Bug 358102 - New method to re-size and move widgets is not intuitive, as is discovering the configuration option.
Summary: New method to re-size and move widgets is not intuitive, as is discovering th...
Status: RESOLVED FIXED
Alias: None
Product: plasmashell
Classification: Plasma
Component: Desktop Containment (show other bugs)
Version: 5.5.3
Platform: unspecified Linux
: NOR minor
Target Milestone: 1.0
Assignee: Eike Hein
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2016-01-17 00:11 UTC by Clay Weber
Modified: 2016-03-05 03:48 UTC (History)
6 users (show)

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Description Clay Weber 2016-01-17 00:11:26 UTC
In Plasma 5.5 the method of moving and re-sizing widgets has changed, and the new way is not readily visible. While moving widgets via a click-and-drag  is obvious, it is not consistent between different widgets.



Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Add a Folder View Widget and an Analog Clock widget to your desktop.
2.Try to move the Folder View widget.
3.Upon not seeing the previous version's handles appear, try dragging it from the edges.
4. Try  moving the round Analog Clock using the same method. 
5. Try to determine how to resize either one by left-clicking, right-clicking

Actual Results:  
The Folder View is movable by clicking and dragging from an edge. Note that the previous version's handle does not show here 

The Clock has no square edge to grab so this does not work.

For re-sizing, one either has to get lucky and left-click long enough for the handle to appear, or search for a solution.

Expected Results:  
Some sort of visual or other form of feedback directing or guiding users to click-and-hold. 

The location of the option to turn this feature off and on is also likely not intuitive but as this is a test a proper location seems hard to define anyway.
Comment 1 Martin Klapetek 2016-01-27 02:16:52 UTC
Thanks for the report

All applets should have the handle pop up on left-mouse button long-press.

Can you verify that is not the case?
Comment 2 Eike Hein 2016-01-27 12:45:46 UTC
DND'ing of FV widgets being broken was a bug that was fixed recently.
Comment 3 Clay Weber 2016-01-28 01:37:52 UTC
(In reply to Martin Klapetek from comment #1)
> Thanks for the report
> 
> All applets should have the handle pop up on left-mouse button long-press.
> 
> Can you verify that is not the case?

Yes, long press with left mouse does work, but it may not be obvious to do so.
Updating to Plasma 5.5.4 seems to help here, as click-and-drag works easier, much more like doing so from  within Dolphin. I can move most widgets by this, without the log press. The handle does not pop up, though (As it is not necessary in this case, I imagine).

However, the round analog clock  has no flat edge to grab, and unless you know that you have to long-press, it is not obvious how to reposition it.
Comment 4 Martin Klapetek 2016-02-05 15:14:13 UTC
I believe there's a notification telling you about this after login
for the first time.

Perhaps that is not enough though.
Comment 5 Clay Weber 2016-02-05 16:12:45 UTC
(In reply to Martin Klapetek from comment #4)
> I believe there's a notification telling you about this after login
> for the first time.
> 
> Perhaps that is not enough though.

There may have been, but I do not recall seeing one.
Comment 6 Martin Klapetek 2016-02-05 16:39:23 UTC
Maybe it should be a sticky note instead. The user would
have to delete it and it would at least teach him how it
works while trying to delete that applet.
Comment 7 Eike Hein 2016-02-06 04:35:36 UTC
The notification is actually shown every time widgets are unlocked FWIW (unless the user clicks "Got It").
Comment 8 Clay Weber 2016-02-29 11:37:24 UTC
(In reply to Eike Hein from comment #7)
> The notification is actually shown every time widgets are unlocked FWIW
> (unless the user clicks "Got It").

Users who don't ever lock their widgets would not see this ;)
Comment 9 rdnetto 2016-03-05 03:48:38 UTC
I'll second this as being a significant usability bug. I never saw the notification on first login (probably because I upgraded from Plasma 4), and do not normally lock my widgets (I suspect most users don't). I actually thought it was just a bug in Plasma 5 until I Googled it.

Additionally, even when you do know about it, it's fairly slow - you have to wait a second before being able to resize a widget. This can cause a lot of friction when resizing multiple widgets.

Possible fixes:
* restore the Plasma 4 behaviour of displaying the handle on mouse over
* allow widgets to be resized by dragging their edges. This would be consistent with the pattern used for resizing widgets.
* have the handle appear on right-click. This would be convenient, as users typically right-click to bring up the context menu when they wish to resize, etc. the widget and do not see the option to do so.
* Add resize and rotate options to the context menu.

Workarounds:
Go to Desktop Settings -> Tweaks, and uncheck 'Press and hold widgets to ... reveal their handles'.
This restores the Plasma 4 behaviour. (In my opinion, this should be the default.)