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View Full Version : Design Feedback Requested (Docky)



DBO
December 6th, 2009, 09:24 AM
Hi all,

I am looking for some feedback on a new way of titling menus in docky. I am not sure if its worth keeping or not, or if anyone has an ideas for improvement. Let me know what you think (screenshots attached).

Pasdar
December 6th, 2009, 09:33 AM
I don't use it, but i like the titles one better.

docus
December 6th, 2009, 09:39 AM
Tough choice - both look great - but I think I slightly prefer the titles.

For me the biggest issue I have with Docky is that it disappears behind my panel, even when I set it to stay on top. I'm using standard Ubuntu 9.10, with the default metacity setup. I love Docky but that bug is stopping me from using it right now.

Also, if there is any way of having Docky along the side of the screen - not just the top or bottom - that would be awesome!

Keep up the good work, I'm looking forward to seeing the next stage of Docky's evolution! (And please fix that bug!!!) :)

DBO
December 6th, 2009, 09:44 AM
Tough choice - both look great - but I think I slightly prefer the titles.

For me the biggest issue I have with Docky is that it disappears behind my panel, even when I set it to stay on top. I'm using standard Ubuntu 9.10, with the default metacity setup. I love Docky but that bug is stopping me from using it right now.

Also, if there is any way of having Docky along the side of the screen - not just the top or bottom - that would be awesome!

Keep up the good work, I'm looking forward to seeing the next stage of Docky's evolution! (And please fix that bug!!!) :)

You will love Docky v2.0 :)

FuturePilot
December 6th, 2009, 09:47 AM
The titles seem to add some unnecessary clutter. The one with no titles looks much cleaner. The titles don't look terribly bad but having to pick between the two I would say no titles.

treesurf
December 6th, 2009, 09:56 AM
I agree.

docus
December 6th, 2009, 10:13 AM
Brilliant news, I'll be downloading this as soon as it's ready! Is it likely to be in time for Xmas?

treesurf
December 6th, 2009, 10:17 AM
Will it still be possible to integrate Gnome-Do with the new Docky?

DBO
December 6th, 2009, 10:20 AM
Yes, though that is not ready yet. It is very much in the plan book

hobo14
December 6th, 2009, 10:59 AM
Titles completely unnecessary.

DBO
December 6th, 2009, 11:05 AM
I kinda agree there, but the idea is that in the future, there will be additiona items in menus. "Recently Opened" "Frequently Used" "Bookmarks" "Favorites" "Relevant Files" kind of things. It might be hard to figure out what these are without labels.

renkinjutsu
December 6th, 2009, 11:09 AM
i voted "no titles", as it seemed very unnecessary. There's already a break in the menu there, and the titles were there as an extra element, not doing much.

treesurf
December 6th, 2009, 11:12 AM
I kinda agree there, but the idea is that in the future, there will be additiona items in menus. "Recently Opened" "Frequently Used" "Bookmarks" "Favorites" "Relevant Files" kind of things. It might be hard to figure out what these are without labels.

In that case some titles would be necessary. I'd say keep them out until necessary, though, just to reduce clutter. The design of them does looks nice.

It's good to know that Gnome-Do will still have integration in Docky in the future. It's a major part of what makes Docky the best dock out there.

koleoptero
December 6th, 2009, 11:59 AM
Titles completely unnecessary.

^ This

oedipuss
December 6th, 2009, 01:15 PM
Though unnecessary I like the titles one better. I think it has more to do with the distance between the separator and the menu items, and not the titles themselves.

On another note I'd love to see another way of managing multiple windows, perhaps something like an expandable drawer opening on mouse-over, instead of right-click menu items.

Duskao
December 6th, 2009, 04:11 PM
I am the first and at this point, the only "doesn't matter to me". If it is added, it will likely be a nice little asset for certain people, especially newer people to docky/Ubuntu/linux. However I personally don't find it necessary, but there certainly isn't anything wrong with it.

Duskao

whiskeylover
December 6th, 2009, 04:15 PM
Make it configurable, so people can change it if they want.

Also, increase the space between the last menu item and next header (Quit and Windows).

gastly
December 6th, 2009, 04:19 PM
+1 for titles.
The titles look really nice and they will streamline the menu's.
Oh and also as whiskeylover said above, you can also make it an option to show titles or not ;)

Nerd King
December 6th, 2009, 04:29 PM
I'm for titles, especially given the planned future functionality. Also maybe a little +- near them so that the options in that section can be minimised or maximised, with the thing remembering it between uses on a per-app basis maybe? Could be a nice feature. Tbh Docky is brilliant as it is, and makes my life easier, so whatever you do, I have 100% faith that it'll be excellent. Open-source developers have my 100% respect, and I appreciate all that they do.

frriction
December 6th, 2009, 04:33 PM
I feel it is very difficult to switch windows, when multiple windows of same programs are open. If there is some thing like windows7 to change windows of same program i.e. when i hover my mouse over the running application it will show me to select which windows to go, not like to click the right click button to change it like current option.

I think people who uses Ubuntu are cleaver enough to know which option is for what (its clearly written that minimize maximize, etc)so no need of these titles.

JohnnyCbad
December 6th, 2009, 04:45 PM
Title's help split it up, imagine if there was a lot more entries, would be real messy. Also, the Grey creates a nicer UI feel, but that could just be me.

Nerd King
December 6th, 2009, 04:46 PM
I feel it is very difficult to switch windows, when multiple windows of same programs are open. If there is some thing like windows7 to change windows of same program i.e. when i hover my mouse over the running application it will show me to select which windows to go, not like to click the right click button to change it like current option.

for title put the option in preferences to active and deactivate it. One who like to have title they can activate it and same as who dont like.
You can scroll the mouse wheel, that works pretty well.

pan323
December 6th, 2009, 04:50 PM
I feel it is very difficult to switch windows, when multiple windows of same programs are open. If there is some thing like windows7 to change windows of same program i.e. when i hover my mouse over the running application it will show me to select which windows to go, not like to click the right click button to change it like current option.

for title put the option in preferences to active and deactivate it. One who like to have title they can activate it and same as who dont like.

Totally agree

SQuark
December 6th, 2009, 05:55 PM
Why not put the minimise, (un)maximise and close icons to the right of the window title? It would make things a lot more clear when you've got multiple windows of the same program running.

martini1179
December 6th, 2009, 05:55 PM
I voted "other". I like sans titles better, but I think that we should have the option of enabling or disabling them, so we can have the best of both worlds.

mpiroc
December 6th, 2009, 05:56 PM
The titles seem completely unnecessary and cluttered. When is a user going to think, "I wonder if this option is an action, or a window?". It seems much cleaner without the titles.

mpiroc
December 6th, 2009, 05:59 PM
In that case some titles would be necessary. I'd say keep them out until necessary, though, just to reduce clutter. The design of them does looks nice.

It's good to know that Gnome-Do will still have integration in Docky in the future. It's a major part of what makes Docky the best dock out there.

I think this sounds like a good idea. If the reason for including them is to differentiate things like recent documents, maybe save the titles for these cases?

phyzik
December 6th, 2009, 06:51 PM
Titles look really nice, I think they give the menu a more professional look.

I also think that it's not necessary to make it customizable - it doesn't affect overall usage of the application. Who would decide against using Docky if it had (or didn't have) menus?

Cudos to Docky developers, I've been following your progress so far, but I have to wait for DO integration before trying it out. Is anyone working on that?

DBO
December 6th, 2009, 07:02 PM
Indeed we are working on it. Do integration is unfortunately dependent on nearly *every single* core feature working. Painters must work, painter animations must work, painter transitions must work... We are almost to the point were all that stuff is ready and we can just plug Do into it. Do has to grow a dbus interface first, but not tooo bad.

s3t_sk8
December 6th, 2009, 09:53 PM
it was a double post. duno how to delete this. moderators help me

s3t_sk8
December 6th, 2009, 09:54 PM
Titles are okay!
But they mix with the click-able options.

How about aligning the titles to the right?

FuturePilot
December 6th, 2009, 09:59 PM
I kinda agree there, but the idea is that in the future, there will be additiona items in menus. "Recently Opened" "Frequently Used" "Bookmarks" "Favorites" "Relevant Files" kind of things. It might be hard to figure out what these are without labels.

Well, in that case I think titles would be better. However, titles in the screenshot in the OP really make it look unnecessarily cluttered. Once more items land in the menu though, I think titles would make things a lot clearer and easier to navigate.

edfoxx36
December 6th, 2009, 10:28 PM
I definately think titles is the way to go. It helps break up what is otherwise just a long list of options. Segregating makes it easier to quickly find what you are looking for, even if you already know its general location.

PS: would love some new docklets for Docky. Waiting on them is the only thing that made me switch to AWN for the time bieng. Keep up the good work!

issih
December 6th, 2009, 10:40 PM
Titles are nice imo, either would be fine at the moment, but I do agree that if more categories are to be added, the titles become more and more important.

I also agree that adding an option is a bad idea. Options for something this trivial result in unusable programs where the important configuration bits are hidden under a swathe of pointless customisability.

Cam42
December 6th, 2009, 10:52 PM
I like the titles far better than without titles.

ratcheer
December 6th, 2009, 10:54 PM
I guess I am stupid - I don't see the difference.

Tim

Ozitraveller
December 6th, 2009, 10:59 PM
Should be user configurable.

texpat
December 6th, 2009, 11:10 PM
Should be user configurable.

Exactly my thought, too.

DBO
December 6th, 2009, 11:18 PM
Exactly my thought, too.

Nah, user configurable for something like this? Common thats *WAY* too fine grained. I don't have all the time in the world to write and test a million options.

ukblacknight
December 6th, 2009, 11:21 PM
On another note I'd love to see another way of managing multiple windows, perhaps something like an expandable drawer opening on mouse-over, instead of right-click menu items.

+1

This is probably my only annoyance with docky, especially when dealing with emesene or multiple browser windows.

In regards to the topic, I voted titles.

issih
December 6th, 2009, 11:28 PM
Nah, user configurable for something like this? Common thats *WAY* too fine grained. I don't have all the time in the world to write and test a million options.

Yay! :)

itsjareds
December 7th, 2009, 02:47 AM
+1

This is probably my only annoyance with docky, especially when dealing with emesene or multiple browser windows.

In regards to the topic, I voted titles.

This is my only annoyance and ONLY reason for not using Docky as well. Aesthetically, Docky is fantastic! I would love to use it daily but I just can't get used to not seeing titles or having a better way to know which windows are open and which are not. But hey that might just be me, ex-Windows-user.

Also, I would like an option (or default setting) to be able to have a top and bottom Gnome panel, and have Docky just display above the bottom panel or below the top panel. That way, with windows maximized, I can still have my two Gnome panels with window manager but when I want to launch a new program, I click show desktop and click an icon in Docky.

I prefer the titles because they seem to help with intuitiveness for new users.

wersdaluv
December 7th, 2009, 03:14 AM
Hi all,

I am looking for some feedback on a new way of titling menus in docky. I am not sure if its worth keeping or not, or if anyone has an ideas for improvement. Let me know what you think (screenshots attached).
With titles. Whenever you activate that menu, your focus is on it so screen space usage isn't an issue. Titles promote usability :)

pt123
December 7th, 2009, 03:18 AM
any chance of having the action one or two lines than taking up a lot of space

Is it possible for docky to access the thumbnails compiz uses for the windows and show them, like a Windows 7 and Snow Leopard do.

itsjareds
December 7th, 2009, 05:44 AM
This is my only annoyance and ONLY reason for not using Docky as well. Aesthetically, Docky is fantastic! I would love to use it daily but I just can't get used to not seeing titles or having a better way to know which windows are open and which are not. But hey that might just be me, ex-Windows-user.

Also, I would like an option (or default setting) to be able to have a top and bottom Gnome panel, and have Docky just display above the bottom panel or below the top panel. That way, with windows maximized, I can still have my two Gnome panels with window manager but when I want to launch a new program, I click show desktop and click an icon in Docky.

I prefer the titles because they seem to help with intuitiveness for new users.

In addition, I'd love for there to be an option to never group two windows of the same application -- this makes it so much easier to use multiple windows of Firefox without having to right-click. Instead just give a separate running instance icon for each window.

haran_elessar
December 7th, 2009, 11:57 AM
It's all right just as it is now but I voted for "titles" because I think they will be beneficial if some other features are added to the right click function.

For example, an "x" besides every open window of the program would provide users with a quick way of closing a window without having to select it and hovering the mouse towards its close button. If you do that then you could change the "quit" action to "quit all" so that the user knows that he'll close all windows after clicking it. It would be very useful too if in addittion you could make it so that the compiz "window previews" appears after hovering over the name of the window.

Talking about the "quit" option, it just came to my mind that it should be renamed to "close" since that's what it really does right now. A program like Rhythmbox will just minimize itself to the tray after clicking on "quit" instead of actually quitting.

Well that's about it for now. Keep up the excellent work. I've never been a fan of docks or widgets but your implementation of both in conjunction has made me a fan. It also helps that it looks ridiculously gorgeous :D...keep it up!

ubradford
December 7th, 2009, 12:01 PM
Titles all the way. Also throwing in my vote for a Main Menu plugin for those "I forgot the name of that application" moments when running gnome-do. Keep up the great work! This dock rocks! :KS

haran_elessar
December 7th, 2009, 12:10 PM
In addition, I'd love for there to be an option to never group two windows of the same application -- this makes it so much easier to use multiple windows of Firefox without having to right-click. Instead just give a separate running instance icon for each window.

Although I think it looks much better when windows of the same program are grouped I would love if Chrome apps wouldn't group themselves under the Chrome logo. Currently I have 4 different chrome apps with their respective icons on Docky, after clicking on an app the Chrome icon is the one that gets the highlight instead of the app's icon. I never reported this as a bug since I think that's got more to do with how Chrome works than with Docky but maybe there can be a way to work around that.

this is what currently happens when I have lala and Brizzly (each have their icon) in conjunction to a Chrome window opened at the same time.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2533/4165348137_eefbe381ac.jpg

pwnst*r
December 7th, 2009, 01:54 PM
titles!

and thanks for your hard work!

koleoptero
December 7th, 2009, 03:07 PM
Nah, user configurable for something like this? Common thats *WAY* too fine grained. I don't have all the time in the world to write and test a million options.

You don't have all the time in the world? :O






:P

idokibovito
December 8th, 2009, 02:41 PM
Maybe make this configurable under "advanced settings"?

It's a matter of taste but I am more for simple "dropdown" menus. I wouldn't like window manager actions to be in the dock. To Maximiza a window I would want to click on it and instantly go for the window manager icon top right because I've done it the last 17 years.
I really don't like duplication of functionality! Keep it simple is the way to go for me.

Thanks for asking us!

edit: I misunderstood the thing. Titles: YES. Window Manager Actions in the menu: No for me please!

Psumi
December 8th, 2009, 02:43 PM
I will not love Docky until the GNOME Menu can go in it.

GNOME Shell will need the GNOME Menu in ALL dock programs (Only AWN and Cairo dock have it now it seems.)

You CANNOT access Ubuntu Software Center WITHOUT the GNOME Menu.

ukblacknight
December 8th, 2009, 02:45 PM
Maybe make this configurable under "advanced settings"?

It's a matter of taste but I am more for simple "dropdown" menus. I wouldn't like window manager actions to be in the dock. To Maximiza a window I would want to click on it and instantly go for the window manager icon top right because I've done it the last 17 years.
I really don't like duplication of functionality! Keep it simple is the way to go for me.

Thanks for asking us!

Erm, this functionality has been around for a *very* long time. Right click on an application in a window selector and you can perform window actions on said application. It's even been there since the Windows 95 days as far as I can remember, so having this functionality is no different for the dock.

boombox1387
December 8th, 2009, 03:27 PM
I vote anything but user-configurable. If small visual details like that start working their way into the preferences dialog, the whole dialog will become worthless pretty quickly.

When using light colored themes for Docky (Air is my favorite), it's really hard to read the text in the right click menu because it's black, and there's usually black text in the background, too. The menu background is waaaay too see-thru. Adding titles to the right click menu just adds to this (perceived) clutter.

The titles look nice with the dark themes, though, and they could be really helpful if more categories are added to the list.

issih
December 8th, 2009, 03:57 PM
I will not love Docky until the GNOME Menu can go in it.

GNOME Shell will need the GNOME Menu in ALL dock programs (Only AWN and Cairo dock have it now it seems.)

You CANNOT access Ubuntu Software Center WITHOUT the GNOME Menu.

Howso? Gnome shell brings its own menu system...

Secondarily I guarantee you can launch the software centre without a menu..

Any launcher, teminal or run dialog should kick it off by running:


software-center

You can then drag a launcher made with that command to a panel or indeed to docky...

Not having a go here, just don't understand why you claim it is necessary...desirable perhaps (although I'm not really sold on that UI design pattern) but not necessary.

Psumi
December 8th, 2009, 04:02 PM
Howso? Gnome shell brings its own menu system...

Secondarily I guarantee you can launch the software centre without a menu..

Any launcher, teminal or run dialog should kick it off by running:


software-center

You can then drag a launcher made with that command to a panel or indeed to docky...

Not having a go here, just don't understand why you claim it is necessary...desirable perhaps (although I'm not really sold on that UI design pattern) but not necessary.

You also cannot drag items from gnome shell's menu to a dock, some docks cannot create launchers without dragging an item to them.

GNOME Shell doesn't have its own alt+tab yet either.

drewsus
December 8th, 2009, 06:27 PM
I voted for titles. Just looks more clean and organized.

Now, I did have another suggestion though!
And I didn't know where else to post it.
The issue I have is with switching between compiz fusion and metacity.
With compiz on everything is obviously fine...
But when I use compiz-switch to turn it off and go to metacity a 5th of the screen goes black where docy resides and only goes away when docky is exited. But, in testing AWN 0.4, I noticed that it worked with a reduced style when running metacity.
Is there a way to impliment this? I am sure MANY laptop users often switch compiz on and off! Id even be able to deal with it just not showing with compiz off.
If there is a better place to suggest this, let me know!

smCw6GNakQn300£
December 9th, 2009, 10:23 AM
With titles please!

hugmenot
December 9th, 2009, 10:59 AM
I think Docky without do-like keyboard access is pointless.

omargohan
December 9th, 2009, 03:55 PM
I agree with titles, just keep simple and with transparency, that looks so cool! :p

nothingspecial
December 9th, 2009, 05:03 PM
Gnome-do is one of my favourite applications.

However, I`ve never understood the need for Docky.

To me, the whole point of gnome-do is to do away with panels, docks and launchers.

For that reason, I voted doesn`t matter to me.

Murrquan
December 22nd, 2009, 10:17 PM
Remember the quote about when a designer knows he has achieved perfection!

The titles don't add anything except clutter. Looking at the items themselves, you already know what they are and what they do. Having a divider bar is logical, and separates actions from windows; it doesn't need to be spelled out with more information you have to read.

No titles, please. >.>b

serspan
February 18th, 2010, 10:02 AM
I like it with titles but it could be an option in Docky Configuration