Re: Debian menus policy
Erik Steffl wrote:
> Rob Bradford wrote:
> >
> > I think it would be a good idea to have a real push at getting as menu
> > entries for all X applications. And similar for GNOME/Gtk and KDE. Although
> > policy doesnt *require* it, it would be a very highly recommended.
I would like to see all dpkg-installed X apps in the menu, yes. This is
not currently the case.
I'm not sure what you (Rob) mean by "similar for GNOME/Gtk and KDE" --
do you mean that Debian menus should be organized the same as GNOME or
KDE's menus? I don't think I would favor that, because I don't much like
how GNOME's menus are organized, and it might be problematic to try to
be the same as GNOME and the same as KDE at the same time. Or did you
mean something else?
> in addition to that IMO it would be good to have better menu structure
> so that the programs are not randomly all over place (just look at the
> menus of any system that has large number of programs installed, it's
> even more chaotic when you enable hints) - just take a look at it, it's
> quite appaling (I don't think there's any need to list examples).
Well, I think a few packages put their menu items in the wrong places,
and the "Tools" submenu is just a dumping ground for anything that
doesn't fit a defined category (and consequently it's got far too many
things in it). But for the most part, packages that fit defined
categories do the right things. So what's really needed is more defined
categories.
> IMO instead of section and hints there should be one structure of
> menus, user should be able to fine tune the menu system to display menus
> according to various preferences (optimize for smaller menu depth? for
> smaller numbers of items in each menu? put most often used item at the
> beginning? in the top level menu? whatever).
>
> another point: IMO the debian menu should be accessible by
> left-clicking on the root window in all window managers.
No, absolutely not. In some desktop environments, the left button is
used for selecting and dragging icons, and you can select several icons
at once by dragging on the desktop to create a rectangle enclosing the
icons you want to select. That really is the right thing for the left
button to do in desktop environments that support that functionality.
Such environments often use a root window right-click to pop up a
"desktop properties" or "window manager properties" menu, which also
shouldn't be superseded by Debian policy.
That leaves the middle button, which two-button mice can usually fake by
pressing both left and right buttons simultaneously. Will that do for a
standard Debian menu button?
Craig
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