mockup: super widget dock

[2841531210]

hey ryx, its good to see you still working on this awsome project!
i can't wait to see new features :D

here is a little mockup i made:

http://storage13.vimeo.com/5/41/79/thumbnail-4179238.jpg

http://vimeo.com/253713 (better quality)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N1jfzHVuo8

http://bhdoclj.wordpress.com/?p=3 (for comments)

[RYX]

Hi 2841531210!

Looks really nice :) ... It may get a bit difficult to realize it in all aspects, but the general idea is close to what I had in mind for a DockScreenlet.

The biggest problem is that seamless "snapping" into/outOf the dock because it has to be done using a drag&drop operation which looks a bit ugly (mainly because of the cursor). Maybe in the future I will change the way the screenlets get rendered (by using libclutter?), then those things would be easily possible.

[andrewsomething]

You should drop by the Avant Window Navigator's forum: http://www.planetblur.org/hosted/awnforum/index.php

There's a real community forming around AWN's development. It would be cool if the two projects could work together on something like this instead of trying to develop similar things separately.

Speaking of libclutter, Neil who is the original author of AWN also does a lot of work with Clutter.

Neil's blog: http://njpatel.blogspot.com/

[RYX]

Hi Andrew!

Actually that is the major reason why I not wrote any DockScreenlet until today. I don't think the screenlets should appear as if they were intended to become a complete desktop replacement and AWN or kiba-dock could easily implement features like the idea 2841531210 posted above. I am really interested in improving the general interoperability of desktop-apps but I don't have much time to visit different forums, that's why I discuss most things here (btw: screenlets.org coming soon). But maybe I'll have a look around at planetblur ...

:)

[2841531210]

i cant wait for screenlets.org :D
i'll write my first screenlet asap

[Aldoo]

Hi !
I have been looking around for an ideal dock and did not find it.
The issue I try to fix, is that what takes the most room on a dock are the application launchers and the window list, although you generally don't want them to be visible all the time (in contrary to the notification applets).
One possibility to make them hide automatically, and appear when reaching the screen edge (and of course put the systray and other notifications in an other bar). But that method has 2 drawbacks: 1 the dock is not so much accessible, 2 too often, we trigger the dock accidentally, which covers the area of the window we actually want to interact with, and makes us loose precious time.

My solution would be an ergonomic and elegant window (why not a wheel ?) that appears around the current mouse cursor position when some customizable event happens (ex: mouse button 9). Notice that looks like gestures, but here you actually see what will be the result.

So my question is: can we easily do that with the screenlets framework ?
The triggering event should be trivial with D-bus (and a binding in Compiz). But can we hide and show a screenlet easily and fast enough at some coordinates on the screen ? Is it easy to get the mouse coordinates for that ?
Would there be something better than screenlets for that ?

Subsidiary question: is there an already written piece of software providing the wanted functionality ?



Other topic: for the app launcher screenlet, that would be really great if we could use .desktop files, so that we don't have to fill all the fields (Name, command line, icon, ...), have you such a plan ?

[StrangeQuark]

My solution would be an ergonomic and elegant window (why not a wheel ?) that appears around the current mouse cursor position

Not sure, but maybe this "Fittsmenu" (http://www.qdh.org.uk/wordpress/?p=175) could be used?
I myself am quite happy with how awn works though.

[RYX]

@Aldoo: If I get you right, you mean something like a gnome-panel in form of a cool-looking circular "something"? Sounds cool. I think that could be done with a screenlet (screenlets are usual gtk-applications so they are not different from common apps and can do anything a "normal" app can do).

(And did you ever try to drag&drop a desktop file on a Launcher? ;) ... It automatically sets up the launcher according to the desktop file ...)

:)

[vadi]

Wow, that looks really nice.

I use AWN too - I'll second the idea that you should partner up with them for a great dock :)

[Aldoo]

@Ryx, ok I'll try that DnD when I get home. Thx.

@StrangeQuark: yeah what I want would look like Fittsmenu (but I do not understand why that menu needs to rotate like it does... ).
So, the "technical" word for such a menu is "pie menu". Maybe I should try that in google.

Well the interesting thing in a circular menu is that all the icons are near the current mouse position, so that the whole thing is very accessible. Maybe we could also try several concentric circles, with the less used shortcuts in the outside of the "pie".

[Aldoo]

FYI, interesiting link I found in gnome-dock's web page:
http://www.asktog.com/columns/044top10docksucks.html

It pinpoints some issues of the OSX dock.

And of course some of those disappear if we replace the dock by an undermouse pie menu as I suggested.