mintmenu: make the GUI smaller

Registered by Clement Lefebvre

The menu takes too much space. Find ways to improve the GUI and to make it smaller without harming usability and functionality.

Blueprint information

Status:
Not started
Approver:
None
Priority:
Undefined
Drafter:
None
Direction:
Needs approval
Assignee:
None
Definition:
Approved
Series goal:
None
Implementation:
Unknown
Milestone target:
None

Related branches

Sprints

Whiteboard

I was thinking about the menu and put together a quick mock-up of a smaller version. See the image at the link below:

http://i44.tinypic.com/2edzdhv.jpg

Icius

--> Thanks for doing this. I'm not sure it looks better though... because when you click on the All applications button you'll need to see all the categories, and they might not fit then... also, having the shutdown, lock screen buttons beside each others can be problematic. Depending on the language "Lock screen" for instance can be much longer than it is in English.

--> Would it be possible to have another panel open to the right of the All Applications button when clicked? That way the smaller size would be preserved unless full "All Applications" browsing was desired. I think it would also be nice to be able to see the Favorites while you are browsing the full application list so that you could easily check to see what you already have in favorites. I see what you mean about the buttons on the bottom, that may prove difficult to manage on a fixed width window like this.

--> Here is a quick mockup of the "All Applications" panel opening to the right. This would appear in response to the All Applications button or in response to searches in the Filter.

http://i41.tinypic.com/24l8xtj.jpg

--> I think it looks worse. I agree with the problem but the solution we've thought about so far aren't good in my opinion. I see the Open Suse SLAB menu looks prettier and more organized, but that's at the cost of its usability... they're using some sort of tab folders at the top, whereas instead of seeing system, places and apps, you see only one section.. and you can switch to another section using a mouse click. I'll try to reduce the title bars and maybe get rid of the sidebar while keeping the same layout we have at the moment.

I think a mix of the current Ubuntu menu and the mint menu could be best, with an Applications button which will only show the applications part, a places/system section, then a recent documents. ~Dan

(?)

Work Items

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