Some thoughts on xfce4 design

[Biju Chacko]

On Sat, 28 Sep 2002 11:28:39 +0200, Jasper Huijsmans wrote:

> * move handles
> Place move handles on the side of the panel (left/right or top/bottom)
> and no longer in line with the popup buttons. This make a lot of code
> simpler, since there is no more special casing for the handles.

This is a must, IMO.

> * panel objects
> Let every panel object use the same interface (everything becomes a
> module, either builtin or external plugin). Then have only one list of
> panel items/objects/modules (I still have problems finding the right
> word to use). Panel objects can specify if they need a popup button or
> not.

ok

> This must be seen separate from the user interface issues with the
> dialogs. We can still keep the distinction between right and left
> panel controls and the central panel. New items are then inserted
> before or after the central panel in the list. 

I don't like this. It's an unnecessary complication. Treating the
desktop buttons as just another PItem simplifies the code and  the UI
and adds flexibility to the panel

> Alternatively we can have one value for the number of items and one
> for the position of the central panel (if not hidden) and add new
> items at the end of the list. I don't think this is very intuitive for
> the user though.
> 
> There are some complications if we allow an item without a popup menu
> to replace one without. The user would then lose the menu. I think it
> might be wiser to only allow special builtin objects like the central
> panel or a separator (I really like that feature from Eugenia's 
> screenshot) to not have a popup menu. This means there has to be a
> separate way to add these special objects to the panel, presumably
> from the global dialog.

As Olivier said, a warning should be sufficient. If you also allow easy
(perhaps dnd) rearrangement of popups then it won't be a problem. The
user could merge/move popups or redistribute popup icons before making
them disappear. In addition, removing a popup shouldn't destroy it's
settings, so that adding a popup at the same position will restore the
same settings. Thus the user is pretty much protected from losing too
many settings.

[...]
> * convenience library/libraries
> We have been talking a bit about creating some common libraries for
> all xfce apps to use. Some of the things I thought may be useful to
> have in a library are:
> - freedesktop hints
Urgent ... it's one of the things preventing me from starting on a
taskbar.

> - xfce global settings protocol
> - config file handling (I'm not sure about this one or how it would
>   be implemented)
> - info / warning / confirmation dialogs
> - running programs (with or without feedback)
> - file open dialog (perhaps one special dialog with image preview?)
> - image handling (loading, scaling, icon themes)
> - drag and drop convenience functions
> - special widgets (e.g. clock, icon button)

All sound ok ... as long as we are not replicating work done in some
other library.

-- b

-- 
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Biju 'botsie' Chacko                        biju_chacko at vsnl dot net
http://www.symonds.net/~botsie
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