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Re: Rationale for not launcher not folding on top?

 

On 02/14/2012 09:03 AM, Conscious User wrote:

This has been asked before but I don't remember getting an "official" answer... What is the rationale for dropping the accordion effect on top (which was present in the first version of Unity)?

In the current version, if an user is constantly switching to a recently opened app, he constantly needs to go see the unfolding animation. Wouldn't folding on top and keeping the launcher as it was the last time it was clicked be a better approach?

If you think in terms of click areas only, the launcher is a series of hot boxes you can click on. By having the launcher re-fold constantly, those boxes always return to the same position, which allows for users to have a higher degree of confidence about what they are about to mouse into, even with a hidden launcher. Further if you are looking for something at the bottom of the launcher, having the mouse enter the launcher at any position will cause it to unfold at that position as well (so the item it enters over stays under the mouse).


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