If the dash/overview was the default view Gnome 3 would be much better!

[x-shaney-x]

If the dash/overview was the default view.

Does anyone know of any way to make this possible?

By default, one has to perform an action (moving the pointer to the top left corner or maybe a hotkey) before they can do anything.

Open the overview THEN search for an app.
Open the overview THEN click on a launcher in the favourites bar.

This has always been an issue for me with Gnome 3 and the main reason I have avoided it in the past.

It would be better if the desktop loaded up and the overview was there, ready and waiting.
You could just start typing straight away to search for an app or just go straight to your web browser or whatever instead of having to go up and left then down to the favourites bar.

When apps are open you would still go top left to go to overview and when all apps are closed, you would be back at the overview ready to do more work.

Why oh why isn't it like this by default and how can I make it so?

[cecilpierce]

I agree, and every time of an update all the extensions stop working...

[@nne]

If you mean that the dash should show permanently, Unity does that, doesn't it?

[x-shaney-x]

Partially but I can no longer use unity (for reasons I won't go into here) so will be switching to Gnome 3 in some form (ubuntu or otherwise) and I don't really understand the point of having an empty desktop when they could have the overview there all the time.

[Mr. Picklesworth]

I agree, and I'm curious why it is the way it is. There might be a clever reason. Maybe you could ask on the gnome-design IRC channel?

[x-shaney-x]

I agree, and I'm curious why it is the way it is. There might be a clever reason. Maybe you could ask on the gnome-design IRC channel?

Well I gave it a go (haven't used IRC in years and got a bit confused).
Apparently, it is mainly down to technical reasons, such as keybindings not working in overview mode, which is being worked on.
So it could become a reality in time, hopefully not too much time though.

[critin]

I don't really understand the point of having an empty desktop when they could have the overview there all the time.

I'm so grateful it isn't open all the time. I'd much rather see my desktop change backgrounds while I'm working.

[@nne]

Partially but I can no longer use unity (for reasons I won't go into here) so will be switching to Gnome 3 in some form (ubuntu or otherwise) and I don't really understand the point of having an empty desktop when they could have the overview there all the time.

I do see the point and I'm glad they did it that way. Anyway, if you want all sort of icons on your desktop, you can do it by turning "Have file manager handle the desktop" on in the Tweaks tool, "Desktop" tab.

[Copper Bezel]

As a big fan of Shell, I agree with x-shaney-x, and it's something I noticed early on. It's nothing to do with Unity or desktop icons - the overview is like Android's home screen or Win 8's Start screen, and it ought to be the default fallback place to be. Partly because it is, but inconsistently.

At first, I did find t odd that when the last window on a workspace is closed, I drop back to the Overview. I got it, though, when I realised that the Overview just is the place you "fall back" to. So then it became odd that this doesn't apply to the moment I log in - naturally, the first thing I'm going to do is launch something - and why I can select an empty workspace at all.

I don't buy the argument about a clean desktop. I want my desktop clean so crap isn't hidden under my windows, or competing for my attention with non-maxed windows, not so that I can stare at my pretty wallpaper. I also want to access my stuff as efficiently as possible. So the default position when nothing is running ought to be the place I keep my stuff. (This is not the same thing as the overlappity mish-mash of the Win XP-Gnome 2 way of doing things, so please don't think I'm getting nostalgic, though I suppose it's no different from combining the benefits of desktop icons with the interaction mode of the Start menu, which is exactly what Win 8 does, although Shell also tosses in window management.)

But truth be told, I'd settle for a fix to the first problem, that key bindings don't work in the Overview.

[TeamRocket1233c]

There's also adding a taskbar to GNOME 3, as well as a start menu, as well as other tweaks to improve the DE's usability.