GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 132413
windows on all workspaces should only show up in one workspace switcher window
Last modified: 2004-12-22 21:47:04 UTC
Distribution: Slackware Slackware 9.1.0 Package: metacity Severity: enhancement Version: GNOME2.4.1 2.6.x Gnome-Distributor: Dropline_Systems Synopsis: windows on all workspaces should only show up in one workspace switcher window Bugzilla-Product: metacity Bugzilla-Component: EWMH specification Bugzilla-Version: 2.6.x Description: Please describe your feature request: If you make an application window visible on all desktops, it will show up in the workspace switcher on all of the desktops. While this does reflect reality, it clutters the switcher display. I believe it would be much more useful to have windows only show up where they are currently displayed or located. ------- Bug moved to this database by unknown@bugzilla.gnome.org 2004-01-24 13:27 ------- Reassigning to the default owner of the component, metacity-maint@bugzilla.gnome.org.
If we put it in the current workspace view only, how can we know that it's on _every_ workspace?. I think knowing that a windows is on all workspaces is useful information. Maybe we can use a different metaphor like a coloured border, but it is not so clear. Havoc, what do you think about this?
I have to agree with Fernando on this one. I would find it confusing to have it do what csh suggests. Anyway, that's my $0.02...
Yea I'd have to agree -- we want the workspace switcher to show an accurate picture.
I understand wanting the accurate picture, but I don't see this providing useful information. Couldn't you get that inforamtion if you tag the window border to show that it is pinned on all workspaces? I find it very distracting and confusing to see windows appear everywhere on the switcher, especially if they are large. It's not so bad when they are focused, because they get focus and are put on top in the switcher too. But otherwise, there is no way to tell from the switcher display if it is one global window, or several windows that happen to be in the same place on different screens. If you have more than one of these currently open, it gets worse. So, maybe a compromise: highlight them in some way so you know they are sticky when showing them in the switcher. I think that would remove my primary complaints about this feature.
isn't the fact that they show up on all the workspaces a pretty good indication that the window is sticky?
No, it isn't, because it is very common for different windows to be in the same location on each of several screens. You can't tell them from a sticky window. It's very common for those of us who often have terminal windows on several screens in the same position. If you are going to clutter a UI with something like a sticky window, then it should not be ambiguous.
The UI is hardly cluttered with sticky windows. What windows show up in the workspace switcher and are sticky by default?
I said nothing about default sticky windows. I said that you cannot tell a sticky window from a series of different windows in the same position, when the sticky window is not focused. This is self-inconsistent with the situation if the sticky window is focused, where it will be highlighted on all desktops. It would be nice to highlight the sticky windows in the switcher. That way you can tell the difference between sticky windows, and multiple windows in the same location. If you don't agree, fine. Close the bug.
I'm gonna close for now. If you want to discuss this further, bring it up on usability@ and cc me and/or Havoc.
This is a duplicate of a libwnck bug, so I'm reopening in order to mark it as such. (While I personally don't care for this requested feature, I believe Michael presents some good arguments in bug 87531 for the behavior requested here, and shows from a usability perspective the potential disadvantages of it as well as advantages; he additionally points out that some kind of renaming would be necessary if this feature was adopted to avoid confusion. It looks to me like a trade-off between (1) easily understandable behavior for the average user who only has a few windows and probably no more than one sticky one, and (2) the usefulness of the pager for the expert user who has lots of windows including multiple sticky ones.)
*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 87531 ***