touch-packages team mailing list archive

[Antonin Chambolle <antonin.chambolle@xxxxxxx>]

Dave Gilbert : Indy is right 
the f-f-m option sets the focus on the last window visited, and as long as windows are open the desktop never gets the focus. It means it is impossible to rename an icon on the desktop (or you need to open a file browser and open the desktop inside the file browser)
What I don't understand is that this issue would be solved with a very simple variant of focus-follows-mouse :
the behavior should be that
1- it focuses on the window under the mouse
2- it keeps the focus on the last window visited when the pointer is on the desktop
3- it focuses on the desktop if you click on it (and in general on any window you click in, since sometimes some bug makes the focus loose the mouse). In particular, when you click on an icon in the background (or create it) the focus should be automatically transferred to that icon...
currently the behavior is 1+2, but not 3.
to sum up, "focus follow mouse" should be a layer onto "click to focus", not an exclusive option.
this would still allow to visit the upper bar (for the crazy users who disable the menu-in-window feature).
The truth is that f-f-m is so handy that once one has tried it, it is hard to change back. (I first tried it on X-10... hmm, in '91?)

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/674138

Title:
  "Global" appmenu breaks sloppy focus

Status in Unity:
  Won't Fix
Status in “unity” package in Ubuntu:
  Won't Fix

Bug description:
  An option I heavily use in GNOME 2.x is so called "sloppy focus" or
  "focus follows mouse" (ffm). This feature allows me to have multiple
  windows overlapping and easily switch between them by 'nudging' the
  mouse over the window I wish to type in. I do not bring the window to
  the front.

  Example scenarios

  * Whilst watching a TV programme in a large window, I wish to
  microblog about the TV programme to my followers without distracting
  myself from the programme. I can hover the mouse over twitter client
  dialog box without it obscuring the video window.

  * I am working on a document and need input from a co-worker so I get
  them on IM. As they explain in the IM window I can be typing in the
  document window. When I need to acknowledge receipt of the IM I can
  easily switch to the IM window without losing sight of my document.

  As I understand it, with global appmenu enabled the menu for a window
  is placed at the top of the screen and changes as the window focus
  changes. If I am using focus follows mouse and wish to select a menu
  item for Window A, then as the mouse moves over Window B en-route to
  the menu, the menu content will change, making it challenging to
  select menu options for WIndow A. Under certain circumstances it may
  be possible to take a circuitous route to get the mouse to the appmenu
  so the menu content doesn't change, but this is suboptimal.

  I would like to file a bug to petition for the inclusion of a system
  whereby:-

  * Focus follows mouse feature is included in Unity
  * A system which caters for users of focus follows mouse, and suppresses the sub-optimal behaviour.

  My personal suggestion is as follows:-

  * By default Unity be setup with ffm disabled, to use the traditional behaviour as default in current GNOME 2
  * An option made available to enable ffm
  * An option made available to configure a key which can suppress the menu change
  * Behaviour adopted in Unity whereby when the modifier key is pressed, the user can throw the mouse to the menu and know that the menu will be frozen (i.e. focus changes will be ignored) until the modifier key is released.

  Whilst I appreciate that the vast majority of users do not use sloppy
  focus, or indeed many don't even know it exists, for those of us that
  do, it's an integral way in which the desktop is used.

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