[Xfce-bugs] [Bug 2794] It would be nice to be able to drag a menu item to the panel, and have it create a launcher automatically.

[bugzilla-daemon at xfce.org]

http://bugzilla.xfce.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2794


Sam Besselink <sambesselink at planet.nl> changed:

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                 CC|                            |sambesselink at planet.nl




--- Comment #7 from Sam Besselink <sambesselink at planet.nl>  2009-05-16 13:55:31 UTC ---
DISCLAIMER: I'm using xfce 4.4.3 and am afraid I'm a serious nit-picker.

I concur this is a semi-serious usability problem. But from a usability
perspective it will only be process enhancement, as there already is a way to
do it. (Researching this, though, made me find some usability _bugs_. O Tao!)

To illustrate how this is a lengthy process, I will also describe user-specific
stuff. I'll be using my config, please feel free to comment on its efficiency!

The HCI-procedure is based on two sub-procedures and the subsequent integration
of their end results:

- Opening the appfinder application;
[The steps to perform this will be user-configuration specific!]
a) Opening the desktopmenu (either by finding free desktopspace, or by finding
the menu button on my panel, which is autohidden :/ ),
b) opening my 'settings'-menu, and subsequently firing the appfinder launcher.

- Opening the 'add launcher'-window;
a) Get the context-menu of the panel to open up,
b) from the context-menu, choose "add new item",
c) from the available items, choose "launcher".

- Integrating the processes;
a) Drag an item from the appfinder into one of two areas of the launcher
window:
i  The queu of launcher-items* (used for creating launcher-menus -- same area
as where normally your 'favourite folders' are located), or
ii the area which contains all parameters of the created** launcher and their
values.

As you see this is quite a bloated and clumsy process. Nonetheless, I consider
this a usability enhancement, not a bug.



Here's a bunch of usability bugs I found:

* When dragging a .desktop entry from the appfinder into the queu of the
launcher window, there is no visual cue as to the effect of dropping! This does
happen when adding a folder to the 'favourite folders' area, which seems to be
an HCI-synonym.

** After having dropped the .desktop entry from the appfinder into the launcher
queu, the width of the queu-area will automagically be increased if the title
of the .desktop entry doesn't fit. After the entry has been removed from the
queu, the width isn't being automagically reduced. This should happen in order
to stay consequent to own (implied) usability principles. (Automagic increase
after a change to some state, should definitively automagically decrease after
a change back to the previous state! It does return to default width after
closing and opening the window, though.)

*** But closing and opening the launcher window triggers another usability bug:
There is no way to cancel the action of adding a launcher! There's no cancel
button, and the minus (for removing entries from the queu) is greyed out..
Everytime the launcher window is opened from the item-selection-window xfce
adds an icon to the panel. Now it seems we have to go all the way back in order
to remove the icon from the panel, and we run into *another* couple of
usability bugs:

**** Although it seemed to me I couldn't remove the launcher-icons from the
panel with my add-panel-item menu open -since all of it (besides the volumebar
from my volume-control-item) was greyed out- the context menu for the items did
open! Although in general it is a good thing that functionality wasn't reduced,
it deed seem sloppy and inconsistent to me. Furthermore:

***** When removing one of the icons, without the add-item-window open (i.e. no
greyed out panels) a confirmation-dialog appears. This is a good thing, but: it
doesn't contain the title of the launcher, but only the title 'launcher'. This
wouldn't be such a problem if: (1) the visual cue for selection (gradient+bezel
around icon) would remain after opening the context menu on the icon, and (2)
the panel would specifically remain visible (as there is an action being
performed on it) instead of hidden, even though it is set to auto-hide. (This
does happen correctly after opening the add-item-window!)

--
I am really happy with my xfce, and am thinking about upgrading to 4.6, but
-aiming for a perfect experience- will be nit-picking for more usability-polish
indefinitely :)

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