Re: [Ayatana] Message Indicator: Listing apps in menu even if they are not on

[Matthew Paul Thomas <mpt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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Mark Shuttleworth wrote on 05/11/09 18:42:
>...
> In the design discussions, there was supposed to be a difference
> between the menu entries when the application is running, and when it
> is not running. So, for example:
>  --------
>  Monitor email with Evolution
>  --------
> vs
>  -------
>  Show Evolution Addressbook
>  Inbox (43)
>  Compose new message
>  --------

I agree with your principle that "you shouldn't have to worry about
things like 'the process is running'". In that case, items for composing
a new message or for accessing the address book would make just as much
sense when Evolution wasn't running as when it was. So if there were no
new messages (and therefore the "Inbox (43)" item wasn't present), I
wouldn't be able to tell from either of those sections alone whether it
was representing a running or non-running application.

> Ted, MPT, can you comment on the decisions made for 9.10,

"How to distinguish visually between applications that are running and
not?" is an unresolved issue in the specification.
<https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MessagingMenu> However, the menu as implemented
in 9.10 is quite different from what we did have time to specify anyway.
- From trying it out, it seems to use this rule: if the application is not
running, show a summary of what the application does below the
application title, and if it is running, don't show that summary. I
don't know the reasoning behind this.

>                                                           and plans
> for 10.04 in this specific regard?
>...

There is no definite design for this at the moment.

If it was possible to populate the menu with items like "Address Book"
and "New Message" regardless of whether the program was running, then
the only reason you would need to care about whether it was running
would be if it was responsible for checking for new messages. This is
true in most cases, but not all: for example, the Ubuntu repositories
contain multiple mail checker utilities that are separate from mail clients.

Cheers
- --
Matthew Paul Thomas
http://mpt.net.nz/
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