[4756] in testers
9.0.6: Windowmanager-related issues
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Christopher D. Beland)
Tue Jun 12 07:26:26 2001
Message-Id: <200106121126.HAA06782@space-invaders.mit.edu>
To: testers@MIT.EDU
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 07:26:10 -0400
From: "Christopher D. Beland" <beland@MIT.EDU>
Unless otherwise noted, tested with a clean (from /usr/prototype_user)
set of dotfiles in the gu account.
First, I came across some usability problems which are probably easy
to fix but will have a significant impact on the user experience, I
think.
---gyruss Solaris 9.0.6---
* I think I can come up with a much more user-friendly configuration
for zwgc windows. You should be able to put them on top of other
windows even though they never get focus. (This is how I have my
login set up now, actually.)
* Whatever property that causes windows to be constantly
raised-when-focus shouldn't be set. Right now, you can't lower windows
that have focus -- they just bounce back up. This is horribly
inconsistent with just about every other GUI on the planet, not to
mention annoying. You also can't transcribe text into a window that's
underneath a smaller window that you're trying to read, which is also
quite annoying (and soooo easily fixed).
Having fixed that problem for myself, though, I currently have the
following problem:
1. Focus window A.
2. Lower a window A behind window B
3. Start a new program from the panel resulting in window C.
4. Close window C.
5. Window A spontaneously pops up on top of B again.
My ~/.sawfish.custom is in my Public for reference, though I have the
feeling I could probably solve this myself with a little hunting
around the lisp code.
* Double-clicking on the title bar does nothing. Windows users would
expect it to maximize the window. (Mac users would be disappointed by
the lack of windowshade support in the default, anyway.)
Then, there were a few less notable things I discovered:
---dig-dug Linux 9.0.6 ---
- Sawfish is leaving behind directories of the form
/tmp/sawfish-$USER/ (probably on other platforms). I don't know if
this is bad or even beneficial, but I like programs that clean up
after themselves. 8)
--- space-invaders IRIX 9.0.6 ---
- Below-line characters, like lowercase g and y, appear slightly
truncated in window titles under IRIX, but not Linux.
- twm, mwm, and fvwm no longer spew lots of console messages.
However, they have the problem of putting extra entires in the
tasklist when the panel is being used. (tested as beland) (Personally,
I don't think we should even bother supporting alternative wm's, since
sawfish is so configurable, but it's nice to know that the user
experience with them is quite tolerable.)
