Things you like to see in Unity

[MadmanRB]

Nono this is not another Unity hate thread, but more of a list of things I really wish unity would have so I could use it on a more regular basis instead of hopping between KDE, Cinnamon, unity and the like.
So here is my personal list of things that I would like to see in Unity in the future:

3: Better Multi window management:
This is a huge weakness in unity, sure tabs are taking over in most apps but in some apps you cant help but have multiple windows such as firefox or libreoffice.
Alt+tab might be viable but I really wish that unity would adapt the behavior of the Windows superbar in its multi window management.

2: Global menubar/ window button fixes:
Its no secret that the global menubar in unity needs some major work as do the window buttons.
The auto hide idea is terrible for new users, while us older users can adjust to it when coming from windows its a major issue that most users have issue with.
The timeout seriously needs work, or have the window buttons visible at all times except when no window or the dash is open.
Or have an indicator of where the menus are supposed to be.
I also wish that minimised windows did not use the global menubar thus being more in tune to the mac user.

1: The movable launcher
Never going to happen I know but I can dream cant I?

Curing at least two of these things I think will help Unity in the end and 2 and 3 being the more plausbile i dont think I am being unreasonable

Of course things like better stability will come over time, Unity is still finicky in places.

What is your take?
Also modes dont bundle this with one of the unity threads as I do think this thread is legit as a standalone.

[iponeverything]

its already perfect.. not that I really care because the "desktop metaphor" will "evolve" again, soon enough, mandating the appropriation of yet another perfectly good noun to justly label the new desktop "paradigm"
All the while adding additional bazaar layers of complexity between the user and what use to be mundane operations..

whoo hoo..

[tjeremiah]

minimize on click feature in unity bar. Also dodge windows like the old version.

[MadmanRB]

minimize on click feature in unity bar. Also dodge windows like the old version.

Oh gosh yes, this should be re implemented, it actually made unity quite bearable for me.

[Copper Bezel]

I do miss the window dodge behavior. I don't notice it much, and autohide meets all my workflow needs, but I would like to have the Launcher visible on a clean desktop, if just for aesthetic preference.

I'd like to see minimize and the maximize button dropped as in Shell. (I'm aware that they can be turned off.) Dragging windows to the top of the screen or tearing them off is much faster and more pleasant than using the little maximize button, and after not having minimizing in Shell, I don't find myself using it for anything except to occasionally misplace a window and wonder what happened to it. It'd also be nice if the close button could be reworked for use on touchscreens, which is part of why just having the one button to deal with might be nice.

The snap behavior from the Grid plugin is just about perfect, but there's one last touch missing from Windows 7, where an unsnapped window returns to its previous width, that I'd like. I'd love if the Aurora window manager behavior was implemented where two side-by-side snapped windows resize in unison.

I still dream of a workspace switcher that spreads windows on each workspace like KDE's and the Ubuntu 10.10 Mutter-based Unity mockup, particularly if that allowed Gnome-Shell-style drag and drop between workspaces. I'd also like the Launcher to be fully workspace-dependent, so that applications running on other workspaces wouldn't show as running. I don't think the workspace switcher is very useful as a Launcher button, but that could be because I'm making so little use of the Launcher to begin with.

I don't use the Launcher for app switching - I have an Exposé corner for that - so I can't comment too much on that. I do think that the Windows 7 window previews are a little gaudy, but if the exposé effect for multiple windows in an app was triggered by hovering that icon instead, that would be simply beautiful and very useful.

[zombifier25]

Agree that Unity need to manage multiple window apps better. Something like the Windows 7 taskbar (which Unity is already very close to in behaviour) would be really nice.


Also, I want per-user Unity configs. We can customize Unity's appearances and lenses by modifying /usr/share/unity, but the changes are applied system wide. Something like ~/.unity would be nice.

[Jvdy]

customizable launcher like docky

[MadmanRB]

I'd like to see minimize and the maximize button dropped as in Shell. (I'm aware that they can be turned off.) Dragging windows to the top of the screen or tearing them off is much faster and more pleasant than using the little maximize button, and after not having minimizing in Shell, I don't find myself using it for anything except to occasionally misplace a window and wonder what happened to it. It'd also be nice if the close button could be reworked for use on touchscreens, which is part of why just having the one button to deal with might be nice.

Ugh you are basically suggesting it be more like gnome sell.
Well sorry but there I have to shoot down as gnome shell for me sucks, it is made for touchscreens but not desktops and I use this magic thing called a mouse still.
Plus its better to keep the max/min buttons for newcomers, if you put a average windows user in front of unity they may do okay with some aid but gnome shell is aggravating in its default state

[zombifier25]

Ugh you are basically suggesting it be more like gnome sell.
Well sorry but there I have to shoot down as gnome shell for me sucks, it is made for touchscreens but not desktops and I use this magic thing called a mouse still.
Plus its better to keep the max/min buttons for newcomers, if you put a average windows user in front of unity they may do okay with some aid but gnome shell is aggravating in its default state

I agree with you, but personally I don't use the minimize feature anymore. In fact, I removed all the buttons except for the close button like in Shell (I double-click the titlebar for maximize)

Here's a good read about the matter:

http://elementaryos.org/journal/whats-window-controls
http://elementaryos.org/journal/what...indow-controls

[Copper Bezel]

Ugh you are basically suggesting it be more like gnome sell.

Nuh-nuh. The close button would be on the left. = )

Seriously, though, just the bits of Shell that make sense. I didn't recommend a gigantic hidden notification tray storing gigantic status icons that can't actually display app status. I am using the exposé hotcorner, which is pretty Shelly, but I just don't like taskbars or docks for window switching. I suppose that if I turned off the hotcorners, I would eventually get used to ... using keyboard shortcuts and continuing to ignore the launcher.

But it's pretty!

I really think Gnome's arguments about the window controls were good ones. Three itty-bitty buttons crammed together are terrible on a tablet, but they're also not great on the desktop, and I'm not any more inclined to use them with a mouse than I am with a trackpad, either. And those "average Windows users" would still have to get used to the buttons being on the "wrong" side.

I agree that discoverability and making a smooth transition is important, which is why I think you're right about the hidden menubar. I also think minimizing is actually a bit of a nonsense feature, like desktop icons.

The workspace switcher window spread bit I mentioned is a KDE thing, not a Shell thing. Shell only shows the contents of one workspace at a time. And the per-app exposé is unique to Unity (and DockBarX, of course.) The idea of having the Launcher reflect only the current workspace is expressly not the behavior in Shell, and I really sort of miss it from (my last configuration of) DockBarX.

Also, I want per-user Unity configs. We can customize Unity's appearances and lenses by modifying /usr/share/unity, but the changes are applied system wide. Something like ~/.unity would be nice.

Yes please. I think that's really an essential feature that's been left out. There was a mockup for a lens configuration screen, though, which is the main bit needed.