Contributor gt3 - Ubuntu brainstorm

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The Ubuntu community has contributed 21986 ideas, 135057 comments, 2615221 votes

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Contributor gt3

Ubuntu Software Center should show more information

Written by wafflesid the 8 Oct 09 at 03:00. Related project: Ubuntu Software Center. Implemented

The Add/Remove app had an icon indicating if an app was for gnome or kde.

While the Ubuntu Software Center DOES function better, It comes at the cost of not giving the user all the information.

I like being able to know easily if an app I see is going to require me to install the QT libraries. But beyond this, I like having all the apps on my computer LOOK and FEEL the same. You know if it has the gnome logo that it will (well, it SHOULD heh).

I also found value in the popularity rating, although that was never an indicator of QUALITY it was helpful to know if I was looking for the most common packages in a search.

128
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153
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57
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410
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655
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270
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637
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Selected solution (#8): Have a Star rating system

Written by Rodrigo the 19 Oct 09 at 11:52.

It could be nice to have a "star rating system" like othere webs have. Either by popularity, or by user experience... of course this would take some time to get the data but in the long term it could help.
How many times have you look in forums and similar webs what is the "best" application for something, this way it would all be in the same app.

224
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14
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103
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24
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180
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17
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13
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1
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7
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Selected solution (#19): An ability to see the most popular apps in Ubuntu Software Center (as an option)

Written by Vahan Harutyunyan the 28 Sep 10 at 14:58.

I suggest to create a new website (or add this oportunity in the exist projects) where the Ubuntu users can be registrated and then promote or demote applications, can review applications. When the user launches the Ubuntu Software Center it connects to the website and updates itself with all the software reviews contributed by other users. The software is sorted by score (for those users who want and chose this option in Ubuntu Help Center), so that the user always sees the most popular applications at the top of the list. The user can review applications too, either from this website or directly within the Ubuntu Software Center. When the user reviews an application, his (or her) review immediately appears on the website, and other users can see it in their Ubuntu Help Center few time later.
Here you can see aproximately that what I suggest....

2
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34
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14
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Selected solution (#22): Add package download scripts, like in Synaptic

Written by snostorm the 11 Nov 09 at 21:58.

The software center should be able to create package download scripts, like Synaptic can. This would make it easier for people without internet to install software. Ideally you would also be able to create download scripts that can run on Windows or Mac, to avoid problems caused by bug #1. A method to allow easy installation of many packages at once would improve the usefullness of this feature.

-51
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15
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Selected solution (#24): Hardware Finder

Written by ki4jgt the 5 Nov 09 at 17:26.

- Allow the user to have a central user name for all the services offered.
- When the program information pops up to allow the user to install, then also show the comment section.
- Include Launchpad bug reports, and what hardware, if any, is required
- Have a star rating system, and allow the user to sort the items by the most used/starred
- Allow the user to backup a profile of what software they have installed on their computer, for reinstallation later.
- Show the application size
- Integrate with an internet shopping service, to allow the user to find hardware that s/he may need to run the software. (start the search when the user clicks on the hardware's name)

50
votes

Selected solution (#25): Recommended for new users

Written by ralf.ebert the 7 Nov 09 at 18:07.

Create a strict, community-based, transparent system for determining application quality.

Create a application category "Recommended for new users" which is filtered based on that quality criteria. Make it clear that one is seeing a community-based selection. The full, unfiltered view should be not more than one click away.

Could use the proposed #3: Star rating system, plus reviews of description texts (which should be easy to read and to understand by people with a non-software-developer mindset) and availibilty of translated descriptions. Maybe popcon data (there are exceptions of course, but popular packages tend to be more stable) and metrics about bugs could be used as well.

Having a lot of free software is great, guiding new users to software that shines is great as well, such a system would bridge these two interests.

Also it would create an incentive for developers to polish applications.

5
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10
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1
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3
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2
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Selected solution (#30): Top priority UI improvements

Written by Liso22 the 10 Jun 10 at 23:44.

Well, I have to say that I love the software center but still when I see the interface I feel like it's a work in progress.

The main problem (among a few more) right now is that the software center has a huge waste of blank space. This is more evident when you are using a laptop, In my case I can only see half the window. Is there really so much to show? I can see rhythmbox full-screen but I can't see the bloody software center, it's ridiculous.

I'm obsessive when it comes to UIs regarding ergonomics.
It makes me mad to see things that just aren't logical, and I have to say that the software center really freaks me out. But with some simple corrections the interface could be usable:

- How are: "File, Edit, View and Help" useful in this application? There is no way for any of the options to be applicable. Conclusion: remove them altogether.

- Right now not all categories can be shown on screen, if you have a screen under 15 inch. Why? Ridiculous icon sizes. Just by making each category 30% smaller, we would have 4 columns and 4 rows, at all times, without having to scroll through the window.

- When you (If you don't you see a weird red screen instead) This is more like a bug but I felt I needed to point it out.

[...]

- An obvious one: display a notification when an applications is fully downloaded.

- The left column is mostly blank all the time. Instead of this it could show applications being installed with their respective progress bars which would fade away as they are downloaded, grouping should only function when the windows is too small for all applications separated.

- Add ratings to applications. (you know, the little yellow stars). Add a toolbar on the top of the software center with the options: "Most popular", "Best reviewed" and "Most recent" to order them.

45
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4
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1
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Selected solution (#33): Integration with Ubuntu Forums

Written by mortrca the 14 Nov 10 at 20:43.

Although the ability to post comments and rate applications in the Software Center would be of huge benefit, I foresee one large issue with adding the ability to comment to the Software Center. Commenting is supposed to be a way for users of the applications to state why they like or dislike an application, not to discuss ways of fixing issues with it. It should be made easy to start a new thread in the Ubuntu Forums with a comment someone has posted. Usage example:

Person A downloads and uses an application. They like it and would use it frequently except that it is missing a feature that they need, to make it really useful. Since they dislike the fact that the application is missing this feature, they post a comment in the Software Center saying that they dislike the application for this reason.

Supposedly, a developer would read the comments that people post for his application and submit updates containing the features that people need in the application, but if the developer doesn't, person B enters the scene.

Person B notices person A's comment. Person B knows of a way to integrate the needed feature or of another app that will do the job better and fulfill the needs of person A. Instead of posting a comment (that doesn't follow the purpose of commenting) saying that he knows what person A would like better, he should be able to start a conversation with person A in the Ubuntu Forums explaining what person A could do differently. This would also make it easier for people with other suggestions to add their two cents without creating a long and hard to follow conversation in what was supposed to be a lightweight commenting program. Commenting for rating purposes should be kept separate from discussing particularities of the apps.

2
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1
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Selected solution (#36): Make application logo clickable and draggable to the laucher

Written by haydoni the 29 Apr 11 at 10:53.

The logo for each of the applications looks like it ought to be clickable and draggable... currently it isn't, this is quite frustrating to new users.

One idea (if the application is installed):
Allow it to be click-able from the software center, executing the program.
Allow the logo to be dragged and dropped to the Unity launcher, as any other application.

0
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See the 7 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 12 Apr 12 at 07:52) >>

the Future nautilus

No information about this blueprint
Information is updated every 5 minutes.
Please wait till the next update.

Written by Shady3D the 30 Oct 09 at 18:53. Related project: Nautilus. Not an idea

nautilus sucks and something needs to be done, and now let me point to the key points that make it suck.

1. slow startup, comparing windows with nautilus explorer opens faster than nautilus
2. cluttered, too many buttons that hurts the eye and wasted space
3. library, a library feature can be very important in the near future as i will explain in the solution.
4. no eye-candy, the user should impressed by Ubuntu and the current nautilus don't accomplish that.
5. ease of use, by making mass renaming easy, opening as an administrator, set as background ...etc

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280
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Solution #3: Libraries Feature + Solution #22

Written by Shady3D the 30 Oct 09 at 19:15.

i think libraries exceed the idea that Microsoft done, its more powerful than that, so let me explain uses of library

Case (1): i use Dropbox for file sharing and ubuntuOne and Document are located under ~/Documents so what is the solution to make this? every one will say links links is good but at some point this becomes very bad, if you want to share some docs on UbuntuOne and the other on Dropbox also if you have some documents spread out on other places like external HDD it would be problematic to update links manually.

Case (2): better suited for the cloud, imagine if you could just open your Facebook or Picasa images from nautilus how this would be done, this should work the same way with the availability of the API (and there is a project dedicated for that called "DataPortability Project")

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214
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Solution #5: Eye-Candy by Grabbing Movie Posters and Album Cover

Written by Shady3D the 30 Oct 09 at 19:38.

this solution should be available but NOT enable by default, this can make Ubuntu looks very beautiful, by enabling this feature it will see if the folder is named Movies and then its grabs the poster, and if the folder is named Music it will change every folder with the album cover or if its a band it will be the band picture.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FJH0hYZmVtc/SsX9dlPsYiI/AAAAAAAADdg/lH-qnrRNjZU/s1600 /screenshot_030.png

249
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Solution #6: We should impress the users.

Written by azhar the 30 Oct 09 at 22:19.

Truth be told, for the majority of people, Linux distros is equal to CLI.
Now, we all know that's false... But, yet, the majority of people do think so...

You know, in my opinion.... I think when someone has a look at a Linux Distro(in that case Ubuntu), he should feel like he wants to embrace the free community at once. What I mean to say, is, that he should be soooo impressed by the background, the Toolbars' design, and the feel in general, that he wishes to go OpenSource almost instantly, and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, this discriminate view against Linux Distros should disappear immediately in his mind.

Now, how do we achieve this??
Its all about the UI.
We should have glassy, and glossy toolbars. And, it should be in very vibrant and lively, and cool colours. It shouldn't be some dull, dark black, or I don't know what colour. It should appeal to the user. It should feel fresh! :)

Moreover, the icons should be stylishly designed. Very beautifully designed. Very trendy, and cool. Again, something that appeals to the user. And not some 2-D clunky and dull-looking icons.

The time has come to show people that the open-communtiy has great resources and talents! Its time to show people that we have taste, not only for stability, or security, even though these are essential components of an OS, but that we also have exquisite taste when it comes to the UI.

[...]

From the moment the user log into his account, to the moment he logs out, he should feel he is in the best OS. He should be excited to explain to his other friends how cool and beautifully designed his OS is. Even the logon tone should be classy. In my opinion, of the best tones is the BOREALIS set.

Come'on guys! Lets show to teh world that the OpenSource community has some great talents!! And has exquisite taste!

60
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Solution #7: Add search button connected to console.

Written by Lachu the 31 Oct 09 at 08:26.

Add search button on top of Nautilus window. It will search in man for commands operates on files. The main problem is that man is not fully readable by computer, but text style in man pages are very semantically.

People needs similar thinks to Ubiquity Mozilla's project on file management. It would be great if I can input backup, select "cp -b " command and check all files in checkbox. In next step I can save some settings of this dialog, set name and put generated button on the panel. When this button is clicked similar dialog will been displayed, but option all files could be checked(if I decided that on dialog creating process).

Second cases: Mathew needs to backup files from current directory onto CD. He only input burn and he got option like brasero or CLI commands to burning files. He only select some cli command and drag files to burn or select all files checkbox.

385
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Solution #8: Ease of Use (Undo, Rename, Admin, Background)

Written by Shady3D the 31 Oct 09 at 12:42.

ease of use include having options available like "open as admin", "set as background", and the most important one "UNDO"

another important feature is Mass Renaming without using extra applications, and one of the ways to do that is by
1. selecting the files/folders
2. right-click to rename the first element
3. rename like you are renaming a regular file BUT include special characters like # for numbering, ex: # >> 0, 1, 2 but ## >> 00, 01, 02
4. click enter and nautilus will rename the other files

extra commands like converting to uppercase just type UPPERCASE and it will automatically convert them without renaming them, lowercase, switch between space to underscore, and all this cane be can be done the same way.

289
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Solution #9: Uniform icon size

Written by robinparriath the 1 Nov 09 at 14:25.

Uniform icon size would really improve the arrangement of icons on screen.

Say, you have 3 pdfs, 2 movies and 4 folders in a folder. The overall arrangement in Nautilus helps in identifying which is which, but at the cost of neatness.

I propose and upper limit for the icon size, that can be set through the options in shady3d's solution #2

77
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Solution #10: Integrating Gnome Do with Ubuntu

Written by foplat the 4 Nov 09 at 07:01.

I've read the solutions provided above and I also think that Nautilus's UI should be renewed, or creating a new way to browse through files and folders.

My solution includes solutions #1 and #6 but also this: how about also including Gnome Do (http://do.davebsd.com/) program along with the Ubuntu and #1 and #6? It is a powerful tool that provides easy access not only to files and folders but also to search results, microblogging, e-mail etc. It is inspired by Quicksilver from Macs. Here is a presentation video of the Quicksilver, since Gnome Do is very, very similar program. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8493378861634507068#

198
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Solution #11: Easier "paste into directory"

Written by Leopard2A5 the 5 Nov 09 at 07:23.

When i have files on the clipboard and i want to paste them into a folder that's too full (so that there's no unused space between the last file and the window border) i have to move one folder upwards and then right-click and click "paste into folder".

It's way more intuitive to just right-click anywhere in the target folder (as long as you don't right-click a contained folder) and hit "paste". (Windows does it that way).

I love linux, but i always thought this is a disadvantage compared to Windows.

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Solution #12: Navigation more similar to the Windows explorer

Written by Leopard2A5 the 5 Nov 09 at 08:17.

I know, nautilus is not the windows explorer, but even this bit of software has some nice features, i'm referring to the feature in the "path-bar" in which you can change the directory of any element in the path with a drop-down list.

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Solution #13: Specific "Explorer" features

Written by ElliottCB the 5 Nov 09 at 11:42.

There is a lot of functionality buried in Windows Explorer, in particular in the area of Shell Extensions. I happen to have done some development in this area and would be interested to know if it could be done (or has been done!) in Ubuntu. I might suggest the following specific features:

1) Allow the customisation of a specific directory and/or its sub-directories by the inclusion of a format file. Explorer does this with an HTM file. We might prefer XML. At any rate, it would be a flexible way to specify a background image, fonts, icons, buttons to start actions and so forth. Just put a file with a specified name (e.g. "customise.xml") in the directory with some tags saying what colours, fonts and so on should be applied.

2) An extension type to modify the context menu on a file or directory on-the-fly. For instance, you could modify the behaviour of text files globally or in a directory by adding an option to the context menu which invokes a library function to XML-transform it then open it in Firefox. Or whatever. "Owner-draw" context menus would enable you to actually put pictures or formatted text in the menu itself.

3) Extensions to modify the pop-up tips on a file type - again, globally or by directory. (Perhaps in "customise.xml"...) A picture file could have a picture pop-up, for instance, or a summary of the EXIF data.

4) A namespace extension to allow one to drill down into files the way one can browse ZIP files in Explorer.

[...]

5) A namespace extension to allow one to add a panel to the files view in which file content or properties can be shown

6) Drag-Drop handler extensions to allow modification of the way files behave when dropped one on the other. Photoshop "Droplets" might be a good model - you can drop a batch of pictures on a little file and the operations it defines will be applied to the picture.

And a non-Explorer suggestion:

x) A reg-ex enabled filter to hide/show or select/unselect heterogeneous selections of files.

Excuse me if I'm re-inventing an old Ubuntu wheel. These are my first hours here!

This is a lot of work, but I think the various elements could be cleanly decoupled. The role of the XML file in applying extensions locally or conditionally might need some thought.

1) Allow the customisation of a specific directory and/or its sub-directories by the inclusion of a format file. Explorer does this with an HTM file. We might prefer XML. At any rate, it would be a flexible way to specify a background image, fonts, icons, buttons to start actions and so forth. Just put a file with a specified name (e.g. "customise.xml") in the directory with some tags saying what colours, fonts and so on should be applied.

2) An extension type to modify the context menu on a file or directory on-the-fly. For instance, you could modify the behaviour of text files globally or in a directory by adding an option to the context menu which invokes a library function to XML-transform it then open it in Firefox. Or whatever. "Owner-draw" context menus would enable you to actually put pictures or formatted text in the menu itself.

3) Extensions to modify the pop-up tips on a file type - again, globally or by directory. (Perhaps in "customise.xml"...) A picture file could have a picture pop-up, for instance, or a summary of the EXIF data.

4) A namespace extension to allow one to drill down into files the way one can browse ZIP files in Explorer.

5) A namespace extension to allow one to add a panel to the files view in which file content or properties can be shown

6) Drag-Drop handler extensions to allow modification of the way files behave when dropped one on the other. Photoshop "Droplets" might be a good model - you can drop a batch of pictures on a little file and the operations it defines will be applied to the picture.

And a non-Explorer suggestion:

x) A reg-ex enabled filter to hide/show or select/unselect heterogeneous selections of files.

Excuse me if I'm re-inventing an old Ubuntu wheel. These are my first hours here!

This is a lot of work, but I think the various elements could be cleanly decoupled. The role of the XML file in applying extensions locally or conditionally might need some thought.

186
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Solution #14: Just sort out the bugs and issues

Written by nlao the 5 Nov 09 at 14:10.

Here is my tuppence worth of ideas, but I think fixing missing simple user enhancements and soem bugs would go a long way to making it better.

Here are a couple that really annoy me, I expect there are others.

Adding in features like "view as thumbnails" per folder would go a long way to helping make it better.

Icon placement on Desktop, this really really needs sorting. There is not a structured grid for icons, some end up close to others whilst others are miles away and dragging them around come to nothing they still end up looking like a jumble. Further to this is the placement of removable media icons. These really should not be over other icons on the desktop.

-39
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Solution #15: Single window

Written by biffen the 5 Nov 09 at 15:46.

Opening a directory from anywhere outside of nautilus should open it in a new tab in an existing nautilus window (if there is one, otherwise open a new one, of course).

Opening multiple windows should of course still be possible. (Think Firefox.)

This behaviour would of course be optional (but default?) by settings.

How this would work when there is already more than one window open, is an other question.

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131
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271
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Solution #18: Improved address bar

Written by Mirek2 the 7 Nov 09 at 11:42.

The address bar has an enormous amount of potential, and while browsers are experimenting with ways to get the most use out of them as possible, file managers are lagging behind.
We could use the address bar for (just brainstorming):
1. Search (like Google Chrome's omnibar)
2. Getting to locations quickly (like in Firefox and Chrome: when you type "X11", for instance, a drop-down would suggest "/usr/bin/X11")
3. Terminal commands
4. Custom commands (for example, "Search web ", "E-mail ", or "New ")

58
votes

Solution #19: Solution 8 + a few more things

Written by Mirek2 the 7 Nov 09 at 12:12.

In addition to the mass rename in solution 8, there should be:
1. An unintrusive balloon showing the different special characters (# or %n for number, %m for month, 0d for day in two digits, %r(text to replace, text replaced with) for replace, etc.)
2. A more-clearly-explained dialog window (perhaps similar to Total Commander's, which has done a really good job with mass renaming)

89
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60
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Solution #21: A clipboard section in the sidebar

Written by Mirek2 the 7 Nov 09 at 13:06.

All the files cut or copied from any application would appear in this section. It could hold multiple files, so if I dragged an image in, then a document, then an image, it would hold all of these.
(Paste would apply to only the last one cut/copied.)
Use cases:
1) Instead of cut/move, the user can drag-and-drop a file into the section.
2) Instead of paste, the user can drag-and-drop a file from the section to paste it to a folder.
3) To create a text file: I can copy text from anywhere, have that appear in this sidebar, and drag it to the place to create a text file.
4) Instead of save: I can copy an image from Firefox, have that appear in this sidebar, and drag it to the place I want to have it.
Kind of a variation on the Clipboard/Shelf, but maybe doesn't have too many advantages to require an implementation. If someone wants to brainstorm more on this, they're welcome.
Perhaps a better thing would be a system-wide revision of the Clipboard.

36
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5
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75
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87
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Solution #26: Nautilus opens multiple windows of same directory

Written by sirish.gauni the 10 Nov 09 at 08:00.

When the user tries to open a directory which is already open, mautilus opens a new separate window for that directory. This causes too many windows being open and causes confusion to the user. Instead when the user tries to open a directory which is already open, Nautilus should highlight the already existing window of that directory instead of opening a new window. Add an option to nautilus so that the user can open multiple windows of the same directory if he/she wants to.

128
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Solution #27: Customize the Sidebar module-like

Written by Leopard2A5 the 11 Nov 09 at 13:19.

It'd be cool if you could have not only let's say "places" in your sidebar, but also let's say the "tree" view. The user should be able to put any combination of modules into his sidebar. Here's a mockup of how i think this could look:

59
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85
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Solution #30: Make Nautilus (>K) more object oriented...

Written by r0g the 13 Nov 09 at 12:50.

Nautilus is not object oriented, neither is GTK really and it shows.

The same objects are represented multiple times in the UI but their context menus are inconsistent e.g. your drives are represented in the left pane AND on the desktop (which nautilus maintains) but only one of the has "properties" on its context menu. The default policy seems to be properties must be deliberately made available by developers rather than everything is available by default and developers can make exclusions.

Sadly this problem extends to the rest of GTK. Which columns of metadata are displayed in open/save dialog boxes is down to the developer not the user. What options are available when you right click an item in an open/save dialog are decided by hundreds of app developers, who more often than not just go with the GTK defaults. This just bakes in inflexibility and prevents useful options trickling down like they do in Windows... I know this might sound a little obscure so here's an example...

Say I wanted to save a file "bananas.jpg" but I had already created a file called "bananas.jpg" earlier and rather than overwrite it I wanted to rename it "bananas.old" before saving the new copy as "bananas.jpg"...

In Windows I can rename the file there and then in the save box. In Gnome I'd have to fire up a copy of Nautilus, navigate to the exact same location, Rename the file and then close Nautilus.

[...]

[...]
This is VERY frustrating and I can think of many MANY similar cases. At the end of the day GTK should have far better default open/save dialogs which offer the same functionality as Nautilus, this leads naturally to the idea that GTK should make the standard open/save dialogs plugins so Nautilus or Thunar or whatever can take responsibility for them.

Nautilus should also be made more consistent. If you see an icon representing a disk you should, by default, have access to all it's properties. It ought to remain possible to exclude context items appearing but this should be the exception rather than the rule, the user is best placed to decide which properties are important.

As to the issue of UI clutter, that cannot justify such restrictions. If clutter is liable to become an issue (and I do see it on peoples Windows Explorer context menus) then developers should find a better solution to that... how about you can right click on any context leaf and set it to:
a) Never display ever again
b) Never display for this object
c) Never display for this object in this location

Surely that would be better than preventing people from displaying the "size" column in an open box should they want it.

Nautilus is not object oriented, neither is GTK really and it shows.

The same objects are represented multiple times in the UI but their context menus are inconsistent e.g. your drives are represented in the left pane AND on the desktop (which nautilus maintains) but only one of the has "properties" on its context menu. The default policy seems to be properties must be deliberately made available by developers rather than everything is available by default and developers can make exclusions.

Sadly this problem extends to the rest of GTK. Which columns of metadata are displayed in open/save dialog boxes is down to the developer not the user. What options are available when you right click an item in an open/save dialog are decided by hundreds of app developers, who more often than not just go with the GTK defaults. This just bakes in inflexibility and prevents useful options trickling down like they do in Windows... I know this might sound a little obscure so here's an example...

Say I wanted to save a file "bananas.jpg" but I had already created a file called "bananas.jpg" earlier and rather than overwrite it I wanted to rename it "bananas.old" before saving the new copy as "bananas.jpg"...

In Windows I can rename the file there and then in the save box. In Gnome I'd have to fire up a copy of Nautilus, navigate to the exact same location, Rename the file and then close Nautilus.

Nautilus should also be made more consistent. If you see an icon representing a disk you should, by default, have access to all it's properties. It ought to remain possible to exclude context items appearing but this should be the exception rather than the rule, the user is best placed to decide which properties are important.

As to the issue of UI clutter, that cannot justify such restrictions. If clutter is liable to become an issue (and I do see it on peoples Windows Explorer context menus) then developers should find a better solution to that... how about you can right click on any context leaf and set it to:
a) Never display ever again
b) Never display for this object
c) Never display for this object in this location

Surely that would be better than preventing people from displaying the "size" column in an open box should they want it.

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114
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64
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52
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Solution #36: enable nautilus open terminal extension by default

Written by mahdif62 the 22 Nov 09 at 10:37.

The extension nautilus-open-terminal should be enabled by default and a n F4 keyboard shortcut should open a terminal in current directory (like KDE).
There should also be an option to attach the terminal to the window.
And also enable dual-pane nautilus. http://berndth.blogspot.com/2009/06/nautilus-split-view-update.html

19
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-3
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34
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62
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Solution #40: Improve nautilus file saerch!

Written by heru.htl the 24 Nov 09 at 10:04.

Nautilus should be able to find any word or something inside the file contents, but, such feature do not seem added yet!

The ability to find something inside a file is one of most of the administrator system needs. But it is not present yet with Nautilus (but it just present with Konqueror's and Dolphin's - Kfind, the question is "should someone install both GNOME with KDE just for it?" where he/she uses GNOME by default, perhaps this idea can make a simple choice -> just install GNOME (with of course Nautilus as the only file manager) and we have all we needs!).

46
votes

Solution #41: Ease of use: do clever things with"illegal character" / \ ...

Written by v1nce the 24 Nov 09 at 18:32.

If I create a new directory called "foo/fee/faa/fuu" then Nautilus should ask if I want to create a tree of dir.

If the name contains "\" then it should ask if I really want the \ char (does someone really use the \ in a file name ?) or if I want a tree

Plus it could ask to replace character the file system can't handle with their utf-8 equivalent

62
votes

33
votes

Solution #43: Simultaneous vs. consecutive file transfers, editing queue and pause

Written by nickpick the 26 Nov 09 at 12:41.

When copying two or more sets of files through Nautilus, there is no way to prioritise which group you want to have copied first. Currently Nautilus allows only for simultaneous transfers. It would be great to have an ability to speed up one operation by pausing another or setting it further back in the queue (thus letting it copy the files once the first operation is complete).

Currently the only workaround seems to be to first let Nautilus copy the first batch, then manually initiate the second operation and, once that is finished, the third.

This also applies for deletion and, when preformed on separate physical media, move operations.

35
votes

Solution #44: Add a "Open in Terminal" - Button

Written by Bilbo Beutlin the 26 Nov 09 at 15:56.

Adding a button /menu item to simply change to the terminal and open the folder opened in the nautilus there (like in the nautilus of Ubuntu 9.0) would increase the user-friendliness. Why is these button /menu item gone at all?

EDIT: In "Ubuntu Tweak", there's already an option to reactivate this Button. But make it standard!

2
votes

Solution #46: Open multi directories

Written by flipefr the 29 Nov 09 at 22:20.

I like the q-dir system in windows, is a very simple program to open 4 directories in a only window allowing you to move, copy, create directories and etc. maybe a button for activate this type of view and a combo to select the number of splits in a unique window: 2,4,6,8 a number higher could be crazy.

Here is an example of what i am saying

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/XSYU7zUh2NfN0x4M2IPPCQ?feat=directlink

http://www.online-tech-tips.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/q-dir-interface-scre enshot.jpg

32
votes

Solution #47: IT"S DONE ALREADY ! LETS ADOPT IT !!

Written by futurenow123 the 5 Dec 09 at 12:57.

The simplified nautilus has been achieved by a guy called Marcus Carlson . Here are a Few Links !!:

http://www.webupd8.org/2009/07/install-simplified-nautilus-for-ubuntu.html

http://davidsiegel.org/nautilus-simplified/

just Adopt it into the next Nautilus update . No major release needed!!! Job Done !

AND ALSO FINALLY

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/01/nautilus-simple-install-ppa-streamlined.html

[...]

21
votes

-7
votes

Solution #49: no navigation buttons

Written by gcbzzzz the 21 Jan 10 at 14:05.

it's a list of files, with plenty of context menu on the icons.

no need to have a bunch of buttons.

also, back and forward? back is the same as click on the parent folder on the folder hierarchy button row! forward is the same as click the folde again in the file list...

i upvoted #47, this is similar but also removes the useles buttons.

3
votes

9
votes

3
votes

5
votes

4
votes

Solution #55: New Nautilus design - only one bar, remove some icons, visible searchbar...

Written by TadasN the 13 Mar 10 at 22:31.

There could be something like in this mockup: http://www.design-by-izo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/new-nautilus_mockup.png

The article which describes changes: http://www.design-by-izo.com/2010/02/27/deconstructing-nautilus-and-rebuilding- it-better/

Nautilus is a good application but let's make it better.

3
votes

Solution #56: Hot location bar

Written by hali the 26 Mar 10 at 22:43.

Every word between slashes in location bar (address bar) should be a link.

For example:
If you move mouse over "local" word in "/usr/local/bin" path. Word "local" should be underlined and change color to blue. If one click "local" - Nautilus should change path to "/usr/local".

Right click on word should open context menu, same as in button based location bar, with options like: "Open link in new tab".

No need for button based location bar. Back button and links will makes it obsolete.

44
votes

12
votes

Solution #58: Hide or remove File, Edit, View, atc. bar

Written by la_serpe the 9 Apr 10 at 12:16.

Think about it for a moment. How often do you use Help and About menu for instance? What about the Tabs menu? Isnt it easier to use mouse? Bookmarks and Go have basically the same function. Instead of File you can simply right click on the blank surface. This redundancy isn't only annoying, but it's also confusing. It would be better to add proper buttons to main toolbar and abandon the old style.

9
votes

Solution #59: Allow the user to "pin" tabs

Written by gazilla the 10 Apr 10 at 06:05.

Place a small "pin" icon next to the tab-close icon to allow any Nautilus tab to be pinned. Pinned tabs would stay pinned until they are explicitly unpinned, the tab is closed or Nautilus is closed. The effects would be...

1) The Back, Forward and Up buttons would be greyed while the pinned tab has focus, stopping the user from accidentally navigating away.
2) Nautilus would refuse to change the folder in the pinned tab in the event of the user clicking on any other location in Places or Tree while the pinned tab has focus.
3) Any attempt to do so would create a new tab for the desired folder. If the folder is already opened in another tab then focus is shifted to that tab.
4) If the tab shows a folder on a device that can be unmounted then pinning will cause the mount request to be refused (as if there was an open file).
5) maybe more (I'll keep thinking)

16
votes

Solution #60: Reconstruct Nautilus

Written by Daniel_le_Rouge the 1 May 10 at 22:44.

There is just too much unnecessary stuff in Nautilus and things are much too complicated. Why to I need to click "Search" before typing my request, when Mac's finder can do without any clicking. In exchange I get reload and abort buttons. It is not a browser!

The designer Izo proposed a reconstruction of Nautilus in his blog. There you will find further arguments against the current design.

A proposal:

5
votes

Solution #61: Tab while renaming moves to next file

Written by Bracket the 27 Aug 10 at 16:58.

When renaming a bunch of files, bulk renaming with wildcards and such can be great, but sometimes it's easier to do it by hand anyway. For example, renaming a bunch of images from a camera "DSC0001" through 0030 with thought out names, or using song titles instead of "Track 01.mp3"

Windows explorer lets you use the tab key to save the name of the file you were renaming, and moves to edit the next file in the list. It also uses shift-tab to move backward in the list.

2
votes

Solution #62: Nautilus should only show the relevant directories.

Written by Floris Laagwater the 28 Nov 10 at 14:31.

As a normal user I'm only interested in the contents of
my home-directory including personal configuration files
and the contents of removal devices such as usb sticks, memory sticks, external hard drives, cdroms, dvdees and other places, where I do store my personal files.
In nautilus I should see, what kind of files are supported by a certain application. This means something more than textfiles, for example .doc, .docx, .odt, .abw, .rtf, .txt etcetera.

3
votes

2
votes

Solution #64: nautilus tagging fork

Written by ostralopithicus the 4 Jan 11 at 04:50.

Tags is such an awesomely powerful concept. Having only the single and very limited tag of filetype, totally sucks egg.

I HATE that! I can never choose the single folder that I should save my files to and they always end up on my desktop for sorting . . .later.

What if we could do something like: filename.tag1.tag2.tag2.tag4.etc.filetype

file browser (nautilus fork), could be designed to:
1. hide the tags
2. store all tags in separate DB
3. drop-down autocomplete when entering tags or searching for existing files.
4. if POSIX compliance is a serious issue, the tags entered in can be stripped by filemanager - stored only in new separate DB.
5. filemanager dumps all files into a few categories (say the first listed tag is maybe the category?) so files no longer appear on my desktop!!!

I think OS's are becoming dated compared with internet tech like wordpress that does this sort of tagging already.

See the 33 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 21 Aug 11 at 12:16) >>

Offer to create a separate /home partition and use existing ones

Written by frandavid100 the 22 Mar 08 at 10:55. Global category: Installation. Won't implement

A separate partition for /home has been proposed for a long time in the forums. It implies some risks, though, so based on disk size Ubiquity should estimate the amount of space that should be left for / or whether a separate partition should be made at all. Then...

-The first time an user installs Ubuntu, he is given the option to set a separate /home. This option is selected by default, with a size for each partition based on a sane guess:

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/7958/firstinstallaro2.png

-Of course, he can just choose not to set a separate /home. This option will be selected by default if the results of the system test suggest that's the best thing to do.

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/6498/firstinstallbfs6.png

-Manual install is also possible. Selecting it greys out everything related to separate /home, since it's implied that the user doesn't want to be guided.

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/7976/firstinstallcvc2.png

-If the user set a separate /home, the next time he installs Ubuntu a new option appears and is selected by default, prompting to use the existing /home partition. All other options are still available, though.

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/9034/secondinstalliq1.png

[....]

Developer comments

I have always used a separate /home as well. Keeping /home after reinstallations is one major reason which has been mitigated by ubiquity preserving /home now (I didn't test that yet, though).

Either way ubiquity (the Live CD installer) should point this out clearly.

The other reason is that I want to use it from multiple Linux installations, but that's mostly a geek use case.

I have no idea what size / and /home should have by default,
I always use 6 GB for / and the rest for /home, but if someone wants to use huge databases, that'll break.

Thus I think we should stick to our current partitioning and rather improve the UI for keeping /home. There is always manual partitioning for people who actually care.

--

Preserving the contents of /home during installation has been implemented in the desktop CD installer (ubiquity) since Ubuntu 8.04. This is achieved by deleting the system files and directories that are about to be replaced and then continuing with a normal installation, leaving /home, /opt and others untouched. We decided against creating a separate /home partition as there is no correct answer for a /home partition, / partition size split for all users, and we felt the likelihood that whatever guess we came up with would be a major regression for a large subset of our users was quite high.

In addition to this, partitioning is a complex subject, one that is quite difficult for many non-technical users to understand. This difficulty is further complicated by a lack of safe, online partition resizing in Linux.

Please note that the functionality to preserve the contents of /home exists in Ubuntu, just not via the arguably dangerous implementation suggested here.

-- Evan on behalf of the Installer Team

5360
votes

66
votes

183
votes

15
votes

Solution #4: new automatic partition menu on install

Written by mitcoes the 29 Jul 09 at 14:24.

Add this option:
USE a /home partition,
=> select the (old home) partition to use
=> make a new one => choose size
=> all the free space
=> choose other size

And of course after giving -/- a partition with enough space.
about 10 Gb in my opinion in a modern HDD, and other options in small devices.

And 6 Gb - i prefer 10 Gb - for / and the rest for /home MUST BE THE DEFAULT, for KK, and, of course in EXT4.

This partition - /home - would be partitioned as NTFS or FAT32 inoder to share documents with MS WOS. As an option, of course. But better an EXT4 driver for MS WOS.

7
votes

Solution #6: Introduce a separate /home partition as default.

Written by plutocrat the 8 Jun 10 at 04:17.

The installer should suggest a separate /home partition as default: instead of just / and swap, it should also add a /home partition to the structure.

The algorithm for this may be complicated: from my experience its only generally worth it if you can allocate at least 10Gb to the OS. Some suggested schemes:

10 Gb HDD - No separate /home partition
15 Gb HDD - No separate /home partition
20 Gb HDD - 10Gb each to / and /home. Swap depends on memory
30 Gb HDD - 13Gb to OS, 17 to /home
40 Gb HDD - 15Gb to OS, 25 to /home
60 Gb HDD - 20Gb to OS, 40 to /home
... and then no further increase in the size of the OS partition - it caps out at 20Gb.

The installer should try to detect a partition previously used as a /home partition, and should ask the user whether or not to re-use that partition, keeping the data, or whether to erase that partition.

As work on this progressed, the installer might even be able to make modifications to the settings files on the existing /home partition, to ensure that they're compatible with the applications being installed. eg. upgrading OpenOffice 2.x settings files to OpenOffice 3.x settings.

[...]

eg. upgrading Thunderbird 2.x settings to 3.x settings.

5
votes

Solution #7: Why not give the user a choice?

Written by atomicblue the 24 Jun 10 at 21:02.

I had a much longer first draft to this message, but found I was saying exactly the same that the original submitter proposed. This should be part of the guided partitioning process. Most users I know only do the manual partitioning because that is the only way to create a separate /home partition.

The installer should try to give the user enough information to make an informed decision for their particular setup instead of hiding behind the digital curtain. They could also chose not to use it, but at least they would have the knowledge to make that decision.

Myself, on all of my computers, I use a 20GB / partition and allocate the rest of the data to /home. Granted, I only use about 1/3 of that but it is enough space to grow that I usually don't miss.

-6
votes

See the 61 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 31 May 11 at 16:17) >>

Better wi-fi support

Written by neilneil2000 the 29 Feb 08 at 00:20. Global category: Internet & Networking. In development

More support for more wireless chipsets out of the box and "Windows style" ease of set up.

I have spent may a day trying to configure wireless cards on Ubuntu, often without much luck!

Please also deliver more support for what they are both wireless PCI cards and USB, as it is currently very low base of drivers for such devices

4435
votes

13
votes

Selected solution (#2): never ever download network drivers

Written by snap the 27 Apr 10 at 17:30.

The OS should never need to download network drivers.

Here is what I experienced 2 minutes ago:

1. Disable closed wifi driver (I wanted to try the free one)
2. Enable the free network driver

Result: Ubuntu tries to download the driver but you have no Internet connection ! Why was it removed from disk ?? If I had no other network card, I would be very embarrassed.

In other words, I think network drivers should never be removed from hard disk, or whatever great idea not to self-destruct its network connection.

See the 61 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 26 May 11 at 14:43) >>

Allow gparted to save/restore partition images

Written by rpgsimmaster the 9 Oct 09 at 01:24. Global category: System. New

This idea is covered briefly in Idea #17064, but quite simply:

The Mac OSX Disk Manager allows saving and restoring partitions from a .dmg image. This is a convenient and easy tool for backing up and restoring disk images.

GParted needs to have such a feature - allowing the backup and restoration of partitions and, even, full disks would aid greatly in many backup cases.

GParted should also be able to accommodate different types of images for restoration, such as .ISO, which would allow CD media (such as an installation disk) to be restored to a hard drive partition; in this way, for example, an install DVD could be run from an external hard drive (Mac OSX can do this)

449
votes

Solution #1: Incorporate an image backup/restore feature

Written by rpgsimmaster the 9 Oct 09 at 01:24.

Add a menu option under the 'Partition' menu to allow Backup and Restoration of an image. Functionality could be incorporated from programs like partimage or dd (or even make calls to those programs).

Possible extra additions could include options under the Device menu to allow an image of the entire drive, a backup and restoration of the partition table, and a backup/restoration of the boot sector.

89
votes

48
votes

Solution #3: Allow added Functionality within a Plugin System

Written by xeniac the 14 Oct 09 at 15:56.

There are so many different approches to backup and restore disks, partitions, or files.

It would be much better to have a plugin system for backup and maybe other actions. Those plugins could be shipped with gparted and activate them self, if the right backup util is found in the System Path. This is very similar how gparted decides what Filesystems are supported on your system.

Possible Backup Plugins:
1.) dd
2.) GNU dump
3.) Partimage
4.) FSArchiver
5.) dd-rescue

There are a lot of other cases for gparted Plugins:
1) A SMART status plugin for example.
2) An online check plugin for btrfs and other file systems with online-fsck support.
3) a bad blocks plugin, to check harddisks for bad sektors.

See the 6 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 28 Apr 11 at 09:27) >>

Notify for Daylight Savingtime

Written by xeniac the 25 Oct 09 at 10:35. Related project: Gnome. New

Today Daylight Saving Time switched back to GMT +1 in my region. As a long term Linux User i always trust my PC clock, but my girlfriend is new to Ubuntu and was confused, her nolonger-Windows PC does't bug her that he changed the Time automaticly and she should check if the changes are correct.

It also happend to me that my GNU/Linux PC changed the Timezone and i didn't realize it. So i didn't changed my Alarm-Clock per hand and overslept the next day.

235
votes

Solution #1: Add DST Notification to the Clock Applet

Written by xeniac the 25 Oct 09 at 10:35.

For each User the standard clock-applet could show an explanation mark when the time has been changed to DST, or back.
Mockup: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1816843/DST-statusbar.png

If the user expands the clock-applet he sees an additional Message explaining to him that the clock has been set forward/backward, and why this had happend.
Mockup: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1816843/DST-Clock.png

This notification stay for each user the whole day, or as long as he clicked on the applet to see the message.

87
votes

86
votes

See the 4 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 1 Nov 10 at 22:33) >>

foobar lamip (not under wine) music player

Written by PavelS the 29 Feb 08 at 13:59. Global category: Multimedia. New

Hi

The only reason I am still on Windows is that there is no native music player like foobar for linux especially Gnome UI. I know there is Amarok for KDE but I myself a huge fan of Gnome. Anyway I need this music player to be just like foobar without having to run it under wine. I know there is something called lamip which is basically foobar, however, it would be very nice if it could be in apt because it is very tedious right now to get it up and running.

If you know of any other plays which will let me navigate through a music cue file and that will play FLAC/AAC and support 24 bit depth of the output then please let me know about it. I want to hear about it. If something like this is allready in ubuntu I would love to hear your opinion.

Thank you

-31
votes

See the 14 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 7 Nov 09 at 21:21) >>

Ubuntu Netbook Remix should search for applications as you type

Written by deichschuh the 18 Aug 09 at 05:40. Related project: Ubuntu mobile edition. New

In the current developement Version of UNR in Karmic you are not able to search for an application.

After booting the default UNR interface is displayed, the "Favorites"-section is opened.

Assuming that you want to start an application (i.e. gimp) which is not in your favorites, you have to go to a different tab (i.e. graphics) and run the application.

You have to know where the application is, otherwise you have to search for it.

This is ok and it works, but wouldn't it be great to have the posibility to just start typing and see the results as you type?

I am imagining something like the K-Menu does, where you have a favorites-tab and can search as well.

As you can't do anything else within the UNR-Interface with your keyboard, this should not be too complicated.

The pro's are clear, you dont have to know where your application is to run it, if you dont want to search with your keyboard, you can just use the normal mouse-method.
This is more user-friendly.

Please tell me what you think.

75
votes

28
votes

27
votes

Solution #3: Integrate Gnome-Do into the UNR Interface

Written by germclown the 24 Aug 09 at 06:32.

Instead of a separate type-in app, make Gnome-Do an active part of the UNR main menu. No shortcut to activate it. Invisible to start. Typing anything (or maybe just anything alphanumeric) will turn part of the UNR centre panel into the familiar Gnome-Do interface (skinned to look unified and spiffy). All standard Gnome-Do keys work normally once active.

Super-Space would still open a regular Gnome-Do window to remain accessible when desktop is not active. Super-Space will also open the integrated Gnome-Do when the desktop is active for the sake of control consistency.

24
votes

See the 1 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 24 Aug 09 at 01:24) >>

Rhythmbox - remember played position of each song

Written by azachar the 15 Apr 09 at 23:54. Related project: Gnome. New

It is very useful to remember played position of each song, when you are listing to podcast, which has duration around 60 minutes. after 20 minutes you want to postpone it and listen to just other podcast or song, or what ever, but later you want to continue where it has been postponed.

Also it is useful when you are searching something in podcasts.

24
votes

19
votes

12
votes

Solution #3: Automatically remember position for each *podcast*

Written by andruk the 16 Apr 09 at 23:36.

If you are listening to a podcast, and then switch to something else, and then back to a podcast, Rhythmbox should remember your position and start playing a (configurable from 0 to 60) few seconds before you left off.

This does require Rhythmbox be able to recognize what are podcasts and what aren't, but that's what the Podcast section of Rhythmbox is for anyway.

2
votes

Solution #4: Start playback in a small quiet section

Written by andruk the 16 Apr 09 at 23:49.

Have an option to have Rhythmbox start playing during a small section of quiet, that way it doesn't start playing in the middle of a sentence.

This could be combined with Solution #3 to get Rhythmbox to start playback during a small amount of quiet around a specific time offset.

That way you can get a few sentences worth of information to remind you about the podcast.

See the 2 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 16 Apr 09 at 10:13) >>

Ability to lock windows

Written by HighInBC the 23 Sep 08 at 21:55. Global category: Security. New

It would be nice if I could lock a window in Ubuntu so that it goes blank, locks the interface, and requires your password to unlock.

This would be like the lock screen option, but would only effect one window.

The usage situation I had in mind would be a window that I would like to keep running long term but still have special privileges. It might be an SSH session to another machine, or it may be a program running as root. It might be that I am downloading porn in my bit torrent client and my Mom wants to use my computer.

It would simply allow a greater granularity of control that allows the majority of the desktop functions to remain available while protecting the sensitive application.

As for the password I had in mind simply providing your user's login password just like getting out of a screensaver lock.

25
votes

See the 10 comments or propose a solution (latest comment the 2 Oct 08 at 08:50) >>

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