[Usability] Proposal for Spatial Nautilus: Shelf Location

[Thorsten Seitz <thorsten seitz web de>]

Once upon a time I wrote a file browser for BeOS which had the concept of a 
"Shelf". When thinking about it in the context of spatial Nautilus it 
occurred to me that it could be generalized and integrated very smoothly with 
the notion of spatiality. So I'd like to make the following proposal:

Imagine a special URI location shelf:/// which is commonly called "Shelf" in 
the UI.
It lives in the Computer location, has a bookmark in the filechooser and a 
shortcut key to open it and is available from the Places menu.

Dragging a file or folder onto the Shelf (or putting it there by using a 
context menu item named "Put On Shelf") does not move the file or folder into 
the Shelf physically but instead creates a kind of link in the Shelf to the 
original object.

The main idea is the following: this link is not like a normal link but 
represents the original object in its original location, i.e. dragging an 
object from the Shelf into another folder is the same as dragging the object 
from its real location to the other folder.

This makes it possible to use the shelf as short time "pinboard" for files 
that one is working with without having to have all their parent folders open.
Removing an object from the Shelf (without removing it from its real location) 
is done via a pop up menu item called "Remove From Shelf" or by a toolbar 
button (see my other post where I'm wishing for a toolbar in spatial 
Nautilus :-).

What do you all think?

-Thorsten