GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 650535
Gnome Shell tabbed interface can be confusing
Last modified: 2012-10-25 21:23:19 UTC
Created attachment 188087 [details] Mockup showing windows still visible while Applications menu is activate This week I finally upgrade my family's computer to Fedora 15 and both my dad and mom were introduced to GNOME 3. The experience's been good, with only one main problem so far: the tabbed interface (Windows / Applications / Search) caused some confusion. For example, my dad once accidentally pressed the space bar after activating the overview mode. What actually happens: the Windows view is replaced with the Search results. In this case, it was an empty search. What my dad thought had happened: the computer crashed and all his windows were gone. GNOME 3.0 has three tabs (Windows / Applications / Search) and seamlessly switches between them. The way this works now can cause confusion for inexperienced computer users. A possible solution is to make "Windows" not a tab, and make it always visible; instead, we'd have only Applications and Search as tabs and they would appear on top of the windows, in a darker box. This is similar to how the Applications menu popped up in GNOME Shell 2.30 or GNOME 3 mockups. Having the windows behind the darker box would not hinder visibility, (for example, Looking Glass works just fine with windows visibly behind it). I think it could actually work quite well, and attached a very crude mockup (based on a previous GNOME 3 mockup). Let me know your thoughts. :)
(In reply to comment #0) > Created an attachment (id=188087) [details] > Mockup showing windows still visible while Applications menu is activate > > This week I finally upgrade my family's computer to Fedora 15 and both my dad > and mom were introduced to GNOME 3. The experience's been good, with only one > main problem so far: the tabbed interface (Windows / Applications / Search) > caused some confusion. > > For example, my dad once accidentally pressed the space bar after activating > the overview mode. > > What actually happens: the Windows view is replaced with the Search results. In > this case, it was an empty search. Ouch, this is not a good case... but I'm not sure how else to highlight that you're searching here. Perhaps the "No matching results" label could made both a lot larger, and somehow connected to the search field with an arrow. > What my dad thought had happened: the computer crashed and all his windows were > gone. > > GNOME 3.0 has three tabs (Windows / Applications / Search) and seamlessly > switches between them. The way this works now can cause confusion for > inexperienced computer users. > > A possible solution is to make "Windows" not a tab, and make it always visible; > instead, we'd have only Applications and Search as tabs and they would appear > on top of the windows, in a darker box. This is similar to how the Applications > menu popped up in GNOME Shell 2.30 or GNOME 3 mockups. > > Having the windows behind the darker box would not hinder visibility, (for > example, Looking Glass works just fine with windows visibly behind it). I think > it could actually work quite well, and attached a very crude mockup (based on a > previous GNOME 3 mockup). > > Let me know your thoughts. :) Have you seen the current gnome-shell mockup: http://git.gnome.org/browse/gnome-shell-design/plain/mockups/static/overview-application-picker.png Here, we could "pop up" both buttons when you enter a search result... so you could go over and click it if you "want your windows back".
This is pretty much solved in 3.6. There are no more tabs, and a search with no results will say that there were no results.
(In reply to comment #1) > Ouch, this is not a good case... but I'm not sure how else to highlight that > you're searching here. Perhaps the "No matching results" label could made both > a lot larger, and somehow connected to the search field with an arrow. Note that we've made the label much bigger in 3.6. I couldn't find this bug when I landed it, but this was the reason I pushed for the change.