I've been running F15 in "Classic gnome with compiz" mode and Avant Window Manager as a replacement for the classic gnome panel. I gave gnome shell a few days, but never felt comfortable with it. When I installed F16 alpha to an external USB HDD, I promised myself I'd try to learn to like gnome shell. After a lot of use and thought, I decided that with a few tweaks, I'd actually love it. The problem is, I've never written a line of java code. Over the years, I've been proficient in a number of languages, ranging from PDP-11 assembler to C++. But, after studying the shell .js files, I still feel lost.
I hope someone with some knowledge of java and the inner workings of gnome-shell can tell me how hard it would be to make the following changes.
1. Move the "Windows" and "Applications" buttons from the Windows View to the panel. They would replace the current "Activities" button. They'd also be removed from the Windows View.
2. Move the Category list to the
left side of the Activities View.
3. Add a Favourites category to the
top of the Category list.
4. Move the All category to the
bottom of the list.
There is one more step, but it's already possible. Remove the default icons from the favourites/task bar on the Windows View, making it into a pure task bar. Now, the Windows View is used for switching windows and/or work spaces. The Applications View is used for starting applications. And the first category you hit. Favourites, is the one you built and maintain, not the overwhelming and system maintained All category.
To me at least, the new work flow is much more coherent and efficient. When you bump the hot corner or click the Windows button, you have all the current access to windows and work spaces. And if you happen to have 5 terminals open and don't recognize the one you want, you can right click the terminal icon in the task bar to get a drop down list. For people who use a lot of workspaces, it would be nice to swap sides between the task bar and the window switcher. Since it's now a pure task bar, it would be used it a lot less frequently than the window switcher.
When you click the Applications button, you almost have a drop down menu list of categories, with the most frequently used category, Favourites, at the top and open. The least frequently used one, All, is at the bottom. And it's only one click away from the normal desktop, not a bump-or-click, move, click, move to the right side of the screen, pick some category more searchable than All, and click.
Thanks for any input,
dd_wizard
---------- Post added at 02:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:25 PM ----------
I'm thinking that since this truly is a serious programming question, it may belong in Software. If any Admins agree with me, feel free to move it.
dd_wizard
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