"pinboard" idea for desktop icons (was: icons on desktop with xfce)

[edscott wilson garcia]

El mar, 04-05-2004 a las 20:22, Andrew Conkling escribió:
> Sorry to top post, but I just wanted to say I like this idea,
> specifically:
> 
> 1. The idea of this being a separate application that I could start or
> not start.

Try "xfbook". You can have many book-files, switch with popup menu or
open with "xfbook book-file-name". With current CVS HEAD you have a
toolbar button to hide/show the bookmarks, or --since dual treeviews are
now independent-- you can have the bookmarks on the left and homedir on
the right and can hide/show by dragging the pane separator.

Edscott

> 2. The fact that this would be (at least one way of making icons) wide
> open in terms of flexibility and that this would be easily accessible
> when windows are covering the desktop.
> 
> And yes, kudos to XFCE for thinking about these things rather than
> imitating past convention.
> 
> On Tue, 2004-05-04 at 21:02 -0400, Andy Choens wrote:
> > This has been an awfully interesting thread.  There are some things I
> > have noticed.
> > 
> > 1)    I don't remember anyone outright flaming the guy who started the
> > thread.  This just proves that xfce designers and users are nicer than
> > people on many other lists.
> > 
> > 2)  There is some real debate about the UI here.  This is good.  All
> > too often people go running around half-cocked and we get features
> > that people don't want or we get features that people do want, but
> > they get implemented poorly.  Unfortunately, people like to write code
> > and then think about the interface.  I think xfce has got the
> > beginnings of a REALLY nice interface.  How can it be made better?  I
> > will return to this topic shortly.
> > 
> > 3)  People can talk about a single issue forever.....but we already
> > knew this.  :-)
> > 
> > The reason I spent 30 minutes writing this is simple.  I've seen a lot
> > of ideas and many opinions, but they are mostly reiterations of the
> > same 2 positions.  Like and Disklike for desktop icons.  Well, desktop
> > icons, if you like them or not, have the disadvantage of being covered
> > up a lot of the time.  Is there some other way to implement this same
> > functionality, and give people this flexibility, without sacrificing
> > to many resources?
> > 
> > Some people seem to want a desktop as a second way of starting
> > applications, some people seem to want it as a place to store files
> > they are working on.  Both of these have their merit, but perhaps they
> > shouldn't be mixed....or if they are, make a graphical separation
> > between the two, so people understand the separation.  
> > 
> > What if, this functionality was NOT on top of the background screen at
> > all?  What if, instead there was a "pinboard" on the edge of the
> > screen (whichever edge you like) which watches for a mouse hovering
> > over it.  when collapsed it could look identical to the existing
> > panel.  When a mouse hovers over it, it pops open revealing the
> > contents of a directory appropriately named ~/pinboard.   You could
> > put .desktop files in it, or you could put files in it.  Items
> > displayed in the pinboard could be assigned any position within the
> > clipboard a user chose.  Thus they could have their apps in one place
> > and their files in another part of the pinboard, just like a desktop
> > right now.  This added spatial detail makes it easier to use than the
> > bookmarks feature of xffm, and would allow the bookmarks to have one
> > set of definitions, and the pinboard area to have another.  For
> > instance, I tend to keep /etc in my bookmarks, because I'm always
> > fiddling with something.  But, I wouldn't want such a link of my
> > desktop/pinboard.  I like the word pinboard better than desktop,
> > because I think it more aptly describes the functionality of this
> > widget.  Configuration of it would be simple.  Size, in 2
> > dimensions...maybe preset small med large, ridiculous (most of
> > screen).  Background color of pic, or transparent to background image,
> > autohide yes/no, should full screen apps cover the clipboard yes/no,
> > orientation/location.
> > 
> > This way, if you want to have this desktop type feature, you can.
> > Since it would be an app like the applications panel or the tasks
> > panel, people who this this idea sucks don't have to use it and will
> > receive no performance hit for an unwanted feature.
> > 
> > It eliminated the need to be able to hide all of your windows, just to
> > get to the desktop, simple moving your mouse to the designated side
> > would suffice.
> > 
> > If I had some artistic skills I would submit a picture, but I lack
> > these critical skills.  Maybe I'll doodle something up and submit it. 
> > 
> > I want to hear if anyone likes this, or has a different idea.
> > After-all, the desktop paradigm has stood for many years, but we can
> > do better than something designed by Xerox and stolen by everyone on
> > the planet.  One thing that I LIKE about XFCE is that the panel design
> > is not merely a different interpreation of the windows start button.
> > It's different, and VERY useable.  I be we can come up with something
> > that answers to people work needs, that doesn't simply follow in the
> > footsteps of others.
> > 
> > --andy
> > 
> > --andy
> > 
> > 
> > On Sun, 2004-04-25 at 15:40, virtuoso2001 wrote: 
> > > hello,
> > >  
> > > i've never installed xfce till now,but i've seen from screenshots
> > > that xfce doesn't provide desktop icons like windows xp. how can i
> > > fix this problem ?
> > >  
> > > lemme know,thanks
> > > 
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> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Om Mani Padme Hume
> > 
> >         --Traditional Tibetan Blessing
> > 
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