GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 92335
Sort out minimize all, show desktop behavior
Last modified: 2006-08-09 19:40:02 UTC
If you press Ctrl-Alt-D (for minimizing all open windows) it doesn't seem like all those windows are actually "minimized". Instead it's more like if an imagined layer of all windows is moved away temporarily. Because if you do something after Ctrl-Alt-D, like choose "Rename" for an icon on the desktop, or restoring only one window by choosing it from the WinList on the panel, then all windows are "restored" again. In the case with renaming a file on the desktop, that won't be possible to do, becasue you don't see the desktop with its icons any longer. You would have to manually minimize all open windows in order to be able to do that, which could be quite awkward. I would expect this function to actually give all of the windows a "minimized" status. Then if you want all of them restored in one single action, you could just repeat that key combination.
No it shouldn't. Let's assume one of the opened windows is already minimized and you want to start a new app to open a file on your desktop. Press ctrl+d, double-click and here we go. If you'd minimze 'em all and press ctrl+d again, the window arrangement is probably not the same because even the formerly minimized would be restored. What you are looking for is a function called "minimize all / restore all". Havoc, what do you think of this? Is it confusing to have two functions doing similar stuff? I'd personally like having the possibility to minimize / restore all windows. see you, Chris
I think Ctrl+Alt+d just needs some more thought and fine-tuning as to how it's supposed to behave.
FWIW, Windoze gives you both options IIRC-- it has separate "show desktop" and "Minimize All" functions. I have to admit that every time I do a "Show Desktop" on Windoze I wish I'd done a "Minimize All" instead, but I'm not sure how good an indicator that is of their relative utility :)
Oh, forgive me. I understand the problem a little better now. And yes of course, I would want the current style to remain. Both methods available would be cool though, and I think "minimize all windows" is under way. So I'm like withdrawing the request. There's only one thing I still consider buggy with Ctrl-Alt-D. If you have windows open, presses Ctrl-Alt-D, and then try to "Rename" an icon on the desktop, then all windows gets visible again.This means that renaming an icon will be impossible to do, becasue you don't see the desktop with its icons any longer. The only way is to minimize all obscuring windows. Renaming files on the dekstop should work with Ctrl-Alt-D.
It would be nicer if we didn't have to resort to both, though... think how confused the user could get if they did a Minimize All then tried to restore with Ctrl-Alt-D, or vice versa :)
Step 1 is to document how this feature works on Windows, KDE, etc.
Oops, posted this to the wrong bug before :/ Okay, here's how it works in XP-- seems like I mis-remembered, either that or they've changed it since Win9x (or my nVidia 'nView' desktop extension has patched its behaviour): Show Desktop minimizes all open windows. If you select it again without having changed the min/max/restored state of any of the windows it minimized (and you haven't opened any new windows either), you get your desktop back as it was. Otherwise, you're back to square one-- i.e. pressing "Show Desktop" just does a 'minimize all' again.
If you unminimize a window while showing desktop, does it unminimize only that window, or unminimize them all? What about if you launch a new application?
It shows only the window you restored, or only the new window respectively-- the saved desktop state is essentially lost at that point. This I think is different from how it used to work in Win9x... as I said, it might even just be my video driver's multiple-workspace patch that's changed this. I'll check on the XP box in our lab and report back...
Yes, it does seem my XP's "Show Desktop" behaviour has been patched by nVidia's multiple-workspace extension. Just tried it on a standard installation of XP and after you've done a Show Desktop, all your minimized apps are shown again whenever you start a new application or restore an existing one. Personally I prefer the behaviour on my patched version, but there you go...
A couple comments: 1. You can now rename in show desktop mode (ctrl+alt+d) with nautilus head. 2. Now that I've started using it, I must admit I do find the current special desktop mode sort of useful.
Batch adding GNOME2 keyword to Metacity bugs. Sorry for the spam.
*** Bug 98282 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
I just tested on Win2000 and KDE. Both desktops have the same behaviour, which is: If you click on the "show desktop" button, then either unminimize a window or open a new window, only the new/unminimized window appears. If you click on the show desktop button again, all windows (in this case only one window) are minimized again. I think that's the most coherent behaviour.
request for UI for minimize all, should be considered together with all this: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=75076
*** Bug 105365 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
I just wanted to ask what the status of this bug is ? Is it going to stay like it is today or will it be changed to the windows/KDE behaviour ? If you just need someone to do the code, I think I can the one but I imagine it's more a "decision" that is needed than a code.
Yes, a decision is more needed than code. To make a decision requires some thought as to what the feature is for - how do you use it, in what cases? Then think through the possible behaviors in light of that. Also, does "minimize all" possibly have a different use-case than "show desktop"? Is there a reason to have both features? I don't know the answers, I haven't thought about it enough. If someone wants to analyze the issue and write it down, that would be great.
Created attachment 14271 [details] [review] Minimize all windows before unhiding a window when in showdesktop mode
I just submitted a patch that makes metacity act as in windows/KDE. I think the main reason why this behaviour is the best is the following: When you have a lot of windows opened, you sometimes like to hide all of them and to pop up one or two only. The problem with the current ehaviour is that if you actually want to really minimize all your windows, you have to minimize all of them one at a time, which can be vey time-consuming and not very convenient.
I guess the idea is that "show desktop mode" simply becomes "minimize all" if you open a new window. That makes sense to me, I guess, one feature sort of works for both showing desktop and doing the minimize all. Should there be a difference between unminimizing an existing window, and launching a new window? Say for example you show desktop, edit a desktop launcher via the dialog for that, then want to restore all your windows... I guess special casing this type of thing would just make a mess. Anyway, marking patch for when I go through patches next.
The patch looks good if we want the Windows-style behavior (with the minor nitpick that minimize_all_but should be renamed to meta_screen_minimize_all_except() or something like that) I can't think of a better solution than the Windows approach, so if no one comes up with anything in the near future I'll apply this patch.
Applied in CVS, with some changes that hopefully don't break anything. (Please file a new bug for any remaining issues, as the basic feature is in.)
I think something is somehow rotten in the current C-A-d gnome 2.4 kingdom. First : why do you feel all windows of *all* desktop must be minimized ? The current desktop only would really make more sense.. Second : The only reason i want to "show desktop" for is to find a desktop/nautilus icon and launch a new app and return to my desktop "status". If i dont want to restore the desktop to the state it was before, i would use a "minimize all" function which would forget about the previous desktop "status".. Third : remember WinXP is newer than W2k. So the "restore desktop if i launch a new application from desktop" new behaviour is an enhancement of the old W2k behaviour.. (ok it may have been there in Win9x yet..) I really like the mess i have on my desktop because it's an orderer mess.
first point at least should be filed as a separate bug. you might also file a new bug(s) to consider fine-tuning the behavior in other ways. Please mention this bug # in those new bugs and try to make each bug suggest some single specific change.
*** Bug 126491 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
*** Bug 159287 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
*** Bug 339353 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Perhaps also worth mentioning that Lubos emailed wm-spec-list about how all possible choices dealing with this button resulted in bug reports and that there seemed to be no way to make everyone happy (see http://mail.gnome.org/archives/wm-spec-list/2004-August/msg00001.html; the link in that email contains very good usability discussion of the different choices and how none is perfect). After asking whether we had any bug reports on the matter and I pointed him to this one, he decided to change KDE to match the behavior described in this bug report as well (see http://mail.gnome.org/archives/wm-spec-list/2004-August/msg00003.html).