Bug 158275 - Panel shows 'Add Widgets' menu item when widgets are locked
Summary: Panel shows 'Add Widgets' menu item when widgets are locked
Status: RESOLVED FIXED
Alias: None
Product: plasma4
Classification: Unmaintained
Component: panel (show other bugs)
Version: unspecified
Platform: Compiled Sources Linux
: NOR normal
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Plasma Bugs List
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2008-02-23 16:38 UTC by Mike
Modified: 2008-06-27 21:50 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

See Also:
Latest Commit:
Version Fixed In:
Sentry Crash Report:


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Description Mike 2008-02-23 16:38:17 UTC
Version:            (using Devel)
Installed from:    Compiled sources
OS:                Linux

When the desktop is locked it is still possible to right click the panel and add widgets.  The add widget dialog appears and you can drag widgets to the panel but they do not appear.

P.S. This is not the same as #157932
Comment 1 Aaron J. Seigo 2008-02-23 19:03:02 UTC
SVN commit 778472 by aseigo:

respect immutability
BUG:158275


 M  +19 -10    panel.cpp  
 M  +2 -1      panel.h  


WebSVN link: http://websvn.kde.org/?view=rev&revision=778472
Comment 2 Arnout Boelens 2008-05-24 02:20:23 UTC
With the latest kde 4.0.74 debian packages this bug has showed up again.
Comment 3 Maciej Pilichowski 2008-06-12 14:54:22 UTC
Please reopen, still happens is 4.0.82.
Comment 4 William Lahti 2008-06-27 19:43:27 UTC
If you ask me this isn't a bug, but the reverse is. I searched for 20 minutes for a reason why the add widget menu items were gone before I came to file a bug and found this one. I never locked the widgets (as I remember) and all I wanted was a pager! If anything the Add Widgets item should be grayed out, *not* removed.
Comment 5 Maciej Pilichowski 2008-06-27 20:10:46 UTC
You mean disabled? Good point! Removing violates HIG.
Comment 6 Mike 2008-06-27 20:14:47 UTC
Just to add a voice to the status quo.

I think that removing the button is better than disabling it because users would just keep clicking the button with no way to know how to enable it.  If the button is missing then they would start randomly clicking the other 2 buttons.

Maybe the add widgets button could be there but it unlocks the desktop before opening the add widget dialog.  It would seem more natural to me.  I want to add widgets so why would I have to unlock first?
Comment 7 Maciej Pilichowski 2008-06-27 20:17:12 UTC
Here is the report about it
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=165134
and btw. this report is now really fixed, checked with current KDE4Daily.
Comment 8 Maciej Pilichowski 2008-06-27 20:23:40 UTC
Mike, short answer, I use Konqueror now.
Edit menu -> edit file type -> it is disabled.
And I don't see myself clicking on it, and I don't know how to enable it. But I know the feature is there.

Besides, the whole point of KDE is consistent UI, if every app starts to set its own "standards" this not good at all.

The enabled/disabled behaviour is well tested, it is accepted and there is no point to reinvent the wheel.

And for me if I don't see "add widgets" it is much more natural to search somewhere else, where I can find it, then to randomly clicking at menu believing, "add widgets" somehow will reveal itself.

This is especially true for plasma, because of behaviour introduced with remove panel control.
Comment 9 Mike 2008-06-27 20:36:45 UTC
I think that unskilled users use computers by memorising actions.  For example adding a widget would be click panel button -> click add widgets.

If anything along that path is different (for example if they accidentally locked the panel without realising it) then they will normally freak out and not be able to accomplish the task, or at least spend twice as long doing it.

At the moment the panel button disappears so to simply add a widget you have to find some 'panel space' and then right click and unlock, then back to step 1.  This is fairly hard if you do not have a right mouse button.

I think the panel button should stay because it requires the least brain power to accomplish the task of 'add a widget' assuming the user does not know if the desktop is locked or not.
Comment 10 Maciej Pilichowski 2008-06-27 21:13:10 UTC
Mike, wait, wait. Two issues:

a) what panel button -- the plasma liquid? This one should be off in some mode, because after setting all it is very rare that you change things, so there is no point to waste space for it
b) "add widget" availability -- there is a problem

Maybe if... the button was not treated as button, but as widget (plasmoid) itself! There are quite interesting advantages:
a) my report about problems with placement of widgets --> solved (because lock/unlock mode does not change a thing in layout)
b) better fullfiling HIG
c) maybe it could be nice inspiration how to solve the main cashew problem...?

So... user could have access to add widgets via RMB. If she/he does not like it, she/he uses this way only once and adds "liquid" plasmoid. This way, all those functions are available by simple clicking on it (LMB).
If liquid is added to the panel it could be placed as user fits, and it would be placed there always. In locked mode it would be semi-disabled, so the only action user could to would be to unlock widgets or change panel settings.

Uff, found out two other issues -- time to post another reports :-)
Comment 11 Sebastian Sauer 2008-06-27 21:35:39 UTC
*** Bug 165134 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 12 Maciej Pilichowski 2008-06-27 21:50:27 UTC
Sebastian, please either this report or the other one (:-) ) you closed as duplicate. This report is fixed indeed, the other one is not, but both are closed. Thank you.