[Panel-devel] Systray (was Re: Drag'n'drop everything)

[Georges A.K.]

On 8/16/05, Aaron J. Seigo <aseigo at kde.org> wrote:
> On Tuesday 16 August 2005 09:55, Georges A.K. wrote:
> > On 8/14/05, Vince Negri <vince at bulbous.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
> > > Georges A.K. wrote:
> > > 2) Objects in the systray are singular: that is to say, you don't want
> > > two icons that look the same in the systray, even it they relate to
> > > different instances of something. This is because
> > > identical icons need to be differentiated by hovering the mouse over
> > > them, and then you lose the at-a-glance-ness. Contrast with a taskbar,
> > > where you do have to potentially negotiate 12 identically-iconed
> > > document windows.
> >
> > But how can we enforce such a policy ? It seem to me that it's more
> > about educating the developpers than a plasma functionality.
> 
> yes, it is. but we can do things to make getting it wrong harder. like if we
> do the systray Right(tm) we'll get the default icon by name and if we already
> have that icon visible we may be able to merge the two entries or throw up a
> warning or ... something ;)
> 
> also, don't be surprised if we see "KDE application certification" with KDE4
> so that we can at least control and manage the apps that our in our SVN.
> given that most 3rd party apps simply mimic (often through cut 'n paste ;)
> what the hundred or three apps we ship do ... this is a good step forward.

I have to say that I don't hate this idea. We could develop a simple
x-point checklist and if the app passes everyone of them, it's
certified.

> 
> > > 3) Objects in the systray relate to something that is already "working"
> > > on the machine. So they can relate to hardware (which is obviously
> > > always "running") or a running program. Contrast with launcher buttons,
> > > which start something running that wasn't running before.
> >
> > It could also be a sleeping daemon, waiting for user input. Although
> > it is started, it's not technically running. If I look at my tray
> > right now, an example would be kscmp (for those who are not familiar
> > with SuSE, it's a utility that allows you to change working profiles,
> > for example wireless settings, printer settings...). Although it
> > doesn't raelly relate to hardware, nore does it alert me of anything,
> > it's still very useful to have.
> 
> yes, and this is the most controversial type of the bunch. should it be an
> applet? if we force it to be an applet, are we just relocating the problem?
> perhaps splitting the systray visually to denote the two kinds of icons
> (notification vs mini-interface) is the way to go...

We could split them and each group could have different default
behaviour. For example, the notification icons could be hidden at
first and would show only when there's activity. OTOH, the
mini-interface will always be present. Of course, the user has
ultimately the right to modify these behaviours (and on an icon by
icon basis too).

Georges.