Updated HTML version of the Appendix. Waldo Bastian Linux Client Architect - Client Linux Foundation Technology Channel Platform Solutions Group Intel Corporation - http://www.intel.com/opensource OSDL DTL Tech Board Chairman
>-----Original Message----- >From: Bastian, Waldo >Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 6:30 PM >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: PATCH: Menu Spec - Categories > >The menu spec currently makes some weak recommendations with regard to how >categories are to be used. The reality however is that for an application >to show up in the application menu it must either define its own submenu or >use a category out of a small defined set. The menu spec doesn't make clear >what that set is although it does provide some hints in the right >direction. What is also missing is a requirement that desktop environments >must continue to support this core set of categories. Failure to do so >would result in applications no longer showing up in the menu which clearly >can't be the intention. > >The above situation is compounded by the fact that Gnome based >implementations only place "Unallocated" entries in its menu if these >entries list the "Application" category. The menu spec does not mention >"Application" as category. We can either ignore this and effectively >killing the "OnlyUnallocated" fallback, or add to the spec that all desktop >files should include "Application" as category. > >Based on an evaluation of recent versions of Debian, Mandriva, Redhat, >Suse, Ubuntu and Kubuntu including any single of the following categories >will make an application show up in the menu: > >AudioVideo >Audio (implies AudioVideo) >Video (implies AudioVideo) >Game >Office >System >Development >Education >Graphics >Network >Utility > >I suspect that the 'Settings' category is also widely supported, on Gnome >(At least under Redhat) items marked with a 'Settings' category will show >up in a separate 'System/Preferences' menu and weren't reported by gnome- >menu-spec-test but as long as they indeed do show up somewhere that >shouldn't be a problem. > >In most cases Appendix A of the menu spec already lists one of the above >categories as a "Related Category", however, it doesn't do this for the >following categories, suggesting that these categories could be used as a >category on its own. That's not the case though, when these categories are >used on their own an application will not consistently show up in the >application menu: > >News >Amusement >Applet >Archiving >Electronics >Emulator >Engineering >FileManager >Shell >ScreenSaver >TerminalEmulator >TrayIcon > >I have made a patch for the Appendix A of the menu spec that clarifies what >desktop entries can expect in terms of supported categories and what >desktop environments must support. I will also attach a HTML version of the >new Appendix for your convenience in a followup mail. > >Waldo Bastian >Linux Client Architect - Client Linux Foundation Technology >Channel Platform Solutions Group >Intel Corporation - http://www.intel.com/opensource >OSDL DTL Tech Board ChairmanTitle: 1. Registered Categories
This section contains a number of well known categories and suggestions on how to use them. The list of Main Categories consist of those categories that every conforming desktop environment MUST support. By including one of these categories in an application's desktop entry file the application will be ensured that it will show up in a section of the application menu dedicated to this category. The list of Additional Categories provides categories that can be used to provide more fine grained information about the application. Additional Categories should always be used in combination with one of the Main Categories. The table below lists all Main Categories. Note that category names are case-sensitive.
The table below describes Additional Categories. The Related Categories column lists one or more categories that are suggested to be used in conjunction with the Additional Category. Note that at least one Main Category must be included in the desktop entry's list of categories. If multiple Main Categories are included in a single desktop entry file, the entry may appear more than once in the menu. If the Related Categories column is blank, the Additional Category can be used with any Main Category.
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