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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: A case for sharing Desktop and home directory - summary
From:       Manuel Amador <amadorm () usm ! edu ! ec>
Date:       2002-12-03 21:38:34
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El mar, 03-12-2002 a las 14:14, James Richard Tyrer escribió:
> Manuel Amador wrote:
> 
> > - "Apps put odd files in homedir":
> >     * apps should save user data in a visible way (e.g. Mail).
> >       Fix braindead apps which don't.
> >     * apps should save app data hidden from the user (e.g
> >       .mail/indexes).  Fix braindead apps.
> >     * core files shouldn't appear by default
> >       (most distros already do this).
> 
> Various apps put a lot of files in the $HOME directory and this is not 
> just an abnormal behavior.
> 
> In fact if an application is locally installed in its own subdirectory, 
> the $HOME directory is the proper place for that.  That is, if it would 
> be globally installed in:
> 
> 	/usr/local/foobar
> 
> Then a local install would be in:
> 
> 	$HOME/foobar
Yes, but this is a feature of the UNIX filesystem and conventions.  I
understand that looking at the application directory in the desktop
might be a little odd, but if you're installing an application in your
home directory, you can pretty much consider it your own directory and
show it (or, horrors, provide an option to hide it or save it as
$HOME/.foobar, noting that I'm against both practices).  It's my current
setup - I'm showing an application installation folder, and I tugged it
on one corner of my desktop.

For most visible files that show up, apps can be fixed.  Core files, the
mail directory, the evolution directory, all those things are being
currently considered for fixing, or are already fixed.
> 
> This is the normal way to do things.
> 
> And then there is a whole bunch of hidden files.
which won't show up.
> 
> Therefore, I make a different suggestion:
> 
> Rather than make the $HOME directory the Desktop directory because it is 
> the default user account directory, that the Desktop directory should be 
> made the default user account directory
Doing this properly requires changing the $HOME environment variable and
the home directory in /etc/passwd.
> so that when you go to save a 
> file in an application that instead of the $HOME directory being the 
> default directory that your Desktop directory would be the default, 
> making you save files in the directory tree rooted at your Desktop tree 
> rather than the directory tree rooted at $HOME.
Yes but that also has problems.  Only KDE apps would save to the
Desktop, in that case.  Most apps will need per-app configuration (an
administrator's nightmare).  As it has been pointed out earlier, the
great majority of apps don't go to the Desktop folder, instead showing
$HOME by default on the File save and File open dialogs.

To work effectively, users would need to look up files based on which
application was used to save them, on a per-app basis, and would need
to  know that beforehand.  Either that, or users/admins would need to
configure working directory for every app.
> 
> This should not be forced.  It should be configurable.  You should be 
> able to select your default working directory in place of the 
> "Documents" directory which only works for KDE applications.
> 
> You can currently configure the Konqueror sidebar so that it has the 
> Desktop directory as a tab.  This configurability should be extended to 
> the toolbars, a Desktop icon should be added that would open the Desktop 
> directory.
But this complicates things for KDE developers and users.  Desktop would
be a separate hierarchy instance, but at the same time, use cases will
show it to be contained in the homedir.  Inconsistency breeds user
confusion.
> 
> This more versatile configuration could still function with 
> Desktop==$HOME because you could set all of this stuff to $HOME if that 
> was what you wanted.
Granted, what you propose does work fine with my proposal =)
> 
> I note that as I see it, one of the most significant arguments in favor 
> of this is that I have 6 or 8 folders on my desktop but these 
> directories are actually in the $HOME directory.  If I was using the 
> Desktop directory as my default directory I wouldn't had to make a 
> *.desktop file for each of them.  They would have just been there, and 
> if I want to have files that I am currently working on on the Desktop, 
> that would be the default.
> 
> I note two other features that are needed:
> 
> A "NoDisplayDesktop" option is needed and it needs to work in both 
> *.desktop & .directory files.
> 
> You need to be able to set an applications working directory in the 
> *.desktop file.
> 
> It has also been suggested that users would accumulate too many folders 
> and icons on their desktop.  My suggested answer to these issues are two 
> desktop objects: a filing cabinet and a tool box.  I would suggest that 
> these be larger than the standard icons on the desktop.  So to implement 
> this feature, would require an icon size override setting in the 
> *.desktop file.  We already have profiles for Konqueror::KFM so having 
> these icons both open Konqueror::KFM without toolbars and a certain size 
> and position is already available.
> 
> What I am suggesting are the minor additions to make my suggested 
> configuration possible.  These additional features would not require it, 
> and could be used to also setup $HOME==Desktop and probably other 
> configurations that I haven't even though of.
> 
> --
> JRT
> 
>  
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