Source (link to git-repo or to original if based on someone elses unmodified work): https://github.com/GNOME/gnome-applets
GNOME Panel applets substitute the maximized window title and buttons. I've decided to make it because GNOME violates Fitts's Law by putting a panel between the maxed window buttons and the corner of the screen. These applets were designed to solve the problem. Window Title and Window Buttons are essentially controls for windows that are placed on the Panel instead of a window. They also provide a clever way to increase vertical screen space. By default they only control maximized windows, but can be configured to control any focused window.
Builds/Repositories:
Ubuntu: https://launchpad.net/~tsbarnes/+archive/misc/ Thank you Scott!
Ubuntu: https://launchpad.net/~nilarimogard/+archive/webupd8 Thank you Andrew!
Mandriva: ftp://ftp.linux.org.tr/pub/mandriva-tr/2010.1/ Thank you Atilla!
Dependencies:
Ubuntu (for 0.2.10): build-essential, intltool, libwnck-dev, libpanel-applet2-dev, *autoconf-archive
Ubuntu (for 0.3): build-essential, intltool, libwnck-3-dev, libpanel-applet-4-dev
Installation from source:
1) Download
2) Unpack
3) ./configure --prefix=/usr --with-gconf-schema-file-dir=/usr/share/gconf/schemas
4) make
5) sudo make install
6) cd buttons && sudo gconf-schemas --register windowbuttons.schemas && cd ../title && sudo gconf-schemas --register windowtitle.schemas && cd ..
* Alternatively you can try using gconftool-2 --install-schema-file instead of gconf-schemas --register
7) Add desired applets to panel.
FAQ:
Q: How do I hide the window decorations on maximized windows so that it looks like in the screenshots?
A: The simplest way is with the help of Compiz. Right click on the Window Buttons applet --> Preferences --> Behavior --> "Hide Compiz decorations for maximized windows". If you do not want to use Compiz then you can achieve the same effect using an external program called maximus created by Canonical Ltd.
Q: After installation, I cannot find the applets in the "Add to Panel" dialog.
A: Try restarting the panel by pressing Alt+F2 and typing: killall gnome-panel.
TODO:
- Make a variant for Gnome Shell
- Make a variant for Unity
- WBA: A more user-friendly way to configure button order
- WBA: Option to save/export the theme
- New screenshots (feel free to contribute)
- Investigate merging of XfApplet functionality
Latest update:
Great news!
Window Applets are now shipped by default with Gnome (Flashback) 3.24.0, as two individual applets (Window Buttons and Window Title) !
I no longer maintain the project, it now gets its love from the GNOME community. This page will remain available for its historic value, but please report the bugs/requests directly to GNOME.
Minor note: In order to include the project in GNOME I allowed the new maintainers to change the license to GPL 2.0.
Shipped with GNOME 3.24.0 3 years ago
The applets are now available in GNOME 3.24.0 within the gnome-applets package.
Shipped with GNOME 3.24.0 3 years ago
The applets are now available in GNOME 3.24.0 within the gnome-applets package.
9 years ago
0.3
- Ported applets to Gnome 3
- Migrated Bonobo to DBus
- Moved logo pixmaps to proper folder
- Makefile cleanups
- Added tooltips (off by default)
- WTA: Improved automatic color detection
- WBA: Moved themes into proper folder
divan90
Feb 12 2013
McBurri
Jan 27 2013
Frenzie
May 26 2012
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Jun 27 2011
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Apr 03 2011
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Dec 30 2010
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Apr 30 2009
Support-Box
Window Applets is part of GTK Themes and Add-ons, which is supported by the following people:
Other Gnome Extensions:
blablum
11 years ago
I believe minimized windows should also be closed, or maybe it could be an option.
About the minimize and maximize toggle buttons I'm really not sure, maybe you could consider having one of them unminimize all currently minimized windows.
I think it is important also to have a visual indication if clicking a button will yield a different action than normal, otherwise usability suffers. What I mean is that if clicking on x will close all windows than at that moment x should be of a different color than normal, so that the user realises what will happen if he/she clicks that button.
About the session management suggestion you're probably right, I'm a bit obsessed with saving screen space and that's why I suggested it but I see it could potentially be confusing to users since it changes the main focus of the applet.
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pogrom
11 years ago
First of all, I've downloaded the windowapplets_0.2.1-0~ppa3_i386.deb from gnome-look but I couldn't install it :/. It keeps telling me that a dependency is not sattisfied and that I don't have libgtk2.0-0. I've checked and I have it so I don't know what is wrong.
Than I've downloaded the namebar applet and installed is successfully.
I don't know what is the connection between those two packages :/
Anyway, the problem is that I can't configure the namebar applet. First of all, after I select Properties from the right button menu nothing happens. It only works at second time I choose Properties. But than only an empty window appears. It has a window title and buttons on the title bar but it is empty. Just grey space with no buttons or anything so I can't configure anything.
And probably that is why I can't make the applet work as I probably can.
What I would like it to do and I can't make it to, is:
- have the minimize, maximize and close buttons in the top right corner of my screen, the window title in the middle of the pannel and between the window title and the buttons I'd like to have the clock, tray etc, like on the screenshot at gnome-look.
- the applet always shows the title of an focused window, even if it isn't maximized which I don't like because for example I may have a maximized window without a title bar (I had to configure compiz manually to make the titlebar disappear for maximized windows since I don't see the applets properties) open and on top of it I have a non-maximized window with a titlebar and I like the applet to show the maximized window title so I can see it and close the window. It probably should work like this but it does not for me :/
- it would be great if double clicking on the window title on the panel would unmaximize the window, like it works when you double click on a maximized window titlebar.
I hope I've described my problem clear enough.
Please help. Thanks in advance.
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holodeck
11 years ago
Now, about your installation problem: It would seem that your package manager has developed some issues.
Try running
sudo apt-get install --fix-broken
and
sudo dpkg --configure -a
If that doesn't work, you can try to force-install windowapplets, although I do not recommend it:
sudo dpkg -i --force-depends windowapplets_0.2.1-0~ppa3_i386.deb
Also, next time please provide full error messages as it greatly helps in solving problems.
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pogrom
11 years ago
But I don't get the 3. point. Why is it in bold, do I change something in this line?
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pogrom
11 years ago
Could that be the reason of the problem? I've read the previous posts and many people couldnt see the window title nor the buttons but they've fixed it but I don't get how.
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pogrom
11 years ago
I don't see the window title, only the icon and I dont see the window buttons.
I see the icon also for not maximized window.
Preferences window does not come up - nor for Window title applet, nor for window buttons applet
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ov1d1u
11 years ago
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holodeck
11 years ago
I will try my best to keep it this way!
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derma
11 years ago
Mersì bo q
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holodeck
11 years ago
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reeve
11 years ago
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Legace
11 years ago
What's wrong?
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holodeck
11 years ago
Either install the applets from source, or manually fix by setting the title color in preferences.
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holodeck
11 years ago
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holodeck
11 years ago
Where do you see both of them? If in the panel, just remove the one you don't want.
Or do you mean in the "Add to Panel" dialog?
Either case, please contact me on private so I can help you work this out.
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derma
11 years ago
regarding Windows Button, buttons don't appear...
regarding instead the Window Title, it has a "strange" behaviour 'cos take the whole space between itself and the next applet/button without display anything except for the icon of the open window... so you go blind tryin' to click havin' results not expected... maybe I didn't guess how they work or miss something to do.
P.S.: Installed on Jaunty 32bit using the deb on Launchpad.
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holodeck
11 years ago
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holodeck
11 years ago
Since the applet is intended to expand as much as it can anyway, this isn't a real issue. But I will try to work it out and somehow limit it automatically.
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derma
11 years ago
I forgot to mention an important (maybe!!!!!) detail... WM on my Ubuntu is Compiz... pardon!!!
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derma
11 years ago
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derma
11 years ago
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chareos
11 years ago
to be of any help I point out there are a few bugs/improvements possible in 0.2.1:
- only setting visible in preferences is "show windows from any work area" (sorry, translation may be incorrect)
- pressing OK in preferences makes disappear the OK button, but the preferences dialog stills, button-less
- in actual behaviour, only maximized windows will have their title visible in the applet. Maybe that would be convenient to add a minimize and de-maximize button, too, not only the close-window one. At least the de-maximize one !
as it is, now Windowapplet has the potential to be better than dockbarx:
- icons would be much better to see if they would scale according to panel size
(using horizontal panel here)
- overrall look may be imprved by removing the background from apps and app title.
Looking forward for your next release !
Knd regards
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holodeck
11 years ago
Sorry, I don't understand what you mean.
>> pressing OK in preferences makes disappear the OK button, but the preferences dialog stills, button-less
This does not happen to anyone. What gtk/gnome version are using and on what distribution?
>> in actual behaviour, only maximized windows will have their title visible in the applet. Maybe that would be convenient to add a minimize and de-maximize button, too, not only the close-window one. At least the de-maximize one !
Have you seen the screenshots? This is already implemented. Maybe you've hidden your buttons?
>> icons would be much better to see if they would scale according to panel size
(using horizontal panel here)
Well, it depends. Personally I would rather use larger icons if I had a wider panel. But I will consider this.
>> overrall look may be imprved by removing the background from apps and app title.
Sorry don't understand. What background? There's no background. It is transparent.
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chareos
11 years ago
Now preferences dialog is fine.
but:
- window title no longer shows up
- icons stays very very small even on a 48 pixel panel
- buttons no longer show
- also, window buttons no longer works. No buttons come on panel, and on next startup gnome prompts me there was a problem con windowbuttons applet and offers me to remove it from panel.
using ubuntu jaunty, updated.
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holodeck
11 years ago
Seems to be a package issue. To fix, set the panel color in the preferences.
>> icons stays very very small even on a 48 pixel panel
You mean the window icon? Yes that's supposed to happen. I could make it scale with the panel, but it's going to look ugly, because the icon the window managers provide is only 16x16 pixels large.
>> buttons no longer show
Tested on two different computers and it didn't happen on any. Try installing from source, maybe it's a package issue.
>> also, window buttons no longer works. No buttons come on panel, and on next startup gnome prompts me there was a problem con windowbuttons applet and offers me to remove it from panel.
Same as above.
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