[PROPOSAL] A new menu layout

[Luca Ferretti <elle uca libero it>]

'Cause UI freeze is "far away, so close" better send this unfinished
proposal now then later :-)

I've used the new spatial UI in latest weeks. Great job, but....

*** Spatial UI (IMHO)

If I'm right the mantra should be "there must be a direct, one-to-one
relationship between folders and windows". and "the 'spatial interface'
attempts to imitate the real world".

In example double clicking on a folder should "work" just like open a
real folder in real world. The spatial window isn't a way to show the
contents of a folder, but the folder itself, just opened.

So every 'spatial window' should be a view of an opened folder.

*** HIG and spatial windows.

<quote>A primary window usually presents a view of the user's data, such
as a text document in a word processor application, an image in a
drawing program, or calculations in a calculator or spreadsheet
application. It may also be a view of something more abstract, like a
game</quote>[1]

Question: what is a folder? Is it a document or an abstract item?

It's not an abstract item, at least from the user point of view and in
'spatial' metaphor.

But it's not a document, at least in common idea of a document. A
gnumeric file is a document. An abiword file is a document. Every data
of formula you add to a workbook is a part of this workbook: you can't
distinguish the document from its contents.

But a folder is just a 'container': every file in a folder can 'survive'
in another location/folder.

If you read the HIG section about menus, you can see a document-orient
approach. In example the Format or the Insert menu. And last but not
least the FILE menu.

*** The File menu in spatial window

IMHO it's currently totally wrong.

First it should be Folder (or Location).

Second it mixes operations/actions on the folder (Close Folder, Open
Parent, Open Location...) and operation/actions on its contents (Open,
Open with.., Explore)

Third it contains items to modify the folder contents (Create Folder,
Create document).

*** The Places menu...

and the "Open Location..." and "Connect to Server..." entries should be
wrong too.

If the window is just an opened version of a folder, those item are
totally misplaced. I don't think that a menu to open another location is
a good idea for a spatial oriented file manager, at least in _every_
window.

"Open Location..." is totally unuseful: you can use the Exec dialog from
panel. You can invoke it just pressing Alt-F2, so you don't need to open
a folder to launch this dialog. IMHO is better re-label the panel Exec
dialog and.

"Connect to Server..." 'works' on Computer and Desktop, it don't work on
every folder/window. So it should be placed in Action panel menu or in
desktop background popup menu.

All those stuff can be simply places in menu panel or in desktop
background popup menu

*** Edit and View menus

HIG says "Edit menu contains items relating to editing both the
document" while "View menu contains only items that affect the user's
view of the current document"

So, for example: 
      * "Create Folder" change the folder contents, so it should be
        placed in Edit menu (see Insert menu on HIG) 
      * Same for "Create Document" and "Create Launcher" 
      * When you change the background or add an emblem you modify the
        view of the folder --> place it under View menu

*** The proposal, finally

Menubar items

        Folder Edit View Actions (Help?)
        
Folder menu

        Used to place some opened folder related actions that can't be
        placed under Edit or Wiew
        
                Open Parent
                Close Parent Folders
                --
                Properties
                --
                Close
                
Edit menu

        Used to place all actions that can change the contents of showed
        folder. The "Preferences" is removed 'cause the spatial window
        is just a 'folder view', not an application. To configure the
        behavior users will refer to Desktop Preferences -> File
        Management
        
                Cut
                Copy
                Paste
                --
                Select All
                Select by Pattern...
                --
                Create Folder
                Create Document 
                        Template 1
                        Template 2
                        --
                        Empty File 
                --
                Duplicate
                Create Link
                Rename...
                --
                Move to trash
                (Delete) 
        
View menu

        This menu can contain all stuff to change the view of folder.
        Note that in spatial windows we can remove the "Stop" entry:
        'cause we can't reuse the window it has no sense. For long time
        operations we should use an alert with a "Cancel" or "Stop"
        button.
        
        Refresh
        --
        Zoom In
        Zoom Out
        Normal Size
        --
        View as Icons
        View as List
        --
        Sort Items 
                Manually
                --
                By name
                ...... 
        --
        Use default settings
        --
        Backgrounds and Emblems...
        
Actions menu

        This new menu should be used to place all other available
        actions on selected items that don't change the folder content
        (in Edit) or the Folder view (in View). This is just an example
        
        Open
        Open with 
                Text Editor
                --
                GNU Emacs
                Gvim
                Kate
                --
                Other... 
        --
        Add to Archive...
        Attach to Email...
        --
        Properties
        
        I don't know if "Resize Icon" and "Icon to Normal Size" should
        be placed here on in View menu.
        
        Note that now you have 2 Properties entries: one under Folder
        and another under Action, the first to show properties of the
        opened folder, the second one to show properties of selection.
        Probably "Show Properties" for the second entry is a better
        label. Dunno.
        
**** Other notes

        * A similar menu layout for navigation windows is not yet ready,
        sorry, but I think something like
        
                Location Edit View Go Actions Bookmarks Help
                
        I'll send it quickly.

        * The desktop background popup menu can be used to shortly open
        some common locations/apps. 
        
                Open Favourite 
                        Home
                        Computer
                        Templates
                        CD Writer
                        Start Here 
                Open Terminal
                Open File Explorer
                --
                Create Folder
                Create Document 
                        Template 1
                        Template 2
                        --
                        Empty File 
                Create Launcher...
                Create Connection to Server...
                --
                Sort by Name
                Keep Aligned
                --
                Paste
                --
                Change Background... 


--

You can find this proposan under
http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=130720. Here you can find a
tar.gz as attachment with an example implementation as glade file. I've
used some cool and fresh icons from gnome-icon-theme (see Move to Trash
or Duplicate, Link, Create Folder...) :-)

Comments, suggestions, flames?

[1] BTW <quote  src="HIG-HEAD">If the pathname is important, for example
the user has opened two documents with the same name from different
directories in the same application, show the full pathname in the
statusbar</quote>