging it to the empty space always available as last in the list > - an ad-hoc workspace is deleted as soon as no windows are present > > Additionally, you would be able to give a name label of your choice to > an existing ad-hoc space (thus defining its intended function): > - a named workspace is not scrapped when the last window is closed, > thus it's permanent until its name is cleared > - a named workspace is shown with its little name label superimposed > over the thumbnail in the workspace selector > - named workspaces are given numbered key shortcuts for fast switching > - the list of named workspaces and their shortcuts is a persistent > user setting, and they are all available right after a fresh login > - erasing a workspace name reverts it to ad-hoc behaviour. In > particular, erasing the name of an empty space scraps it What you propose already exists sort of. First of all, through GConf (or the preferences of the old workspace switcher applet) you can define workspace names, which are shown when you right click on a window and select "move to other workspace". Second, you can use the windowsNavigator extension, that assigns Alt+<N> to the Nth workspace. Third, you can use the auto-move-windows extension, that automatically places certain applications on predefined workspaces when they start, and stops collecting empty workspaces that are not at the end (making them static, that is). > Finally: > - DnD reordering of workspaces, both named and ad-hoc > > Pro: this simple change would accommodate most advanced use cases > without forcing complexity upon beginners. > Con: two slightly different behaviours for the two workspace types > could muddle the clarity of the current purely dynamic list: if a user > were to stumble upon it by accident, (s)he could be baffled. > > UI ideas: > - the name of the currently active workspace could be displayed in the > top bar, with a popup menu that allows browsing and choosing from all > workspaces, named or ad-hoc. > - ad-hoc namespaces could be listed with default labels, as "Work > space a", "Work space b" and so on, in italic or between quotation > marks to underline that it's a "synthetic" name. > - this widget would be helpful to recognize where you are at a glance > when you come back after a leave, and would allow mouse-wheel > scrolling (like the volume system icon) as an alternative fast > switching method for the intermediate user that doesn't want to go to > the overview all the time > - the widget would only allow name display and space selection in > "normal" mode, but would allow for editing of the currently selected > workspace name in overview. Thus naming an ad-hoc space would be very > natural, but still the overview would keep its sense of "the place > where you plan and manage your activities" > - this workspace widget could be placed right next to the > time/calendar, to consolidate a "what and when" context area. OS-X > places it among system indicators, but I'm not fond of that. This workspace switcher seems useful indeed. I don't know if it will accepted in core shell (drop at #gnome-design to talk with designers for that), but surely it will be welcome as an extension. I think it should be between "Activities" and the Application Menu, to create a sort of navigation bar. > (I've had no time yet to build a few mockups, but I hope the concept > is clear enough) > > I plan to spend some time learning how to put my code lines where my > mouth is, but meanwhile I wondered if something was planned for the > workspace management and what anyone thought about this direction - or > the subject in general. > > > - > Elia > _______________________________________________ > gnome-shell-list mailing list > gnome-shell-list gnome org > http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-shell-list
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