unity-design team mailing list archive

[Frederik Nnaji <frederik.nnaji@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, 2010-12-21 at 17:10 +0100, zekopeko wrote:



> I think that a decent solution for 11.04 would be to create a
> temporary workspace for the fullscreen app so that it shows in the
> Expo (Workspace switcher) mode but once the app is un-fullscreen-ed it
> would return to the workspace from which it originated (no fancy
> animation transitions). Alt-Tab-ing while the fullscreen app is
> focused would tab-between workspaces and not applications. If you
> alt-tab while a non-fullscreen applications is focused (so you can see
> the launcher and the panel) would tab between applications that are
> currently open and the fullscreen apps.


they removed ALT+F2, so i'm not even sure they'll keep ALT+TAB.
There must be a quicker way than a combination here..
ALT+TAB through Workspaces is a very sharp idea OTOH, and i think it's
still worth dreaming of...




> It would be nice if we (and by we I mean people with relevant
> skills/knowledge) could finally unite the disparity that exists
> between window management (on the current workspace) and workspaces so
> that workspaces become part of window management. Gnome-Shell is on a
> good path in regards to that.


altogether, window management needs to get back in line with the
original goals of desktop linux:
to manage content better.

F11 for Fullscreen Mode
as long as there is no consistent way to go to fullscreen mode, i.e. to
use the entire screen real estate for content, people will not get used
to entering and leaving fullscreen. F11 stands a good chance i think.
And in return, [Esc] stands a good chance for close-without-quit aka
"hide window" or what some prefer to call "minimize" ;)

Close, MaxVert, Fullscreen Mode
in a recent thread, i suggested to add a button to the window controls:
fullscreen. This, because many users don't even know what fullscreen
mode is, except for in movie players.. they learn it on youtube, where
there is a more than obvious "fullscreen" button, and start looking for
such a button in totem, vlc etc..

Floating Indicators
One could think of single icons popping up upon transient events top
right corner of a fullscreen window, provided i'm not set to "do not
disturb".
But the visibility of single icons popping up above whatever content is
beneath them is low.
WingPanel is an excellent option here, it would only have to be
transparent, and it would have to know when it is above the content area
of an application in fullscreen mode.