Show administration and preference menu

Registered by martincasc

Well, I guess this is not a bug, so I've decided to post here, if is not right, take it as a bug.

When we want to find some applications that are on Administration or Preferences menu from System, there is not a Category. We have to make a search for find them and see the System (example) category.

It could be great have both categories for make easier the search.

Blueprint information

Status:
Complete
Approver:
None
Priority:
Undefined
Drafter:
None
Direction:
Needs approval
Assignee:
None
Definition:
Approved
Series goal:
None
Implementation:
Implemented
Milestone target:
None
Started by
Thiago Teixeira
Completed by
Thiago Teixeira

Whiteboard

[tvst 2010-06-10]

Thanks for posting this blueprint. Yes, it has always bugged me too that the Preferences and Administration menus don't show in Cardapio. But there's a reason why I made it that way: space.

I feel like simply making those menus visible would lead to two problems:
Issue 1) it would overpopulate the category listing (under the View title)
Issue 2) it would overpopulate the application listing (on the right side of Cardapio)

So, in the absence of a better solution, I did the following:
1) added the Gnome Control Center to the bottom-left list of apps (in case you would like to *browse* the Preferences and Administration menus)
2) made the System and Settings menus searchable within Cardapio

But I recognize that this is not an ideal solution.

So what I would like to do in this blueprint is to discuss other ways to solve Issue 1 and Issue 2. As usual, mockups are welcome :)

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[inquata 2010-06-13]
What about replacing the current Control Center link with two links to Preferences and Administration. Clicking either one of them will make the contents of the respective category show up.

The items themselves only show up that way and via search to not overpopulate the initial content area (much like now). Additionally, Preferences and Administration will be much more findable and integrated.

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[anubeon 2010-06-15]
How about a milti-way toggle button (a'la the view-mode button in nautilus-elementary) that toggles the filter list between applications, places(?) and system. The system filter list could then be (better) organised into categories as it is in the control centre rather then the rather artificial (and messy) division into 'preferences' and 'administration'. You could also assign a shortcut key to each filter list (<CTRL>A for 'applications' and <CTRL>S for 'system') and/or toggle between application/system filter-list by hovering over the appropriate icon.

I was planning to create a few mock-ups of my ideas for Cardapio over the weekend, though I got a little sidetracked. I'll try to include this idea in the mock-ups (when I get around to it) and post them hear and in the design discussion blueprint.

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[tvst 2010-06-16]

A mode-toggle button could be the solution we're looking for. Although, the way I see this implemented, it would mean that I'd have to remove the "side pane" area, to make space for the mode-toggling buttons.

(Note I'm actually OK with removing the side pane, since it duplicates the "pinned items" functionality. But I will have to hear from other users before I do this.)

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[inquata 2010-06-21]
To reply to your poll about side pane usage:
No, I don’t use the side pane since I regard it as a duplication of the pinned items feature. The left side is for filtering.
I would like to see a toggle button for »System«. The split into Preferences and Administration may make sense to advanced users but I agree that it’s rather arbitrary. On top of that, I don’t think that one is fiddling with system settings that often.

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[anubeon 2010-06-22]
It's not just that the division between preferences and administration is arbitrary, it's that the end-use (be he(r) an advanced user or a novice) would be much better served with more relevant categories (i.e. Network, User Interface, etc...) which is precisely what gnome-control-centre (as well as a number of similar projects such as the unofficial ubuntu-control-centre) achieved. Why such categorisations are not included within the systems menu itself by default is beyond me (such would do away with the need for a control centre all-together.

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[tvst 2010-06-22]

anubeon:
Those are my thoughts exactly. So the solution, as I see it, is that Cardapio will gain a mode-switch button (labeled "System") on the lower-left area where the "side pane" buttons currently reside. When toggled, the "System" button will show the Gnome Control Center categories in Cardapio instead of the Gnome menu categories.

This will facilitate mouse-based access to the system applications without cluttering the regular menu.

Searching will, then, work like the following:

1) If the "System" button is *not* toggled (regular mode), searching will work as it does now: it will search *everything*, including apps, plugins, and the system menus.

2) If the "System" button *is* toggled (system mode), then the search queries will only apply to the system items.

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[inquata 2010-06-23]
Ok, now I completely got it. This sounds great! :)

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[tvst 2010-07-30]

This is now implemented in the latest code in bzr. If all goes well, it will hit the PPA tonight.

PLUS: I didn't reduce the side pane after all :) I just added the mode-switching button below it. Let me know what you think.

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[tvst 2010-07-31]

One more thing. What about naming? Right now, the mode-toggling button is labeled "System", mimicking the Gnome name for those menus. But as it turns out that's not a very accurate name at all. Also, when in "system" mode there's already a category called "System".

How about just "Control Center"? Or does anyone have a better idea?

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[inquata 2010-07-31]
I thought about the duplicate System as well and would just rename the submenu to »Administration«. I don’t particularly like the term, but neither do I like the whole concept of configuring settings. ;) So it’s good to go with the current GNOME category naming.

»Control Center« sounds a bit over the top. When I hear that I imagine sitting in an airport tower. :) But then, so does »Administration«.

An alternative: Leaving everything and just renaming the main system toggle to »Settings«. »Preferences« or »Properties« are similar, but settings seems the best fit because it is the most common word (not particularly on computers, but in language).

(?)

Work Items

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