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List:       kde-bugs-dist
Subject:    [Bug 143995] add tabs to dolphin
From:       Peter Penz <peter.penz () gmx ! at>
Date:       2007-12-31 15:47:32
Message-ID: 20071231154732.29604.qmail () ktown ! kde ! org
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------- Additional Comments From peter.penz gmx at  2007-12-31 16:47 -------
> Your example of column view is good but there is better.
> Dolphin comes with an integrated konsole now thats the most
> useless and geaky feature for a simple file browser aimed
> at the average Joe. Tabs are more likely to be used IMO.

The example with the konsole comes up often in combination with the tabs discussion. \
But it completely misses the point why we (currently) don't add tabs in Dolphin... \
Please let me explain: Dolphin has _not_ been made for "average Joe" (however such a \
person is defined). Concentrating on usability does not mean just skipping features \
and hence also a "simple file manager" can provide features for a broad range of \
users.

The konsole has been added to Dolphin because it is (at least I call it this way) an \
"orthogonal feature". It adds a great value for users who use this feature (maybe \
you'd call such users "geaks"), but it does not add any clutter to the user interface \
and so does not decrease the usability for people who don't need the konsole. The \
konsole feature adds one single sub menu entry under Views -> Places and that's it.

Now back to the tab feature. As pointed out above I'd really kindly ask all people \
here on this thread to open Konqueror from KDE 3 and go through all menus and count \
all tab related menu entries. Now go into the settings menu of Konqueror and count \
all tab related settings options. Now compare this number with the konsole feature \
and please don't tell me that it adds no additional complexity for people who don't \
use this feature.

I'm aware that the number of additional menu entries + settings is not the only \
criteria for adding tabs or not, but at least it makes clear that this is no \
orthogonal feature.

Dolphin is no competitor to Konqueror. Both applications are targeted for different \
user groups. At the current state we (= the developers of Dolphin and Konqueror) \
think that the tabs feature fits better into the Konqueror target user group than \
into Dolphins target user group. And yes: both groups intersect with each other so I \
understand that there are people who like Dolphin and want to have tabs. But the \
awful truth is that no matter where we'll draw the line, there will always be users \
who miss a feature or think that this feature is useless and adds clutter.

Hell, I'll tell you a secret: I sometimes even used the tab feature in Konqeror for \
the file management myself before Dolphin was there. But this does not mean that I'll \
add this feature to Dolphin just because _I_ want it...

Before this bug-report degenerates to a long discussion thread: What I would be very \
interested are the usecases where you need tabs for file management. E. g. in my \
experience I used it only because I've lost the overview when having too many windows \
open. But if this would be the only reason for adding tabs then this would mean we \
would have to add tabs in _all_ KDE applications out there (and the real solution \
might be in fixing the window manager). So could you give me some other use cases? \
What I would also be interested whether you use drag & drop between tabs and why you \
use tabs in this case instead e. g. a split view? So thanks in advance for further \
input!


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