Gnome Global Menu Bar

[Arktis]

See my previous post. You must have hit 'send' right after I first did. =p

[aysiu]

Take a look at a OSX Screenshot... like this one:
http://images.apple.com/downloads/ma...0502091436.jpg

Neither the File Manager nor the Email program have a Menu bar. Insted, the Menu entries for the currently focused application are on the top panel, in the Screenshot the File Manager menu.

Oh, menu bar! Now I know what you're talking about. Well, I hope they get that soon. My fake Mac Gnome environment won't be complete without that.

[Arktis]

Do I detect sarcasm? If you are saying this isn't a necesary feature, neither is a desktop environment necesary. I for one, am not interested in creating some kind of OSX clone DE. For the most part, I can't even stand to use a mac. Apple computers and mac users 'think different' in a way I don't much like. What I am interested in is what I consider to be a more comfortable and in some ways advantageous way of handling menus, one more suited to my tastes. However, since you mention it, how many features of KDE, gnome, or any other open source desktop environment are borrowed from osx and windows? How about vice versa? What about next-step? How about LINUX itself being created as a very meticulous clone of UNIX? Talk about hypocrasy.

[drizek]

the only way is to go to "run application" in gnome and then type in "kicker" and then you have to set up the uni menubar in kcontrol nad use only kde apps(cause gtk apps arent compatible with it). otherwise youre SOL.

[aysiu]

Sometimes I really hate the written word. No, I didn't intend it to be sarcastic at all. Now that I go back and read the post, it does sound that way, though. I'm completely serious, actually. I have Mac icons, a Mac window border, Mac controls, etc. If I had that global menu, it would be complete.

[Arktis]

Oh. Sorry. Well, just because features are there doesn't mean you have to use them.

[Kvark]

Ahh, interesting place to put the menubar at. Can't see any advantage since it still takes up screen space and it still fills the same function. But being able to customize where yet another thing should be would be fun!

[SKLP]

Ahh, interesting place to put the menubar at. Can't see any advantage since it still takes up screen space and it still fills the same function. But being able to customize where yet another thing should be would be fun!

(Quoted from
http://mpt.net.nz/archive/2005/04/11/ubuntu)

"Every window that has menus puts them in a separate menu bar inside the window. This (a) wastes screen real estate, (b) is confusing (even experts occasionally click the wrong menu bar by accident), (c) does not work for narrow windows (as demonstrated by the Gimp), (d) works badly for windows near the bottom or right of the screen (for which menus unexpectedly open upward or leftward), and (e) works even worse if those menus have submenus.

Worst of all, because under Fitt’s Law their vastly smaller target size outweighs their somewhat closer proximity, (f) menu bars inside each window are several hundred percent slower to use than a menu bar at the top of the screen.
"

[pmj]

I'm of the opinion that programs shouldn't have menu bars at all if it can be avoided.

But if there has to be a bar I'd rather have it in the application window. It makes far more sense for items that clearly belong to the application to be grouped with the application and not be mixed with things that are global and affects more/other things than the application.

Also, global menus could really mess things up for you if the wrong window has focus, something that happens to me frequently.

Wastes screen real estate? If anything is wasting screen real estate it's a menu at the top of the screen that you would hardly ever use.

[basse1989]

I'm of the opinion that programs shouldn't have menu bars at all if it can be avoided.

But if there has to be a bar I'd rather have it in the application window. It makes far more sense for items that clearly belong to the application to be grouped with the application and not be mixed with things that are global and affects more/other things than the application.

Also, global menus could really mess things up for you if the wrong window has focus, something that happens to me frequently.

Wastes screen real estate? If anything is wasting screen real estate it's a menu at the top of the screen that you would hardly ever use.

So you mean one menu bar in EVERY window uses less space than one global menu bar for all windows, huh?

btw. I'd like a global menu bar applet, and IMO it would fit very good into GNOME's standard panel layout since there's a lot of empty space on the top panel.