Re: Some bug reports and usability issues with GWorkspace.app

[Enrico Sersale]

On 2006-02-28 22:06:31 +0200 Charles Philip Chan <cpchan@sympatico.ca> wrote:

> Hello Enrico:
>
> I am testing out some of the features in GWorkspace.app that I don't
> use often: the desktop, dock, and Fiend. Here are some problems that I
> find:
>
> (1) The desktop shelf is useless if that is no way to bring it up
>        foreground momentarily.

I'm not sure if I understand; do you mean the tabbed shelf or the whole desktop 
window?

> (2) If I set the tabbed shelf to auto-hide, it will only hide half of
>        the shelf (thus covering all my appicons and mini-windows) and I
>        can't bring it back up by hitting the bottom edge of the screen.

I don't know... "Here it works", on Linux with the art backend and on Darwin-8 
(no OS X) with the xlib backend. Somebody else with this problem?
You can hide-show the tabbed shelf also with Command-s. Does this work for you?

> (3) Setting an image for the desktop doesn't work for me. The image
>        shows up in the configurator, but not the desktop itself (I do
>        have use image checked).

If you are using the xlib backend this is a known problem; else... I don't know 
(it should work).

> (4) I don't seem to have any control in the placement of docked apps
>        in the Fiend. Icons are docked in erratic positions.

This should work so: when you drag an icon on the Fiend, it is put at the 
lowest free position; after this you can put it where you want.

> (5) Clicking any icon on the dock will bring up GWorkspace.app also
>        (plus the app itself). When GWorkspace.app is in the foreground,
>        clicking on any icons will not bring up the app.

The dock is a window that belongs to GWorkspace; then it is logical if the first 
consequence of clicking on the dock is to make GWorkspace the active application; 
after this, GWorkspace sends an -activateIgnoringOtherApps: to the other app that 
becomes, at its turn, the active application (if you look at the menu, you will see 
that it has changed). In spite of this, it can happen that the application window(s) 
are not brought to the front; but this is a wndowmanager <--> backend problem.

> Also it would be nice to see the full name of icons on the tabbed
> shelf (maybe a tool tip or bring up the Inspector on single click?)
> because when one has a row of icons of the same filetype, it is very
> hard to distinguish them.

You are right; I'll think to a solution. Maybe the full name displayed on 
mouseEntered and the cutten name on mouseExited?

> I am on Linux, with X.org 6.8.2 and Window Maker CVS (which is just
> 0.92 with some bugs fixed).
>
> Thanks,
> Charles