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Idea #17887: Devices icons on desktop are mixed with normal icons

Written by Magnes the 6 Feb 09 at 10:21. Related project: Nautilus. Status: New
Rationale
When user adds icons to the desktop they are mixed up with the devices icons.

120
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Solution #1: Show devices in special dock, make it eye candy
Written by Magnes the 6 Feb 09 at 10:21.
Show a special dock with ability to attach it to the left, right, top or bottom border of the screen, make it eye candy, and show all devices (hard drives, flash drives, printers) in this dock. The dock should have the auto hide ability and option to hide it by clicking on some visual element. Should be animated and not 100% opaque.
That way the main desktop area would be for user icons, and the dock would be for devices.
79
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Solution #2: Have icon areas on the desktop
Written by dstansby the 6 Feb 09 at 15:56.
When you right click on the desktop there could be a option to change "Icon areas." You can then select which icon group you want to assign an area to (drives, applications, folders etc.), and drag and drop a box to create the area. Then, the next time anything new is added to the desktop it is automatically put in the area that you have previously assigned.
17
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Solution #4: Place device icons and normal icons on opposite sides of the screen
Written by roshan.george the 8 Feb 09 at 18:44.
For example, all device icons could default to being placed on the right of the screen. All other icons could default to being placed on the left. Naturally, I would hope that that the computer remembers where an icon is placed even after the device is removed.
-4
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Solution #5: Don't show device icons on the desktop
Written by nivus the 1 Mar 09 at 11:38.
Make it like in Plasma: use device manager in panel.

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Comments
nikgare wrote on the 6 Feb 09 at 15:20
I don't know if I'd like something else like a dock or something, which just makes things more confusing, but certainly something needs to be done about nautilus' handling of the desktop, it seems to just put the icons in a pot and shake them out a bit, with often removable devices icons being displayed directly over other icons.

eapache wrote on the 6 Feb 09 at 22:26
The Avant dock has a pluggin called stacks-plugger which does this.

Lachu wrote on the 7 Feb 09 at 18:13
Actually i uses OpenSuSE 11.1 . On normal GNOME menu we have places > computer . On computer Window we can unmount/ejecting any volumes. Probably on Ubuntu we have the same option, but I only using Ubuntu on VirtualBox and still don't remember.

Magnes wrote on the 9 Feb 09 at 08:42
Icon areas looks like a good idea too.

fcsonline wrote on the 9 Feb 09 at 08:49
Related idea with Solution #2:
http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/17193/

A mockup:
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/9668/layoutshr1.png


roshan.george wrote on the 12 Feb 09 at 11:52
@fcsonline: Wow, cool!

superfoor wrote on the 17 Feb 09 at 19:42
Solution #1 is Brilliant I have never thought about it but you have my vote. What I'm picturing is nothing like the OSX dock or any of the buggy annoying Linux docks (besides docky).
What im thinking of is a small light expanding transparent area where all cds and devices appear. Maybe Attached to one of the Panels no retarded zoom effects or any of that bullshit.

Tuneman wrote on the 20 Aug 10 at 03:07
I made a mockup for the 4# solution. I have this problem with desktop icons. Here my mockup

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_cMgmdrSWHBY/TG3uVVHVedI/AAAAAAAABWU/4nTVVzgqewo/s640/Capt ura_de_tela.png.jpg


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