On Mon, 2008-04-28 at 23:55 +0100, chombee wrote: > I originally filed this as a big report, which I thought was the right > thing to do, but it got rejected as not a bug: > https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/compiz/+bug/220227 > > Binary package hint: compiz > > The default Alt+Tab switcher ("Application Switcher") in Ubuntu/compiz > is badly designed from a usability point of view, and differs from the > alt-tab in metacity. Since the application switcher is a default feature > and fundamental feature of the desktop, I think this issue is important. >
+1 . i've disabled compiz primarily because of this issue. > In metacity: when you alt+tab, previews of all windows are shown at > once, if necessary organised into multiple rows and shrunk to fit them > all on screen. The window previews stay in a fixed position, and as you > press Tab the highlight moves from one to the next. Because the windows > stay still and the selection moves it is easy to spot the window you are > moving to and to judge how far you are from it, and know when you have > arrived at it. Also, you immediately understand how many windows there > are, can quickly see how many windows of a given application there are, > and can easily see when your selection has moved past the last window > and back to the first. Basically, it works very well and should be taken > as an example of the correct behaviour. > > In compiz: > > 1. A fixed maximum number of window previews appear on screen at once, > regardless of how many windows there are. This makes it impossible to > see how many windows you have open, or how many windows of a given app, > without cycling through them all and counting. And it means you don't > easily know when you have cycled back to the first window, you have to > recognise it when it comes around again. > > 2. The selection stays still, while the windows move. This makes it > difficult to find the window you want with your eyes, because they are > moving. It promotes a slow mode of use where you press tab, wait for the > next window preview to focus, look at it and decide what it is, then > either release alt or press tab again. (As opposed to just finding the > window you want with your eyes because they are all on screen, then > quickly pressing tab the right number of times to move the selection to > it.) > > In both aspects compiz should be changed to match metacity. > > Another problem with Alt-Tab in compiz is caused by the highlighting of > the selected window. If the user is quickly alt-tabbing back and forth > between two windows it causes the screen to flash disturbingly, > especially if one of the two windows is maximised. Alt-Tab has two use > cases: > > 1. The user is searching for a window to switch to. In this case the > window previews and window highlighting are useful. > > 2. The user knows which window is the previous one, and just wants to > switch to that by pressing Alt+Tab once, for example when switching > repeatedly between two windows by just pressing alt+tab quickly. In this > case the window previews and highlights serve no purpose. > > There should be a brief delay before drawing the window previews and > highlights. If alt is still held after half a second, say, they will be > drawn. This would allow very quick switching to the previous window > without the screen flashing. > just want to say i agree with this fundamentally. just a user talking here, though. matt > > > -- Matt Price [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Ubuntu-devel-discuss mailing list Ubuntu-devel-discuss@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel-discuss
