Bug 303729

Summary:	Display an action"menu" on single left click on a contact in the Plasmoid
Product:	[Unmaintained] telepathy	Reporter:	Thomas Pfeiffer <thomas.pfeiffer>
Component:	contactlist-applet	Assignee:	Telepathy Bugs <kde-telepathy-bugs>
Status:	RESOLVED UNMAINTAINED
Severity:	wishlist	CC:	kde, mklapetek
Priority:	NOR
Version:	0.4.0
Target Milestone:	Future
Platform:	Chakra
OS:	Linux
Latest Commit:		Version Fixed In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description Thomas Pfeiffer 2012-07-18 09:20:04 UTC

Here is the situation:
- Currently, the contact list Plasmoid uses double-click as the only means to start a chat. This is a no-go, as double-click may only be used as a shortcut, never as the primary or only means to execute an action.
- Starting a chat on single click causes - according to your experience - too many accidentally opened chats.
- You need a flexible UI for the contact list Plasmoid that may incorporate actions other than starting a chat

In order to solve all three problems, I suggest you do this:
On single click on a contact in the Plasmoid, display a set of buttons for the available actions (unless other actions are available, it's okay to have only one button in there) directly below the cursor (similar to a context menu, but it should ideally be using the Plasma look and feel). This way you prevent accidentally starting a chat but still keep the action discoverable.

This diverges from the behavior of the contact list application (which uses buttons displayed on hover), but this is intentional. The reason for that is that an application and a Plasmoid are not the same. Plasmoids should be as compact as possible since they occupy space on the desktop permanently. Therefore reserving space for buttons on a plasmoid is not a good idea. Showing the buttons on click reduces the space needed.
Using a right-click context menu as the only means for executing a primary action on a contact (such as starting a chat or a call) is not an option either, since the presence of a right mouse button cannot be guaranteed (again, right click context menus are only shortcuts)

Inconsistencies between the contact list application and Plasmoid should not be a problem, since I expect most users to use either the app or the Plasmoid, as they are basically two different UIs for the same purpose. Therefore each can use the interaction method that fits its context best.

Reproducible: Always

This feature would also solve the problem in bug 303699

If my verbal description is unclear, I can provide a mockup.

This is part of my design ideas for the contact list Plasmoid as promised during Akademy.

Comment 1 Martin Klapetek 2012-07-18 09:29:52 UTC

Thanks for that!

I think it could work like the Device notifier - you select the device and a submenu slides out providing you with actions. It's also touch friendly(-er). Would something like that work?

Comment 2 Thomas Pfeiffer 2012-07-18 09:39:19 UTC

Yes, I think that could work.
The only thing is that the sliding animation in the device notifier is rather slow, which is okay there but might get annoying in the contact list. Could the animation be faster in this case?

Comment 3 Martin Klapetek 2012-07-18 10:31:59 UTC

Personally I find it fast enough, but of course we can always adjust the speed if needed.

Comment 4 Thomas Pfeiffer 2012-07-19 14:52:03 UTC

(In reply to comment #3)
> Personally I find it fast enough, but of course we can always adjust the
> speed if needed.

Actually you're right (it seemed slower in my memories than it actually is). I think this should work pretty well!

Comment 5 David Edmundson 2012-07-19 14:56:52 UTC

Sounds like we have a plan, upgrading to "New"

Comment 6 Christoph Cullmann 2024-09-18 18:14:21 UTC

Dear user, unfortunately Telepathy is no longer maintained.

Please migrate to another solution, e.g. for Jabber a possibility is Kaidan, for Matrix a candidate is NeoChat.