On Thu,
2010-09-23 at 12:19 -0500, Timothy Pearson wrote:
> > Timothy Pearson wrote:
> >>> Also on the Squeeze install all the icons on the desktop belong
to
> root?
> >>> Including trash and my documents, a strange "konqueror web
browser"
> icon
> >>> is on the desktop belonging to root and I can not put it in the
> trash or
> >>> delete it, this is definitely not a "point-n-click" system.
> >>>
> >>
> >> I was not sure if those icons should be included by default on
> Debian;
> they can be removed easily enough through the use of Configure
> >> Desktop->Behavior->Device Icons. Simply deselect the icons you
don't
> want
> >> to see and they will magically disappear. This feature is similar
to
> the
> >> old Microsoft system icons system; you cannot delete as you would
> other
> icons because they are part of the desktop itself.
> >>
> >
> >
> > On my laptops Lenny install I have icons, webcam, documents, home,
> system and trash, all those icons belong to "user: jimmy", "group:
> users", this has nothing to do with device icons, the Trinity Squeeze
> system says all the icons belong to root and that is the problem.
> >
> > Even your Trinity on Ubuntu says the icons on the desktop belong to
me
> "user: jimmy, group: jimmy" I can
add and remove what I want.
>
> You can remove those icons from within the "Device Icons" page. The
> reasoning behind making them root owned (and therefore impossible to
> delete from the desktop through "normal" means) is as follows:
> OLD WAY: User A decides to remove an icon from the desktop. He or
she
> deletes said icon through the delete key and
empties the trash bin.
User
> A
> later on decides that he or she wants the icon back. Since it has
been
> deleted, the only obvious way to get it back
is to create a new
profile
> from scratch (most people don't know
about /etc/skel). This is not
> exactly user-friendly!
>
> OLD WAY: Developer A notices that one of the icons is broken on some
> systems, so he decides to change the .desktop file responsible for
the
> icon. However, there is no way to propagate
the change to existing
user
> profiles, as /etc/skel is only copied on
first login. Therefore, the
> developer has to instruct people to recreate their profiles, or copy
a
> file from /etc/skel and change permissions on
it. This is not user
or
> developer friendly, and acts to make Trinity
less accessible to the
> average user.
>
> NEW WAY: User B deactivates the icon through "Device Icons". When
User
> B
> wants the icon back, it is available in "Device Icons" and can be
> reenabled with a few mouse clicks.
>
> Developer B propagates a .desktop file changes to the system
directory
> where the icons are stored. All users
receive the updated icon
.desktop
> file transparently.
>
> What I can do is to change the default under Debian to not show the
> icons
> by default, however I would like some input from the other Debian
users
on
this list as well. Thoughts?
Tim
I think the technology is sound but the user experience is probably
non-intuitive. I thought about capturing the delete and turning it
into
a disable but that would leave the user ignorant
of how to restore it.
I wonder if there should be a context menu item for "Configure Desktop
Icons" which would point to Device Icons. I also assume it is all
configurable via rc files in Kiosk mode.
Yes.
Perhaps the menu item should be
"Enable/Disable Desktop Icons" or we
may
simply make it pertain to the specific icon and
have a "Hide This
Icon"
context menu item. That would still leave users
ignorant of how to
restore it but would probably be the most intuitive. Just my two
cents
The best way to handle this might be to trap the delete, and pop up a
message box with a quick description of how to restore the icon.
However,
I'm not sure that such a change can be made for 3.5.12 due to the
freeze.
Thoughts on this method?
Tim
That sounds reasonably intuitive. The primary end user behavior (press
or click delete) is preserved - John