[Usability] New "Add to panel" dialog

[Manu Cornet <Manu Cornet GMail com>]

Hi !

I have been working on a new version of the "add to panel" dialog, for 
the Ubuntu distro. This dialog is already available by default in the 
new Ubuntu "Breezy Badger" version.

######################   New dialog proposition   #####################

Everybody loves screenshots, so here they are :)

    https://wiki.ubuntu.com/GnomePanelEnhancementsIdeas

(top part of the page).


Vincent Untz said he is ready to make this dialog the new default in 
GNOME 2.14, but it may need a few minor refinements. Here are its main 
features :

* The applet list is now two-dimensionnal (icons and text are put on a 
2D canvas).

* Applets are organized into categories.

* On the top-right corner, a search bar lets one search applets easily, 
and is of an "update as you type" kind. If several words are typed in, 
the dialog assumes they are separated by an "AND" connector.

* Selected applet's description appears below the canvas.

* One can navigate naturally through applets with the arrow keys of his 
keyboard, even when part of the applets are hidden by the current search.

* When one is performing a search, the first shown applet is 
automatically selected, and can be activated by pressing Enter.

* Of course, drag-and-drop is still supported.


Okay now, I know that the "2D" look is a matter of taste, some will like 
it, some won't. But I think that a perfectly objective way to see this 
is the time spent searching for an applet and adding it to the panel. 
With this new dialog, as soon as it opens (the search bar has the focus 
by default), you just type one or two words, press Enter and the applet 
is in your panel. And even if you don't use the search function, the 
fact that applets are organized into categories lets you find the one 
you want much quicker (assuming you don't necessarily know the exact 
applet's name already, and therefore where it would appear in an 
alphabetical list).

A few possible enhancements before considering to include it into GNOME 
2.14 :

* The "Search" label still needs an accelerator.

* Support for typeahead in the applet list.

* Although the current categories and applets organization is the result 
of a serious mind job (and I find them quite logical), this can be 
modified extremely easily (as a matter of fact, apart from the few 
"internal" applets, categories do not actually belong to the panel's code).

What do you think of this new dialog ? Do you see any other possible 
enhancements ?

All right, this was the main part of my mail. Now if you want to read 
on, I'm rising a small problem and asking for advice :)

##########################   Call for advice   #########################

The problem is that of long applet names. Here it is : in the canvas 
layout, the vertical distance between an icon and the one directly under 
it is determined by the largest number of text lines in the applet 
names. Meaning : if all applet names fit in one or two lines of text, 
everything is fine. Now if just one applet's name takes four lines of 
text, all applets are spread too far apart (certically). Hope I'm not 
too hard to understand :) So here are the solutions I see :

* Do not make this height the same everywhere (lines with only 
one-line-name applets will have a smaller height). I am afraid this will 
make the dialog look ugly, since the applets won't be regularly spaced 
(as in a chessboard) any more.

* Make sure that all applet names fit in two (or three ?) lines of text, 
with the default font size. This would be the best solution (names 
should definitely be short, details belong to the applet's description), 
but since this should be taken care of in all languages, it is far from 
easy...

* Ellipsize names when they are longer than two (or three) lines. But 
then again, some names don't make any sense when you remove their last 
word (eg "Search for..." (files)).

* We could also reduce the font used for the applet names. Right now the 
font size is the default one (same as the "Applications -- Places -- 
System"). I think we can downsize it a bit without any problem (Apple's 
System Preferences, for example, has a much smaller font). This won't 
guarantee that icons won't be spaced a little too much in some 
languages, but it will definitely make thinkgs better globally.

What do you think is the best call ? Do you see any other solution ?

Thank you for reading this (long) email !

Cheers,
Manu