unity-design team mailing list archive

[Felix Lawrence <felix.lawrence@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I note that Ubuntu is adopting "dialog sheets" for Oneiric - open, save and print dialogs will no longer appear as a separate window, but will be 'stuck' to their parent window:
http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2011/05/os-xgnome-3-style-dialog-sheets-coming-to-ubuntu-11-10/

I have two suggestions for the implementation of design sheets, to make it better than Apple's.  Apple's implementation of sheets has one disadvantage over regular modal dialogs: you can't see or select what's directly under the sheet.  Traditional modal dialogs can be moved to provide access, but Apple's sheets are stuck to the window and can't be moved.

Firstly, Ubuntu's dialog sheets should be draggable inside their parent window.  The sheet could even be dragged to be mostly outside the parent window, with only a small region of overlap.  The sheet would not be able to be dragged completely outside the parent window - it must at least partially overlap its parent at all times.  This allows the user to see/select any text in the parent window, while the sheet is still 'stuck' to the parent window.

Secondly (and less feasibly), sheets should be attached to tabs where possible, as opposed to windows.  So if you're in gedit with lots of documents open and select "Save As..." in one, the sheet appears, locks up that tab, but you can change to other tabs and work in those while the dialog is open in another.