[Usability] The new shrinked/expanded save as dialog

[BJörn Lindqvist <bjourne gmail com>]

This is an issue that has been bothering me for quite some time now,
so I'd like to bring it up for discussion. How the dialog works and
looks like can be seen here:
http://www.gnome.org/~seth/designs/filechooser-spec/

My problem with it is that it it consistently forces me to click on
"Browse for other folders" each and every time I want to "Save as...".
I realise that the rationale behind the dialog is that "most people"
just throw their stuff on their Desktop directory. It may be true, but
for other users that like to organise their files, the extra click
required to expand the save as-dialog is irritating.

The main assumption behind the dialogs design is that the convenience
of a simplified save as-dialog is greater than the pain infliced from
it. That assumption is not true for me as I like to store files
hiarchially. I have no idea if there are other uses that feel the same
or if I'm alone on this. I would like to ask that the design be
reevaluated. My arguments for why an always expanded save-as dialog
are:

1. No extra click if you want to select directory.
2. Simpler design - dialogs that change state may be unexpected.
3. Mirrors "Open file"
4. For users that throw stuff on the desktop, the only advantage of a
shrinked dialog is that it displays less information than an expanded
one. And that is not enough of an advantage.

--
mvh Björn