Proposal for GNOME 2.0 Menu Structure

Proposal for GNOME 2.0 Menu Structure
Nils Pedersen Solaris User Interface Design August 25, 2001	n.p@sun.com

1.0 Proposal for GNOME 2.0 Menu Structure

2.0 Ximian GNOME 1.4 Menus

3.0 Core GNOME 1.4 Menus

Revision History

Revision	Date	Author	Synopsis
1	7/10/2001	Nils	First Pass
2	7/18/01	Nils	Feedback from #usability channel
3	8/2/01	Nils	Added Tooltip Proposal. Moved Binary/Hexidecimal File Editor (GHex) under Development. Removed Font and Color Selector. Reordered some of the menu items in Utilities. Changed Disk Usage (GNOME DiskFree) to File System Usage
4	8/11/01	Nils	More feedback from IRC and email. Put the 2.0 proposal first in the document Removed the conditional procrastination in the tooltips Added Search tooltip Added app names to menus for Evolution, Mozilla/Netscape, GIMP, and Nautilus
5	8/25/01	Nils	More feedback REMOVED the old names (it was causing confusion) Removed Version Numbers Changed Mozilla Tooltip Did some changes to Volume Meter Changed Character Map Tooltip Removed Startup Hint Changed Terminal Tooltip Changed Program -> Application Using Email terminology Changed GIMP tooltip Changed Sound recorder Tootip

1.0 Proposal for GNOME 2.0 Menu Structure

If we had a decent panel management app, I'd suggest a two panel layout similar to Ximian's. With no panel management app, I think we should go with one panel as default. There should also only be one menu structure. End-user support costs will be improved if there are no dueling menus. Anyway since this menu proposal is just structural, it is somewhat independent of the final implementation (look and feel).

In talking to Seth, it seems like we may be going for a two panel layout with a new control center launched panel management/editing app (which also does menu editing). I guess the details also need to be worked out with George - who was planning to do a menu editing app - but if the app is architected okay, if think these tasks can be done in parallel.

The policies I used for the menu items were:

Reduce the number of "G"isms
Minimize product name usage
Consistent capitalization
Removal of Applets from menus (they should only be accessed from panel configuration)
Separation of programs and actions
No more favorites - users can add menu items anywhere
Didn't like Finance category, so created a new Productivity (better name?) category

We really really need a complete new tool to configure the panel and menus.

The policies I used for the tooltips were:

Verb based descriptions (mostly)
Consistent capitalization - first word and for GNOME terms
No full stop at the end

Some of the menu item name changes mean that the menu name will be different to the application name. I guess there is an assumption here that either the application changes its name to be the same as the new menu new, or at the very least, the application adds the menu name to the window title, for example, "Web Browser - Mozilla", instead of just "Mozilla". Or on the other hand, perhaps we could go for menu labels that have the app name in parenthesis Mail (Evolution), Mail (Netscape Messenger)? Maybe the ApplicationType (ApplicationInstance) label could be generated auto-magical from the keywords stored in the .desktop file?

Old Name in (brackets)

Core GNOME 2.0 (Panel)
Applications - menu - See Table Below [The applications you can run on this computer]
Actions - new menu - See Table Below [Some of the main actions or commands you can run on this computer]
Web Browser (Mozilla) - icon on panel [Browse the World Wide Web or local HTML documents]
Email (Evolution) - icon on panel [Read and send email, manage tasks, contacts, and calendars]
User's Home (Nautilus) - icon on panel [Manage your files and documents]
Terminal - icon on panel [Used to enter commands]
Help - icon on panel [View help and documentation on the GNOME desktop]

maybe put Text File Editor (gedit/gnome-edit) on the main panel as well??

GNOME 2.0 Applications Menu (foot menu)
Applications	Internet	Web Browser (Mozilla) [Use to browse the World Wide Web or local HTML documents]
	Internet	Email (Evolution) [Read and send email, manage tasks, contacts, and calendars]
	Multimedia	CD Player [Play music CDs]
		Sound Recorder [Record sound clips]
		Volume Monitor [Monitor the sound output volume]
	Productivity	Calendar (Evolution) [Keep track of appointments]
		Time Tracking Tool [Keep track of the amount of time you spend on various tasks]
		Finance Manager (Gnucash) [Manage your personal finances]
	Graphics	Image Editor (GIMP) [Create and edit images]
		Image Viewer [View images]
		Postscript and PDF Viewer [View Postscript and Portable Document Format (PDF) files]
	Utilities	Calculator [Perform simple arithmetic tasks]
		Dictionary [An online dictionary]
		Character Map [Insert special characters into documents]
		Bug Report Tool [File bugs on GNOME]
		Text File Editor [View and edit text files]
	Development Tools	Interface Designer (Glade) [Easily create GTK 2.0 based user interfaces]
		Binary/Hexidecimal File Editor [View and edit files in binary and hexidecimal format]
		Memory Leak Detector [Check your application for memory leaks]
	Games (have not touched)	FreeCell [someone who is more familair wih games needs to work on this section]
		gataxx
		Glines
		Gnibbles
		Gnobotsll
		Gnome-Stones
		Gnometris
		Gnome Mines
		Gnotravex
		Gnotski
		GTali
		gTuring
		Iagno
		Mahjongg
		Same Gnome
	Desktop Settings [Change your desktop look and behavior]	(invokes Nautilus or stand-alone CC)
	System	Terminal [Used to enter commands]
		X Terminal [Type in UNIX commands with the standard X Terminal]
		System Information [Displays basic information on your computer]
		System Monitor [View the processes, memory and file system information of your computer]
		Performance Plotter [Graph certain system attributes over time]
		File System Usage [A graphical view of file system usage]
		System Log Viewer [A view of of the UNIX syslog]
		User Listing [Shows all the users logged onto your system]
	User's Home (Nautilus) [Manage your files and documents]
	Recently Run [Keeps track of the last application you ran]	1st program last used
		2nd program last used
		...
		10th program last used
	Help [View help and documentation on the GNOME desktop]

I assume the CDE/Sun/Solaris and other platform specific menus would be a child of the Programs menu.

GNOME 2.0 Actions Menu
Run... [Run applications, if you know the correct command to type in]
Search...[Find files, folders, and documents on your computer]
Shut Down or Reboot [Turn off or restart your computer]
Lock Display (Lock Screen) [Protect your computer from unauthorized use]
Log Out [Quit from the GNOME desktop]

2.0 Ximian GNOME 1.4 Menus

Following is a table showing the Ximian GNOME 1.4 menu structure:

Ximian GNOME 1.4 (foobar menu)
Programs	Adressbook	Gnomecard
	Audio	Grip CD Player/Ripper
		XMMS Media Player
		Gnapster
		Recorder
		Volume Control
	Calendar	Gnomecal Calendar
	Calendar	Time Tracker
	Finance	Calculator
	Finance	Gnucash Finance Manager
	Internet	Mozilla Web Browser
		Evolution
		Mozilla Mail
		GAIM Instant Messenger
		X Chat IRC Chat
		GnomeICU Instant Messenger
		Gnapster
		PAN News Reader
		GFTP
		Red Carpet
	Games	Solitaire
		FreeCell
		Iagno
		Mahjongg
		GLines
		Nibbles
		Mines
		Gataxx
		Klotski
		Tetravex
		Stones
		Same Gnome
	Graphics	Dia Diagram Editor
		GPhoto Digital Camera Tool
		GIMP Image Editor
		GQView Image Viewer
		Postscipt/PDF Viewer
	Software Development	Emacs Text Processor
		Glade UI Designer
		MemProf Memory Profiler
	Utilities	Terminal
		Calculator
		Character Picker
		Dictionary
		Floppy Formatter
		GEdit Notepad
		Bug Buddy Problem Reporter
		Red Carpet
		GTop System Monitor
	Mozilla Web Browser
	Gnumeric Spreadsheet
	Favorites
	Applets	Amusements	Fish
			Fifteen
			gEyes
			Game of Life
			Odometer
		Clocks	Clock
			Another Clock
			AfterStep Clock
			Clock and Mailcheck
			JBC Binary Clock
		Monitors	Battery Charge Monitor
			CPULoad
CPU/MEM Usage
Disk Usage
Load Average
Mem Load
NetLoad
SwapLoad
Stripchart
Multimedia		CD Player
		Mixer
		Sound Monitor
		XMMS Applet
Network		Mailcheck
		Clock and Mailcheck
		GNOME Stock Ticker
		Modem Lights
		SlashApp
		Web Control
		RH PPP Dialer
		Gaim
		GnomeICU
Utility		Desk Guide
		Printer Applet
		Tasklist
		Character Picker
		Drive Mount
		GKB Keyboard Switcher
		GDict
		GNOME Weather
		Mini-Commander
		QuickLaunch
		ScreenShooter
		Tick-a-Stat
		Where Am I?
System	Settings...
	Get Software...
	Find...
	Run...
	Lock Screen
	Log Out
Help	Frequently Asked Questions
	User's Manual
	Chat
	Report a Problem
Mozilla
Terminal
Clock
TaskList

Some Pros and Cons of the Ximian Menu Structure

For

After initially disliking Ximian's sole use of the foobar menu, i've grown to quite like it. Menus at the top Tasklist on the bottom
The menu structure is pulled out of the foot menu
The settings structure has been removed (i assume everything is/will be accessible through CC)
Pull DOWN Menus seem better (at least for western locals) in terms of readability.

Against

Inconsistencies in terminology - although they seem to have made an effort to get rid of some of the "G"isms
Users can only add menu items to the Favorites menu
Applets treated as first class objects - I think they are child objects of the panel
By using two panels - the complexity of managing the panels is increased
Divergence from 'standard' layout

Core GNOME 1.4 Menus

Following is a table showing the core GNOME 1.4 menu structure:

Note: Actually it's based on the Sun Distribution of GNOME 1.4 - I did not have access to a version of core GNOME. I am told that the Sun distribution is pretty close to GNOME core.

Tooltips help in italics and square brackets [tooltip]

Core (Sun) GNOME 1.4 (Panel)
Foot Menu [NONE]	See Table Below
Log out of GNOME
Lock screen
Integrated help system
Terminal Emulation Program
The GNOME configuration Tool
Netscape browser	(I guess this would be mozilla in other distributions)

Core (Sun) GNOME 1.4 (foot menu)
Programs	Applications	Nautilus [Nautilus File Manager and Graphical Shell]
		gedit [Text editor]	I think core GNOME uses gnome-edit
		GHex [Gnome Hexadecimal Editor]
		Time tracking tool [Time Tracker Tool]
	Utilities	Startup Hint [Browse the startup hints]
		Bug Report Tool [Report a bug in GNOME]
		GDict [GNOME client for the MIT dictionary server]
		Simple Calculator [Simple Calculator]
		GNOME Character Map [GNOME Character Map]
		Color Browser [Browse available X11 colors.]
		Font Selector [Select a fint for pasting]
		Text File Viewer [Page files as with 'more' and 'less]
		GNOME Search Tool [GNOME Search Tool]
		Stripchart Plotter [Stripchart Plotter]
	Development	(empty)
	Games	FreeCell [FreeCell Game]
		gataxx [Gnome ataxx game]
		Glines [Gnome color lines]
		Gnibbles [Gnome Gnibbles Game]
		Gnobotsll [Gnome Gnobotsll game]
		Gnome-Stones [Gnome Stones game]
		Gnometris [Gnome Tetris Game]
		Gnome Mines [Gnome Mines game]
		Gnotravex [Gnome Tetravex game]
		Gnotski [Gnome Klotski]
		GTali [Gnome Dice game]
		gTuring [Waste time with a simulated Turing machine]
		Iagno [Gnome Reversi game]
		Mahjongg [Gnome Mahjongg program]
		Same Gnome [Gnome SameGame program]
	Graphics	Eye of Gnome [Image Viewer]
	Graphics	GNOME Ghostview [A Ghostcript frontend to visualize PostScript files]
	Finance	Calculator
	Finance	Gnucash Finance Manager
	Internet	Netscape [Netscape browser]	(I guess this would be mozilla in other distributions)
	Multimedia	Sound recorder [A simple soundrecording program for GNOME]
		CD Player [GNOME CD Player]
		ESD Volume Meter [A Volume Unit Meter for ESD]
	Settings	GNOME Control Center [NONE]
		Desktop	Background [Configuration of the desktop's background]
			Screensaver [Configure seetings of rge screensaver]
			Theme Selector [Select which desktop theme to use]
			Window Manager [Choose a window manager]
			Panel [Global panel properties]
			Launch Feedback [Settings for Application Launch Feedback]
		Multimedia	Sound [Configure GNOME's use of sound]
		Peripherals	Keyboard [Keyboard Properties]
		Peripherals	Mouse [Mouse Properties]
		Session	Startup Hint [Options for the startup hint dialog]
			Save Current Session [NONE]
			Session Properites & Startup Programs [NONE]
			Session Properties [Current session managed programs]
		Document Handlers	Default Editor [Choose the editor that is invoked by gnome-edit]
			URL Handlers [Configure which programs are used to display URLs]
			HTML Viewer [HTML Viewer properties]
		User Interface	(empty)
		File Types and Programs [Specify whuch programs are used to open or view each file type]
		Imlib Configuration Options [Image loading and display options]
		Menu Editor [NONE]
		Sawfish Window Manager [Control Center Menu]	Meta [Configure window manager configuration properties]
			Appearance [Configure window appearance]
			Shortcuts [Configure key shortcuts]
			Focus behavior [Configure window focusing]
			Matched Windows [Configure window properties]
Minimizing and Maximizing [Configure window minimizing and maximizing]
Miscellaneous [Configure miscellaneous window features]
Moving and Resizing [Configure window move/resize]
Placement [Configure window placement]
Sound [Enable window manager sound events]
Workspaces [Configure workspaces]
System [System Menu]	Regular XTerm [Regular XTerm]
	GNOME Terminal [Terminal emulation program]
	System monitor [GNOME System Monitor]
	GNOME DiskFree [Show free disk space on mounted file systems using dials]
	Shut Down or Reboot [Turn off or reset the computer]
	System Info [Technical information about this computer]
	User Listing [View users on the system]
	System log monitor [SysLog tool]
Help System
Favorites	(empty)
Applets	Amusements	Fish
		Fifteen
		gEyes
		Game of Life
		Odometer
	Clocks	Clock
		Another Clock
		AfterStep Clock
		Clock and Mailcheck
		JBC Binary Clock
	Monitors	Battery Charge Monitor
		CPULoad
		CPU/MEM Usage
		Disk Usage
		Load Average
		Mem Load
		NetLoad
		SwapLoad
		Stripchart
	Multimedia	CD Player
		Mixer
		Sound Monitor
		XMMS Applet
	Network	Mailcheck
		Clock and Mailcheck
		GNOME Stock Ticker
		Modem Lights
		SlashApp
		Web Control
	Utility	Desk Guide
		Printer Applet
		Tasklist
		Character Picker
		GNotes
		GNOME Weather
		Mini-Commander
		QuickLaunch
		ScreenShooter
		Tick-a-Stat
		Where Am I?
		GDict
Run...
Panel	Lots of stuff here	I'm not even going to bother	filling the table out on this one
Lock screen
Log out

Some Pros and Cons of the Core Menu Structure

For

Current users are used to the structure.
One panel

Against

Inconsistencies in terminology
Multiple orthogonal classifications of functionality (i.e. programs vrs favorites vrs applets)
Users can only add menu items to the Favorites menu
Applets treated as first class objects - I think they should bechild objects of the panel
Panel editing functionality
Walkout menu headings duplicated on sub-menus

Contents

1.0 Proposal for GNOME 2.0 Menu Structure

2.0 Ximian GNOME 1.4 Menus

3.0 Core GNOME 1.4 Menus

Revision History

1.0 Proposal for GNOME 2.0 Menu Structure

Core GNOME 2.0 (Panel)

GNOME 2.0 Applications Menu (foot menu)

GNOME 2.0 Actions Menu

2.0 Ximian GNOME 1.4 Menus

Some Pros and Cons of the Ximian Menu Structure

Core GNOME 1.4 Menus

Note: Actually it's based on the Sun Distribution of GNOME 1.4 - I did not have access to a version of core GNOME. I am told that the Sun distribution is pretty close to GNOME core.

Tooltips help in italics and square brackets [tooltip]

Some Pros and Cons of the Core Menu Structure