Re: [PATCH] GtkMessageBox should set empty window title by default

["Kalle Vahlman" <kalle vahlman gmail com>]

On 2/21/06, Tim Janik <timj imendio com> wrote:
> On Mon, 20 Feb 2006, Jaap A. Haitsma wrote:
>
> > Still nobody responding sofar :-(
> >
> > It's a three line patch
> >
> >
> > Could somebody please review the patch at
> > http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=323316
> >
> > I haven't had a response on the patch I attached in bugzilla in the last
> > two months.
>
> i really think the HIG is seriously misguided here.

Don't you mean misguid_ing_?-)

> every window should
> possibly have a title for obvious reasons (identification when cycling
> windows, for identification by the window manager, to allow titles/tooltips
> in window lists, to give the user an identification for shaded mode, etc).
>
> in the pointed to section, the HIG seems to think of alerts as a temporary
> borderless window (much like a tooltip) which the user has to answer before
> he can (continue) to do any other task.

Isn't it? If it's not crucial for the application, it should not be an
alert or at least not in it's own window (as the HIG recommends,
alerts should only be used if data loss or other serious problems are
imminent).

Borders are described in the section to be the same as dialogs, so I
don't get the "borderless" comment.

> but then, it really had to be
> implemented that way accompanied by a global grab (suck!).

They should be application modal, and kept above their parent so as
not to be lost. They should _not_ be visible in window lists and I
don't really see why should they ever be shaded either...

The only occasion they should be visible in the window lists is when
no other application windows are visible, at which point the dialog
indeed could benefit from the title. But that's something only the
application knows and thus appdevs responsibility. This is something
that could/should be added to HIG.

> however i think
> that kind of behaviour would most rarely be wanted by users.

That's why the use of alerts is recommended only in dire need.

Other than the window list (where alerts or even normal dialogs should
not be) and shading (which sounds funny for an application modal
dialog, after all most of these won't be on the screen for long), is
there additional value to default to generic uninformative noise
instead of empty? To be helpful, the application needs to set the
title anyway.

--
Kalle Vahlman, zuh iki fi
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