[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: [another PATCH]: Kicker find as you type
From:       Darren Fulton - H&S/USDV Support <darren () hostandstream ! com>
Date:       2005-05-05 12:29:54
Message-ID: 427A11C2.3070507 () hostandstream ! com
[Download RAW message or body]

Michael Olbrich wrote:

> It mixes 2 different concepts.
>
>Why not copy "Run command" (what's the official name for that dialog?) 
>but with the menu elements instead of a history. Or add a different mode
>to "run command". And maybe a mode with a shell like completion.
>
>  
>
Basically, I think that most users rarely actually launch programs from 
the k menu. People launch their most common programs (at least after 
having used their desktop for a few days) from quick launch icons on the 
panel, shortcuts from the desktop, "Run Command", or by opening a file 
of a particular type in the file manager. I think the "Run Command" box 
should be pre-populated with a list of very common programs that people 
use that they can drop down and click on really fast.

Below is an idea that sort of addresses a couple of problems with the 
kmenu that have been discussed in this thread. I'm going to force upon 
the readers of this list again. It is an unrequested repost. Sorry.


This may be more of a Freedesktop.org suggestion, but this is an idea 
I've had for a while (probably not unique at all) and thought I would 
give you guys a chance to tell me that it won't work or isn't necessary 
or whatever.

I think it would be easier to launch applications if you had the option 
to run the default application of a particular type from a short generic 
plain language command. For example, if I were on a machine using kde 
and I entered "texteditor" in the "Run Command..." box or in a terminal, 
it would launch kate or kedit or whatever my default text editor is. If 
I were in gnome and typed the same command, gedit or whatever would 
open. If I was logged into gnome and had changed my default text editor 
to kate, running "texteditor" would launch kate. Perhaps I could have 
the option to share these defaults between multiple desktop environments 
so that I don't have to setup each desktop environment running on a 
single machine.

One situation that would make this very useful is when you sit down at 
some unfamiliar machine and try to do a common task and experience 
frustration, similar to how it feels when you're at the console of an 
ancient unix box and you type "pico" or "emacs" or something out of 
habit or when you keep hitting the tab key and the up arrow. ARRGH. I've 
been on people's machines before and not been able to work easily 
because I was trying to start programs that they didn't have installed, 
but they had equivalent programs that I could have been using. People 
complain about weird program names that don't explain what the programs 
do, like k3b for example. This could help solve that problem. They could 
even be listed in the K Menu in this standard generic way in addition to 
the program names. In the K menu you would still see all of your text 
editors listed there by name or description or both, but you would also 
see one in that group that just said "texteditor" or "Default Text 
Editor". If an icon is included with the menu items, perhaps it can be a 
standard icon (or slightly themed standard icon) that will look the same 
across desktop environments.

Some examples of what default aliased commands might be in English are:
texteditor
filemanager
emailclient
webbrowser
terminal
wordprocessor
spreadsheet
calculator
soundplayer

An example of a default aliased command that would _not_ work is 
"database", because database means so many different things to so many 
people and they all do such drastically different things.

Perhaps you can have curses and gui application prefs like launching 
"texteditor --text" would launch vim in your terminal even if your 
current terminal is konsole, while launching "texteditor" without 
--anything in the same konsole window would launch kate if that is 
listed as your default text editor. In that case, running "texteditor 
--gui" would also launch kate.
If a generic command name conflicts with an actual installed program, 
like you actually have a /bin/texteditor, than maybe the generic command 
gets ignored by default and I have the option to override that under 
certain circumstances.

Something like this could start on KDE and who knows, someone could make 
this sort of generic command framework work on Gnome, Windows and Mac. 
The result might be the removal of a layer of confusion that everyone 
experiences when they sit down at foreign computer.

Please let me know what you think of this madness.

Darren Fulton




_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@kde.org
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability
[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]