1. Menus Whiteboard
1.1. Fast User Switching
DanBallard: Windows XP has had user switching and multi user log on since 2001ish I think. It's really cool that we are getting there but putting the menu option for it in Applicaion -> system tools and labeling it "new login" is IMHO a really bad plan. No one will find it becasue no one will look there. When they don't see it beside logout in the desktop menu they will assume it is not supported and doesn't exist. What newb would think, "I want to log out but keep this sesion open so I'll look under System Tools"? This needs to be tweeked adn cleaned and inserted into a sane place with a sane title so people become aware of it.
CalumBenson: I guess things have improved a bit on this front in 2.14... "Switch User" is now available in some of the same places it is on Windows (on the Log Out dialog and on the locked screen dialog).
1.2. Main Menu Tooltips
CalumBenson: While putting together the UI spec for the OpenSolaris desktop, I took the opportunity of reviewing all the .desktop file Comments, which appear as menu or launcher tooltips. Needless to say, despite HIG guidance on the subject, there wasn't much consistency and some of them weren't very descriptive. Here's my first pass at a suggested rewrite.
Vague guidelines I kept in mind while writing them:
- For document/file editing apps, "Create or open..."
- For viewing/browsing apps, "View.." (for doc-at-a-time apps), or "Browse..." (for "pick from a list/group" apps)
- For preferences, "Change..." (things you might want to do often) or "Configure..." (things you're going to do once or infrequently)
Item/App |
Proposed description |
In CVS? |
Description last edited by |
Help |
Read documentation for the desktop and applications |
N |
|
Lock Screen |
Protect your computer from unauthorized use |
Y |
|
Log Out |
Log out of this session to log in as a different user |
Y |
|
Run Application |
Run an application by typing a command or choosing from a list |
N |
1.2.1. Accessibility
Item/App |
Proposed description |
In CVS? |
Description last edited by |
gok |
Type into and navigate applications using alternative input devices |
N |
|
dasher |
Type into and navigate applications using alternative input devices |
N |
|
gnopernicus |
Output on-screen text as speech or braille, or magnify the screen |
N |
1.2.2. Accessories
Item/App |
Proposed description |
In CVS? |
Description last edited by |
file-roller |
Create or open compressed file archives such as ZIP or TAR |
N |
|
gcalctool |
Perform arithmetic, scientific or financial calculations |
N |
|
gucharmap |
Insert special symbols or characters into documents |
N |
|
gedit |
Create or open text or source files, with optional syntax highlighting |
N |
|
gnome-terminal |
Open a command line shell |
N |
|
gnome-dictionary |
Check word definitions and spellings in an online dictionary |
Y |
|
gnome-screenshot |
Save images of your desktop or individual windows |
Y |
1.2.3. Games
Item/App |
Proposed description |
In CVS? |
Description last edited by |
gataxx |
Dominate the board in a modern variation of Reversi |
Y |
|
glines |
Remove colored balls from the board by forming lines |
Y |
|
gnect |
Make lines of the same color to win |
Y |
|
iagno |
Dominate the board in a classic version of Reversi |
Y |
|
gnotski |
Slide blocks to solve the puzzle |
Y |
|
mahjongg |
Dismantle a pile of tiles by removing matching pairs |
Y |
|
gnomine |
Clear hidden mines from a minefield |
Y |
|
gnibbles |
Guide a worm around a maze |
Y |
|
gnobots2 |
Avoid the robots and make them crash into each other |
Y |
|
same-gnome |
Clear the screen by removing groups of colored balls |
Y |
|
gtali |
Beat the odds in a poker-style dice game |
Y |
|
gnotravex |
Complete the puzzle by matching numbered tiles |
Y |
1.2.4. Graphics
Item/App |
Proposed description |
In CVS? |
Description last edited by |
gimp |
Create, edit or convert images between standard graphics formats |
N |
|
gtkam |
Browse and download images from an attached digital camera |
N |
|
eog |
Browse and rotate images |
Y |
1.2.5. Internet
Item/App |
Proposed description |
In CVS? |
Description last edited by |
evolution |
Read email and schedule meetings and appointments |
N |
|
epiphany |
Browse the worldwide web |
N |
|
gaim |
Text chat using your MSN, Yahoo! or Google Talk account (why not put a generic description in here?) |
N |
CalumBenson (comment by WouterBolsterlee) |
ekiga |
Video chat using a webcam |
N |
1.2.6. Office
Item/App |
Proposed description |
In CVS? |
Description last edited by |
evince |
View and print PostScript and PDF documents (Why not just documents? Evince aims to support more than that!) |
N |
CalumBenson (comment by WouterBolsterlee) |
oobase |
Create or open a database |
N |
|
oocalc |
Create or open a spreadsheet |
N |
|
oodraw |
Create or open a drawing |
N |
|
ooimpress |
Create or open a presentation |
N |
|
oowriter |
Create or open a text document or web page |
N |
1.2.7. Programming
Item/App |
Proposed description |
In CVS? |
Description last edited by |
glade |
Create or open user interface designs for GTK+ or GNOME applications |
Y |
1.2.8. Sound & Video
Item/App |
Proposed description |
In CVS? |
Description last edited by |
sound-juicer |
Convert audio CDs to sound files |
N |
|
rhythmbox |
Play and organize your music collection |
Y |
|
totem |
Play videos and DVDs |
N |
|
gnome-volume-control |
Control loudspeaker, headphone and recording volumes |
N |
|
gnome-sound-recorder |
Record audio clips from a microphone or other sound source |
N |
1.3. System Tools
Item/App |
Proposed description |
In CVS? |
Description last edited by |
gnome-about |
Desktop version and licensing information |
N |
|
bug-buddy |
Report desktop problems or feature requests |
N |
|
gnome-system-log |
View or monitor system log files |
Y |
|
gdmflexiserver --xnest |
Log in to a new desktop session in a window |
N |
|
gnome-system-monitor |
Monitor disk, memory and CPU usage of running processes |
N |
1.3.1. Places
Item/App |
Proposed description |
In CVS? |
Description last edited by |
Home Folder |
Open your personal folder |
Y |
|
Documents |
Open your personal documents folder |
N |
|
Desktop |
Open the contents of your desktop in a folder |
N |
|
Computer |
Browse all local and remote disks and folders accessible from this computer |
Y |
|
CD/DVD Creator |
Open a folder into which you can drag files to burn to a CD or DVD |
N |
|
Network |
Browse bookmarked and local network locations |
Y |
|
Connect to Server |
Connect to a remote computer or shared disk |
N |
|
Search for Files... |
Locate documents and folders on this computer by name or content |
Y |
1.3.2. Administration
Item/App |
Proposed description |
In CVS? |
Description last edited by |
disks-admin |
List and format disk partitions |
N |
|
gdmsetup |
Configure GDM login window appearance and behavior |
N |
|
network-admin |
Configure network devices and connections |
N |
|
gnome-power-preferences |
Configure power saving schemes for this computer |
N |
|
gnome-cups-manager |
Add and remove printers and queues |
N |
|
spadmin |
Configure OpenOffice.org printer settings |
N |
|
services-admin |
Configure services to be run at startup |
N |
|
shares-admin |
Configure which folders are available to other users on your local network |
N |
|
time-admin |
Configure system date, time and time zone |
N |
|
users-admin |
Create, edit or remove users and groups |
N |
1.3.3. Preferences
WouterBolsterlee: the Preferences menu is HUGE. It has 23 items on my machine. I know flat hierarchies are A Good Thing, but some grouping would really improve the usability of the Preferences menu. Actually, we already use a submenu for the Accessibility settings. I would really like a decent categorization like "Look and Feel" for things like the gnome-font-properties, gnome-background-properties and gnome-ui-properties, "Peripherals" for things like keyboard, mouse and monitor settings. This definitely needs more thought, but the current situation is just Really Bad imho.
JoachimNoreiko: Good idea, though it should probably wait until the Administration/Preferences distinction can be removed.
PeterClifton: What about some visual grouping based on an item's sub-categories. This mockup was made as a counter to someone suggesting that we should use a tree of sub-menus for Electronics applications. It might not make sense to activate it with such a low number of menu items as in the mockup, but that's just the apps I had installed.
UsabilityProject(2f)Whiteboard(2f)Menus/preferences_menu_mockup.png "preferences_menu_mockup.png")
UsabilityProject(2f)Whiteboard(2f)Menus/menu_grouping_mockup.png "menu_grouping_mockup.png")
Note the subtly different colour (and smaller text size) for the group titles, combined with the indenting of contained apps.
It also worked out (in the preferences menu example) that each group ended up with icons with similar colour tones and visual appearance. That is probably no coincidence. Take for example, the "User and input" section - where all the settings "belong" directly to the person using the computer, their needs, and how they interact at the lowest level with the machine. Those icons (with the exception of SCIM - which is a bad icon anyway) all feature simple blue and grey tones. There are of course other examples in the menu which stick out like a sore thumb, and probably should have new icons, or be relegated out of the preferences menu.
Item/App |
Proposed description |
In CVS? |
Description last edited by |
gnome-at-properties |
Configure the use of a screenreader, magnifier or on-screen keyboard |
N |
|
gnome-background-properties |
Change the colors or picture on the desktop background |
N |
|
nautilus-file-management-properties |
Change the behaviour and appearance of file manager windows |
N |
|
gnome-font-properties |
Change the default application and desktop fonts |
N |
|
gnome-keyboard-properties |
Change keyboard layout and settings |
N |
|
gnome-accessibility-keyboard-properties |
Change keyboard repeat, filtering and mousekeys settings to make typing easier |
N |
|
gnome-keybinding-properties |
Assign shortcut keys to commands |
Y |
|
gnome-ui-properties |
Change the default appearance of application menus and toolbars |
N |
|
gnome-mouse-properties |
Change mouse pointer, speed and movement settings |
N |
|
gnome-network-preferences |
Configure a proxy for internet access |
N |
|
gnome-about-me |
Change your personal information, password and login screen photo |
N |
|
gnome-default-applications-properties |
Change your default mail, web and editor applications |
N |
|
vino-preferences |
Allow other users to view your desktop from their computer |
N |
|
gnome-display-properties |
Change the size of your desktop |
N |
|
xscreensaver-demo |
Change your screensaver delay and theme |
N |
|
gnome-session-properties |
Change which applications are when you log in |
N |
|
gnome-sound-properties |
Associate sounds with desktop alerts and actions |
N |
|
gnome-theme-manager |
Change the color and appearance of desktop features |
N |
|
gnome-window-properties |
Change window selection and movement settings |
N |
There's an inconsistency with the use of the word 'online'. For the dictionary app, 'online' means 'on the internet'. For the Help menu item, it means 'on your computer'. Most people now understand 'online' to mean the first definition. -- Joachim
1.4. Exit to Windows
I remember from somewhere that while shutting down the computer there was a choice as "exit to windows", now I use debianLenny-gnome and I miss that.