[KDE Usability] On the future of the menubar

[Dotan Cohen]

> Consistency is important, true. However having a 3 item menu bar,
> which has all the items present in it accessible via the toolbar is
> just a waste.
>

Where is Quit on the toolbar?
Why doesn't System Settings, arguably the most central KDE
application, not follow the HIG?


> And restoring the menu bar would likely not make it any more usable,
> and would likely result in bug reports from those users with limited
> vertical screens as more modules now have scrollbars, and System
> Settings "has become less usable".
>

Please check how many modules will gain a scrollbar if the icon bar is
replaced with a menu bar at your target resolution, and please argue
how those particular modules cannot have scrollbar in contrast to the
other modules which do in fact already have a scrollbar.


>> The question which I think needs to be considered is whether it should
>> be permissible for the MenuBar and a ToolBar to appear on the same line
>> the way the multiple ToolBars are.  If this were allowed, it should
>> resolve the problem since a MenuBar with only:
>>
>>        File
>>        Go
>>        Settings
>>        Help
>>
>> isn't going to take much space -- less than half of the screen width.
>
> This is completely non-standard with other platforms, and will likely
> introduce more issues....
>

That sounds a whole lot like: "Windows doesn't do it this way, so
neither should we". I do agree that consistency with other platforms
should be a consideration, but it should not prevent KDE from
improving. How many other platforms have desktops in which the user
cannot put icons of his files and most-used applications?


>> The text box on the HybridBar is labeled "Search".  Not sure if that is
>> best.  It isn't really 'search', but it isn't really 'find' either, more
>> like 'filter', but not exactly.  Theory suggests that a different term
>> should be used, or perhaps the label isn't needed.
>
> Most users are likely to be confused by the term "Filter". Originally
> it was a Search, but instead of showing only results, it now only
> disables those that don't match to help the user find the modules
> quicker in the future.
>

I do think that given the behaviour, it should be "filter". However, I
am not a native English speaker so maybe there is another meaning of
the word that I am not familiar with. What else could "filter" mean,
that would confuse users?

>>
>> --
>> James Tyrer
>>
>> Linux (mostly) From Scratch
>> _______________________________________________
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>> https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability
>>
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-- 
Dotan Cohen

http://bido.com
http://what-is-what.com

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