On Thu, 2007-08-30 at 21:00 +1000, Mark Thiele wrote: > > There is nothing wrong in not being everything to everyone. > > True, but you don't have to be a power user to want to have access > multiple files in multiple directories all at once.
You can do that fine already. Just use multiple windows. > > There is a cost that all users have to bear when you add complex > > features to the UI, so for each feature its a tradeoff you have to make > > between how it affects the majority of users and how much it gains the > > people who use the feature. > > > I would suggest that most users would not be calling for tabs, as they > have not had the opportunity to use them before in a file browser. There > is nothing to stop it being a preference option. I would also suggest > that it may become quite popular if it were offered in an obvious way. A > quick search of the web will discover many calls for tabs in nautilus. Web searches are not a good way do decide user interface questions. Only the vocal are visible in such a search. They may easily be a minority, plus you don't see the people who already like the current behaviour. > > Of course, nobody has done the work of actually implementing tabs and > > designing the user interaction model. So perhaps its possible to do it > > such that it doesn't affect the non-tab-user much and doesn't cause too > > much strain on the rest of the codebase. If that is the case, and the > > patch is clean it might be accepted. But I am not gonna spend time on it > > personally. > > > I'd have a look at it, within the time I have available, but do not know > where to start. Any pointers? Not really. Start with reading the stuff in the docs dir in the source tree. Its slightly outdated, but a good start. > > For nautils it would be different, as much of the widgetry around the > > view is context-dependant on what is in the view, so there is a much > > more complicated interaction model. For instance, the menus, toolbars, > > uri bars etc would change as you switch views. Not impossible to code, > > but it surely makes the UI model more complex. Not to mention how it > > totally breaks the spatial model (although one could support tabs just > > in browse mode). > > > I never knew there was anything other than browse mode until yesterday! > Isn't it default? The default is spatial with a browser launching icon in the menu (and its availible in all directory context menus). However, ubunty changes this to always use browser mode. > If you do have a large number of text based files open however, won't > you want a file browser with the ability to stand alongside? I've put > pcmanfm launchers on my desktop for this purpose, but still feel that I > shouldn't have to go to the bother. In general you don't have as many directories as you have files though. > > Still, tabs in gedit bug me because > > opening a new file not giving me a new window just seems weird and > > unexpected. As a causual gedit user I would prefer it to not use tabs, > > as I've seen only pain from it and no gain. > > > I absolutely love the tab feature in gedit, so I guess personal taste > comes into it. I'd put it down as all gain and no pain. Personally I > hate sorting through multiple windows, so the fewer windows I have open, > the happier I am. So, why are you not running a tabbed window manager? Then you'd only have tabs? > If you want a gedit file in a separate window, just drag-and-drop the > tab onto the desktop and it will open a new window. If you want to take > a file from one window to another, just drag-and-drop the tab. I've > found it's so well implemented that anyone who uses computers regularly > should be able to use it fairly intuitively without exhausting it's > capabilities. I'm sure there are all sorts of tricks it does. The problem for me, is that if I have a gedit window open, then i click on a file, and no new window appears. In fact, the old gedit window is not even moved to front. This is not what I expect. I clicked on the file, I want to see it. I realise that for a heavy gedit user this is a good behaviour, but I'm just confused by it. The problem here is that the things you describe that you can do with tabs I have no idea about, you have to be an active gedit user to know them and to use them. If you're not, you just get confusing behaviour. -- nautilus-list mailing list [email protected] http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/nautilus-list
