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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: Some TOM thoughts
From:       Michael Hofer <michaelhofer () gmx ! net>
Date:       2002-06-11 15:59:02
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Hello!

Am Dienstag, 11. Juni 2002 13:23 schrieb Marten Klencke:
> If, for a specific task, there is one app registered, the menu
> item will execute that application. If there are more apps, the
> menu item has a submenu consisting of the apps. The default application
> for the task is at the top with a separator beneath it.

Disadvantages:

- If there is the possibility of sub-menus at the task-level, 
people/distributions will be tempted to include all available apps for this 
task which will lead to a huge menu. The original goal was to reduce the 
menu-entries...

- There is an additional menu-level before you reach the app -> slower usage.

Advantages:

- The user would have the possibility to try other apps for a specific task 
without using a "menu-editor" (Try other apps...).

- There could be easier ways to change the default-app for a specific task - 
for example:
  - by right-clicking on the desired app and choosing "Use as default" from a 
context-menu
  - by marking the desired app with some kind of check (something like the 
browser-identification-selection in konqueror->extras - but without the menu 
disappearing after a change)


All in all I think I like the other style (where double-entries are the 
exception) better.
e.g.:
    |-Browse the web (Konqueror)
    |-Browse the web (Mozilla)


> (Do we need a way for users to remove system wide menu entries? Simply
> leaving them out doesn't work because both menus are merged. There
> has to be a explicit indication somewhere that the user wants to hide
> a certain system-wide entry/task-group)

Something like in kcontrol->Look&Feel->Panel->Menus (available menus / 
selected menus)?

> One special submenu in the TOM that has the normal applnk items.
> This way, no two menus are needed on the panel if you also want
> to keep the old-style menu.

You mean like the "All Programs" under WinXP?
I like this idea better than switching between old-style and new-style 
(task-oriented / application-oriented) because people don't have to decide 
for one version (refuse the new style ;-) - and will automatically use the 
more efficient version (hopefully the tom) after some time.

> A Panel app that holds icons for the recent applications/documents,
> so they are as easily accessible as possible.

I guess the entries in the panel-app should be visible all the time (no 
"popup-application")? Applications have typical icons - but where do you want 
to place the document-names? There wouldn't be enough place for them.

servus,
Michael
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