[openbeos] Re: inconsistency?

  • From: Adi Oanca <e2joseph@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: openbeos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 21:57:50 +0300

Axel Dörfler wrote: 

Adi Oanca <adioanca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"Display a note"? Where? And where is the relation between that note and the position of current window? 

W is the window you're working with.
W' is the window that wants to popup.
N is a window that says "W' wants your attention!"

When W' displays a window and W is focused, N positions itself right next to W, preferedly to the left side, somewhere as "high up" as possible..

While the idea seems good (I see it like Kopete signals new people contacting me), I don't like it very much. It's quite the same with my 2nd option. If there is some free space near the focus window, the new window will be shown there. Why show another bubble-type window?


Although I am not really a friend of the bubble windows in Windows, I think they have at least one advantage over your 2nd suggestion: it doesn't change the window position.

That's not really an advantage. We all know BeOS has a poor layout system. If you have 2 instances of a window you won't see the first one unless you move the second. To avoid this, applications need to calculate a proper position based on god knows what algorithm which take into account previous spawned windows.
Personally I don't like the absolute window placing system, an app can't know where it's best to lay out its windows. I Like very much the cascade placing system followed by best fit and edge ones.
If you remember we talked on IK list about a layout system and said it will definitely be a part of R2 if not R1.

It also makes sure that the user can grasp the whole title and origin of that window.

Part of the title will be available in my 2nd suggestion. Also a part of thew new window will there. Think it's better than just a title. You know, the smallest graphical representation it's better than a text.
And where would the new window be durring this time?

It could go away after a while, and it could also have a button that moves W' to the foreground.
Combine that with the transparency effect of yours and a hot key that the user can press during that fade out time (and afterwards as long as the bubble is open) to bring that window to front.

Do not agree with that. User is busy with something. We have notified him, let him finish its work.
When he's done, surely will pay some attention to the new window, especially since it's placed immediately after the current one *and* partially visible.


If you don't need to click the bubbles away, I think they are a good way of informative but unobtrusive way of getting information to the user. If there was such a popup, I think it would be nice to have a tray icon for all past events the user didn't acknowledge.

This is not critical information, so IMHO, the tray icon is not needed. It's not a disaster if user passed a window creation event.

Also, what happens when the focus window is maximized...?

The bubble could always be ontop, always at the same position. Of course, only if that very position is not the hot spot of current user input (ie. the view having focus is covered).

Now, this may be a good case for a bubble but I still don't like it.
A solution which was suggested by a colleague at work:
The Deskbar entry(application) for that window flashes. But the Deskbar is not visible you'd say. That's not a problem, bring the Deskbar in front(without focus) for 3 seconds, then send it at its previous place. We can even make the Deskbar 50/40% transparent.
I thought this is good idea, what do you think?



Thanks,
Adi.

Other related posts:

  1. Home
  2. haiku
  3. Archive
  4. 09-2004