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List:       kde-core-devel
Subject:    Re: Improving task manager interaction
From:       Martijn Klingens <mklingens () yahoo ! com>
Date:       2001-08-22 15:13:01
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(Note that Yahoo's webmail interface sucks compared
with KMail, but I can't access my home system from
here - my ISP broke my server's connection once again
:( )

--- Richard Moore <rich@ipso-facto.freeserve.co.uk>
wrote:
> - Status text
> - Status Icons
> - State Information

Sounds nice.

> - Document Info

I have been thinking about this myself, because I use
MDI sometimes to save screen space (especially in
Konsole), but don't like the fact that there aren't
any taskbar entries for additional sessions. This way
it would be possible to (optionally) have a task bar
entry per _document_ instead of per _window_. Alt-tab
to another Konsole session - I'd love it! (Must be
configurable, others will probably hate me otherwise
:-)

> It would remove the need to depend on searching
>   the title text for '[modified]' to check if the
> modified
>   indicator should be shown.

Isn't there already a flag for this somewhere in the
NetWM specs or in Kicker's own taskbar API? I think
I've seen something like that in the past, but I'm not
sure.

> - Request Attention

Definitely! KMail's icon should flash in the task bar
when there's new mail, any other solution I tried in
the current version is rather bad usability-wise, IMO.

> - Show message

Would be nice for instant messengers indeed, though I
personally don't need this, I think.

> - Thumbnail

I don't think it was you, but I talked about this on
IRC before, because I wanted this implemented for the
next KDE where the API could be changed (i.e. this
version ;-) I think it was Carsten whom I told it.
Anyway, I didn't have time to do it yet, nor do I
expect to have it soon, so if you want to do it I'm
**really** grateful to you! Also, expect me to test
this extensively, and if I do find time I'll take a
look at it, but no promises.

It would offer a lot over the current KasBar approach:
- You can make a thumb of just the document instead of
the entire window. Which is the only thing one usually
cares about.
- MDI apps can supply a thumb per doc instead of per
win.
- It is faster than grabbing the image, because it
should save quite some X-server roundtrips. Besides,
if there is no activity in a window, the thumb isn't
updated either.

After the API is there I think the taskbar in normal
and large size kicker should be changed to make really
use of it by using the full height for apps that
supply thumbs and no text, just a square button. It
would be a really useful addition to task bars as we
know them now, and AFAIK this is something no current
OS does yet (or does MacOS X?)

> Obviously it would be good to try to integrate this
> code with
> KNotify too, but that should be fairly easy as
> KNotify could
> simply use KTaskInfo too.

I don't know anything about KNotify...

> It would also be cool if
> (at least
> a subset) of these could be made part of the NET
> specification
> so that non-KDE apps/environments could share the
> same abilities.

Definitely. Maybe even a must-have instead of a wish.

> What do people think? Is this worth doing? Will
> anyone help?

See above: I'm willing to help, but there is so much
more that I want to do that I probably don't have the
time now that I also work full-time. I don't want to
cut on my social life... At least it's a definite
"please do!" from me, to answer your first question.

Martijn


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