unity-design team mailing list archive

[Frederik Nnaji <frederik.nnaji@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi there Dieki ;)

On Mon, May 17, 2010 at 21:06, Dieki N <dieki.ubuntu@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Currently, the close button in the window decoration closes the window, and
> in most cases closes the application if the last window is closed. However,
> on applications such as Rhythmbox, Empathy, or Gwibber, it closes the last
> window, but leaves the application running. For these applications, not
> closing is a necessary part of their functionality, but it's pretty annoying
> for the user since the close button is not consistent.
>
> Does anyone else believe this to be a problem?
>

yes, i agree, it definitely is a consistency problem!
Some dialog types don't even deserve to have a close button if you ask me.
If e.g. a confirmation dialog appears on the screen, containing [OK] and
[CANCEL] as big fat buttons in it, i see no reason to keep a title bar on
the window in fact.

This problem is, as so many others, a problem of interaction design, not
necessarily one of window decoration design. On the long run i would like a
window to dismiss itself automatically when i *knows* it is not needed, and
to return to the front quickly when i want it focused.
Currently, no such system is in place, it has yet to be invented. Context
aware preemption is another AI problem we need to attack carefully and with
caution.