Launcher 'dodge' taken out of Precise

[Chris Robinson]

Just a heads-up on something we need to be aware of for Precise.  Those that aren't Alpha testing may not yet know that the launcher dodge feature has been removed.  Mark Shuttleworth's reply to a query on why this was done is here: https://lists.launchpad.net/unity-design/msg07665.html

The default behaviour is now to never hide, however the "always hide" setting can be found in System Settings --> Appearance --> Behavior.

Windowed applications now position to avoid the launcher initially, however full screen apps are overlayed by the launcher.  I think most new users will change the behaviour to "always hide" as soon as they find out how to do it because of this.

I can't fault the logic, but it feels broken now that I've finally gotten used to the dodging launcher. 

The method to reveal the launcher is not to 'push' against the left edge.  There's a setting for the sensitivity of this however it doesn't appear to actually change anything on my machine.  Setting the sensitivity to max does not appear to make the Launcher appear any easier.  No doubt this is still being worked on.

Chris

[Vadim Peretokin]

I'm certain someone will make a PPA with the patched unity and the dodge code back in. While I can understand their reasoning, and can't blame them for experimenting and improving (Windows is doing the same thing, if you think about it - look at the feedback on the upcoming Metro interface & how many people dislike the Ribbon) - it's somewhat unfortunate that the default behavior suddenly got changed with no easy way of going back..

[Stephen Rees-Carter]

I'm pretty annoyed at this personally. I love the 'dodge' feature of
the launcher, I didn't find it confusing, it made sense that you'd
always see it if the window wasn't full-screened. But I guess I've
been using it for a couple of releases now, so I am used to it's
functionality.

It's pretty stupid that the option is still a Toggle: On or Off.
It'd be nice if they provided the three* options as a drop down in the
Appearance settings, as there are many people like myself who prefer
the dodge behaviour. It's just forcing people to use CCSM or other
configuration tools - I personally use MyUnity which works really well
and is a lot safer than CCSM.

* There is a fourth option: the launcher is only hidden when the
full-screen application is focused, so it'll appear above the
full-screen app when a windowed app is focused. Not sure how popular
this one is, but it would be worth including too... maybe.

I'm also having issues with the sensitivity of the launcher - I keep
resorting to pressing 'Super' to open it :)

Thanks,
~Stephen

> --
> ubuntu-au mailing list
> ubun...@lists.ubuntu.com
> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-au
>

--
Stephen Rees-Carter ~ Valorin
http://stephen.rees-carter.net/

--
ubuntu-au mailing list
ubun...@lists.ubuntu.com
https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-au

[Stephen Rees-Carter]

I just read this in the email you linked to:

-----
> P.S. For those with a technical bent, CCSM can be used to restore the old 'dodge windows' behaviour for now.

That codepath will disappear, we'd prefer to keep the code lean. In
this case we've experimented, learned, and concluded a better approach
is available, there's no argument for maintaining code we don't expose
to users further.
-----

ARGH! This is very annoying. So much for the "Unity will be fully
customizable...". I bet there are developers who want this
functionality who would be happy to maintain it... *sighs*

~Stephen

[Joel Pickett]

I, too, have settled in with the dodge feature - it just makes sense. Hopefully they can incorporate the feature as an option in the MyUnity application, rather than having to manually install a PPA for such a small change.

Joel Pickett

[Chris Robinson]

---

From: Stephen Rees-Carter <ste...@rees-carter.net>
To: Chris Robinson <fabri...@yahoo.com>
Cc: Ubuntu AU List <ubun...@lists.ubuntu.com>
Sent: Saturday, 11 February 2012 12:01 PM
Subject: Re: Launcher 'dodge' taken out of Precise

I'm also having issues with the sensitivity of the launcher - I keep
resorting to pressing 'Super' to open it :)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I also played around with using the super key to get the launcher to appear but didn't find it an ideal solution since I just want the launcher not the whole dash.  Rather than just hope that the issue is fixed, I went searching for any bug reports on this.  I didn't find anything, and couldn't find any references to it in the release notes either.  To this end, I've added a bug report in launchpad:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-control-center/+bug/930555

Anyone who is having trouble or finds the delay in the launcher reveal annoying please add your comments.


Thanks,


Chris