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List:       kde-look
Subject:    [Fwd: Giving Feedback to Launching Applications]
From:       "Andrew B. Arthur" <arthur99 () global2000 ! net>
Date:       2000-01-21 3:27:03
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Try 2, sending this letter....

Andrew B. Arthur

"Andrew B. Arthur" wrote:
> 
> Two of the issues that always confuses newbies to KDE is:
> 
>          * They don't know if an app is launching...
>          * They accidently double click and icon and launch the app twice...
> 
> The other day I was using the WindowMaker Window Manager, and I found
> the fact that it greys out the application being launched quite nice. I
> was thinking a solution like this would be prefect for KDE (although
> some old time KDE users might object for reasons so you may want to make
> it possible to disable.
> 
> Basically here is all three cases how a user launches apps and how it
> should work.
> 
> >From a button on the panel or clicks an icon in konqueror or choose it
> from a menu on the panel:
> 
> User Clicks Button. Starts application. Icon/Link/Menu Item becomes
> greyed out (either lightened in contrast or has every other pixel
> dropped out to the background of the panel). User can not accidently
> launch this app again until the window of the app appears. When the
> app's Window/Document loads, it then ungreys the icon/link and allows
> the app to loaded again (this way the user can launch the app multiple
> times if [s]he needs to). In case for some reason the app never loads a
> window (such as it crashes or fails or uses a non-standard method) the
> icon automatically becomes un-grey after 15 or 20 seconds.
> 
> How other groups are dealing with this problem:
> 
> Mac OS Classic: You can only launch an app once. You can see the problem
> with this solution.
> 
> GNOME "Busy Cursor" Program: It loads a cursor while an app launches.
> The problem with is it gives the user the false idea that [s]he can not
> keep working while the app launches.
> 
> GNOME Other Solutions: Show some kind of progress bar in the panel. The
> problem with this is poor assocation (the user doesn't have a clue what
> is going on -- just sees a progress bar bar with the app name above it
> in the panel) with an app launching.
> 
> WindowMaker: See above.
> 
> Windows, OS/2, Solaris etc: I don't know since I haven't used them
> recently.
> 
> I am sure this will be well argued out... But at least it was brought up
> as an issue :)
> 
> Andrew B. Arthur | arthur99@global2000.net

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