Re: [Usability] Desktop Clutter

["Dylan McCall" <dylanmccall gmail com>]

It has always seemed rather arbitrary, to me, that Nautilus acts as the desktop. As the file manager, it is its job to present files in a way that can look really untidy, but works in most cases. Here, it definitely does not. Having a completely different, tidy design for the desktop rendered by Nautilus would seem very bad, since that would involve a completely odd tangent off the core program.
Nautilus doing the desktop causes an aesthetic problem, in my opinion, and it also presents a technical problem: If a file transfer via Nautilus hangs (which is fairly common in some cases), the desktop shuts down as well.

Ultimately, I think that Nautilus should stop rendering the desktop, and GNOME should instead (by default) execute a new program specifically designed for the task. To replace that desktop rendering functionality, Nautilus could have a smooth, dbus-powered way of shoving one of its own file manager windows into containers elsewhere on the desktop for consistent functionality of file management things (such as the one that would exist in the new desktop application). That new desktop could have some locations where files are placed, kept neat and tidy, automatically placed on particular sides. One such way to achieve that is, for example, having files from the Downloads directory on the right, and stuff from the Desktop directory appearing on the left. Even with Nautilus handling the file manager, there is room for some neat eye-candy stuff, such as placing Nautilus' window inside an expander box.

Gnome-panel springs to mind as a nice base for such a project. In particular, I remember reading a vision for it to group applets in user-defined sections rather than at completely arbitrary coordinates set by the user.


-Dylan McCall

On 10/26/07, Shaun McCance <shaunm gnome org> wrote:

On Fri, 2007-10-26 at 14:34 +0530, ritz wrote:
> Hello
>
> On Wed, 2007-10-24 at 20:57 -0400, Jacob Beauregard wrote:
> > Why does the desktop get so easily cluttered?
> >
> > 1. default download space (for firefox)
> > 2. fastest way to create an pre-named document (right-click menu)
> > 3. middle ground for moving files around
> >
> > Anyone else have any reasons for why their desktop might get cluttered
> > (if it is or ever has been)?
> >
> > Also, is this a good thing or a bad thing?
>
> To me this appears good. Using desktop as a "scratch pad".
> The reason to belive so : How often does one see his desktop, other than
> for 5secs after login !

I know different people work differently, but I actually
do see and use my desktop quite a bit.  Here's why:

1) I keep my "permanent" icons (Computer, Home, network
stuff, etc.) on the right.  So as windows start filling
up my screen from left to right, I can still see them.

2) I don't maximize anything, ever.  Nothing ever needs
to be as big as my screen, and I like being able to get
to other stuff.

3) I shade rather than minimize.  Shaded windows are much
easier to restore than minimized windows, so we shaders
tend to shade more frequently.  That is, minimize tends
to get used for "I'm not working on this at the moment",
whereas shade tends to get used for "I just want to peek
behind this for two seconds".

4) I use workspaces.  When I want to start working on
something new, I switch to a clean workspace.  This,
of course, has a completely visible desktop.  Often,
the icons on the desktop are the starting point for
whatever new task I'm doing.  (Sometimes the starting
point is the Applications menu or a launcher.  It just
depends on what I'm about to do.)


On the original topic:  Does my desktop get cluttered?
Sure, some.  I have a Downloads folder, which helps.
But I frequently put things on the desktop if I don't
have an obviously better place for them.  These are
often temporary files that I delete later.  Sometimes
I end up finding a permanent place for them.

I find it doesn't bother me much, because I keep the
permanent icons on the right.  Nautilus throws the
clutter on the left, so it doesn't get in my way when
I'm using the desktop as a starting point for things.

--
Shaun


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