- This topic has 203 replies, 24 voices, and was last updated Jul 7-11:37 am by Anonymous.
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christophe
I also like seeing everything in the menu, and I think splitting them somehow is the way to go.
(Non-related: Have you ever thought about adding compton & compton-conf included but not enabled by default?)
Additional non-related issue: The missing “icewm desktops shortcuts” have come back (gone missing) after yesterday’s upgrade.
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confirmed antiX frugaler, since 2019
BobC
Yes, there are too many on the menu, but that doesn’t mean the options are bad to have.
Just blurting out a thought… Why not divide the options between submenus?
I was thinking Hardware and Software, but that doesn’t work. Suggestions?
Idea #2 call it Tools and have the accessory tools that any user can run on it, and have a system tools submenu option on it with root access required tools on that
- This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by BobC. Reason: my original thought won't work, but maybe the general idea will
Anonymous
Applications } System Tools } dfh
^——- no-opredundant menu entries:
Help } antiX } antiX FAQ
Applications } SystemTools } antiX Help (sic)Toplevel: App Killer
Applications } Accessories } App KillerApplications } Accessories } Other Desktops
Desktop } Othree DesktopsApplications } Accessories } Rox Panel Toggle
Desktop } Rox Panel ToggleToplevel: Run
Applications } SystemTools } RunToplevel: ControlCentre
Applications } SystemTools } ControlCentre
Xecure
I don’t think this needs changing right now.
Yes, there are too many on the menu, but that doesn’t mean the options are bad to have.
I am of the same opinion, having different ways to reach the same application isn’t bad. Some won’t even use the menu, and directly use dmenu, comand line or hotkeys.
Just blurting out a thought… Why not divide the options between submenus?
I was thinking Hardware and Software, but that doesn’t work. Suggestions?
Idea #2 call it Tools and have the accessory tools that any user can run on it, and have a system tools submenu option on it with root access required tools on that
I think we shouldn’t obsess with this. Inserting new menu options has the disadvantage of having to translate them. If someone wants to create their own submenu for themselves, then go ahead. Most will just hit Control Center to find the option, instead of searching for it in the menu.
Just my low value opinion.
antiX Live system enthusiast.
General Live Boot Parameters for antiX.
ile
Hello anticapitalista and everyone
The new user that opens jwm and clicks on ControlCentre is different than the been user that scrolls the icewm menu to click on an item. Put shortcuts in five or ten places to accomodate the usage patterns spawned over the lifetime of antiX. It is great that we are not forced into this is the year of the desktop icon; this is the year of the taskbar icon; this is the year of the startmenu icon… a nudge in a new direction without removing the old path is great.
Look at it as an open challenge at user level to learn to customise the menu.This is a good sign when it comes to chat about the menu. It happens just before the rc and final release. The last thing seems to be the polish on the menu and what color to paint synaptic. Always comes out superb. In my case always a fantastic fluxbox with antiX.
antiX Start Menu …
Some might like it, some might hate it but, let’s face the facts — it’s THE worst menu that I ever saw in some 30 years of computing.
It’s the ultimate usability nightmare and a most perfect example how a start menu should never be done.
It’s definitely fitting the name — antiSanityX!
IceWM start menu is archaic — it doesn’t offer any application search field.
In such menus, 10 apps per sub-menu is maximum length from the usability aspect side.
Who’s missing ‘ARandr’ in there, should rather click the Terminal icon (which is always pinned on task bar per default) and enter ‘arandr’.
It’s much quicker then finding it in Start Menu. Or simply enter it in IceWM task bar and start from there.
Settings sub menu is, by the way, the only one that’s allowed to have more than 10 entries — 15 ~ 20 at the maximum.
For the rest — that’s why one has Settings, Control Center or whatever you call it in every OS.
That’s something that ‘normal’ user never needs — you set it (once) and forget it.
What’s there still open to discussion, if the Start Menu has more entries then you can fit on 1920×1080 (most common used) FULL screen?
On my tweaked normal system for the search menu functions I have both dmenu and xfce4-appfinder mapped to keys. A possible solution would be to put xfce4-appfinder (or any appfinder search and run program) on the start menu itself near the bottom. One problem is that the appfinder search programs that I found tend to be large, about 1 mb or more when dependencies are included. I really like having a search menu available as it saves hunting.
I do use it all the time on mine, but not sure when would be the right point in release cycles to add this functionality, and maybe it needs to be considered which search menu program would be good to add.
PS: On the subject of menu getting big, it would be nice if all the IceWM themes, preferences, focus and update menu as well as IceWMcc could be consolidated onto a submenu of their own, but I don’t think that is critical to change for this beta. I also would like to see the arandr or equivalent someplace easy to find because its very difficult to find initially via the control centre on a small 4k screen.
Xecure
On my tweaked normal system for the search menu functions I have both dmenu and xfce4-appfinder mapped to keys. A possible solution would be to put xfce4-appfinder (or any appfinder search and run program) on the start menu itself near the bottom.
It is exactly as BobC says. You customize a bit of your menu and you get a search function. If you prefer Hotkeys, you can also modify it. If people know what they are looking for, there are many ways.
If people don’t know what they are looking for, the use the Control Panel is there for most cases.
Customizing the menu is not that difficult. Here is an example, where dmenu is launched after hitting the search option in the menu.
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antiX Live system enthusiast.
General Live Boot Parameters for antiX.Well …
You customize a bit of your menu and you get a search function. If you prefer Hotkeys, you can also modify it. If people know what they are looking for, there are many ways.
vs.
Even if you don’t customize a bit of your menu, you get a search function. If you prefer Hotkeys, you don’t need to modify. If people don’t know what they are looking for, they still find it (or they ask the neighbor who uses the same) … and it even comes preinstalled (free as, you pay 4 it, if you use it or not) on almost every PC.
😉
Yes, there are some Alt + F2’s and some Ctrl + Space’s but, there is NO search field in the menu == ‘old fashioned’, ‘primitive’, ‘junk’ (different people call it different ways) == Start Menu MUST be kept short!
* So, let “If people know what they are looking for, there are many ways.” (== hardcore anti-usability guys) let ‘search for different ways’ and give the rest of the humanity a usable system.
Actually, as simple as that.
eugen-b
The possibility to customize doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be some sane defaults.
I actually never tried to customize the menus of antiX sessions, only when I installed an additional WM. I don’t know whether my cusomisations will persist after I hit “recreate the menu” (or what is it called)? antiX has a rather sophisticated menu creation script which I’m always a bit afraid of messing with.A search tool is probably not a bad idea if every DE comes with it. I agree with the previously posted opinion that it is good to have several alternatives to launch an application. But I also think that it is nice that antiX doesn’t such a “boring” menu like Xfce or LXDE. The killer app is very crazy, especially when you click the panel and get back to SLiM.
- This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by eugen-b.
The possibility to customize doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be some sane defaults.
PPC
About the difficulty of searching/starting applications by name on antiX…
I also choose to handle this using dmenu. I initially added a “Search” entry to the top of the menu (later I simply added an icon- a magnifying lens, on the toolbar- so I don’t have to click the menu and then the search menu entry – It’s a similar solution to the one used in Windows 10).
I’m not near my antiX box but the command is something like: “dmenu_run -l 10 -i -b -p Launch… ”
It produces what I believe is the most “modern” look dmenu can have, since it does not run in a “window”.
In the description/pop up of that dmenu entry I added the info “Begin typing the application name. Press “enter” to launch the application, press “ESC” to exit”, just in case a user (other than me) gets panicked because there’s no gui way to exit dmenu…
Note: j4-dmenu (https://github.com/enkore/j4-dmenu-desktop) runs much better than dmenu and I used it in my old setup: it can launch synaptic directly, with the right permissions (that dmenu can’t) and displays the applications name from the description, not just the .desktop file name…
There’s no need to add any bloat to “fix” this “problem”, we can just use what antiX already provides OOTB- dmenu…Another option- if one wants a more “modern” menu, thanks to Manyroads, I found out about jgmenu – it can be configured to not remain in RAM, so it does not take any idle RAM and has a in-built search option- just like Whisker Menu’s- begin typing and it shows only the applications that match what you are looking for. It’s a tiny 100Kb deb file…
P.
Edit: after reading the rest of the thread that appeared after I began writing this, I would like to add: yes, I believe parts of the menu are massive and could be organized better (I have to scroll down on the menu to get to space-fm). But… I’m not sure after all the massive changes antiX is now going through, also completely changing the menu would be a good move- the users that are “used” to doing the same procedure to launch an application should not have to adapt to a new way of doing things, even if that way is easier to a newbie (or even a non newbie). Just adding a “search” menu entry to the top or the bottom of the menu would be a very welcome change to, I believe, almost 100% of the users…
- This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by PPC.
antiX has a rather sophisticated menu creation script
You can trust that it will not disturb the custom menu entries and/or submenus you have added within ~/…/menu
The UpdateMenus script only (re)generates entries which are populated to the “Applications” submenu
and
(if you have created “Personal” submenu entries via the MenuManager gui utility)
the “Personal” submenujgmenu != native IceWM, FluxBox … menu (with added search field inside it)
synaptic == indexing == background service == resources usage …
‘sane defaults’ == short and easy to find
* Just how often do you need to hide/unhide/modify start menu entries;
just how often you boot-repair (+ USB) … how often … THINK!eugen-b
Ah, that’s good, that UpdateMenu is only for Applications.
I’m wondering whether the MenuManager GUI will adjust all three menus (IceWM, Fluxbox, JWM) if I want to add an application search right above the Terminal, for example?
(Maybe I should try it myself and use forum and Wiki search.)
BTW, “Run” is in the main menu…- This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by eugen-b.
- This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by eugen-b.
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