Next taskbar generation

[Staszyszyn, Marcin]

----- Original Message -----
From: "edscott wilson garcia" <edscott at imp.mx>
To: <xfce at moongroup.com>
Sent: Monday, May 20, 2002 3:05 PM
Subject: Re: Next taskbar generation


> >
> > 2. new features:
> > - custom height of taskbar itself and opening button (maybe proportional
to
> > xfce size). It sounds good to 1600x1200 monitor users
>
> How about being able to choose the font and having the height = ascent +
> descent + margin? This would make it customizable without having to
> think in pixels.
>

Font-dependent height is possible in curent version, isn't it? BTW: I also
prefer to think rather verbally than in pixels

> > - custom minimum size of task button (i.e. button representing a window
on
> > taskbar). When button must be shrunk bellow that size taskbar area is
> > expanded to hold another line of task buttons. You can also set no. of
those
> > task button lines (like in Windows when resizing taskbar).
>
> Good idea, as long as the minimum can go very low so that multilines
> will not be forced upon users who don't want them.

I don't want to force anything on anybody. Do thinks as you like, I am
giving you only several possibilities

> > - 'window trash' -- all rarely used windows can be removed from taskbar
and
> > be accessible by pressing special 'trash' button, presenting pop-up list
of
> > all 'trashed' windows to chose from. Great possibility to save space on
> > taskbar area.
>
> Sounds like a very good idea. Which makes me think (I might be talking
> through my elbow) it might replace the multiline functionality if the
> user could define more groups on the fly and have them persist from
> session to session.
>

Having groups is a good idea, but is it still a lightweight taskbar? I think
sophisticated functionality should be postponed for xfce4. And maybe there
should be a few taskbars to choose from, starting from simple
resource-saving to  powerfull with advanced features?
But regarding your proposition: good one, but there must be possibility of
classifying tasks to proper 'group' automatically (by using e.g. simple
regexp working on window title)

> There might be one more thing, but it might be too hard or not enough
> demand for the feature. I can run several instances of the xfce panel on
> one display but on different boxes. By using the xfgnome module, any one
> of the panels works to switch desktops. But only the taskbar that runs
> on the same box as xfwm has any entries. It would be neat to be able to
> use any instance of the taskbar for all tasks on the display. Maybe this
> can be done with xfgnome, maybe not...

I must investigate xfgnome first, I have never used it.

Marcin