Launchers Should Toggle Between Focus and Minimize

[Lonnie Lee Best]

Here's how the launcher icons should work on the Unity Launcher panel:

1) Clicking a launcher for the first time, launches the application. (already implemented)

2) Clicking a launcher whose application is already launched, brings focus to that application's window. (already implemented)

3) Clicking a launcher whose application is:
   a) "already launched"
   b) "already has focus"
SHOULD MINIMIZE THAT APPLICATION'S WINDOW. (NOT YET IMPLEMENTED)

This has been annoying me since Ubuntu 11.04, but its not too late to get this simple code enhancement into Ubuntu 13.04:
http://djazz.mine.nu/files/ubuntucountdown/

[Lonnie Lee Best (launchpad-startport)]

Currently, clicking a launcher in situation 3 (above), doesn't nothing at all. So, what I'm proposing is the natural evolution to an otherwise unresponsive interface (given these circumstances).

[Lonnie Lee Best (launchpad-startport)]

Also, if you consider how small the minimize button is on a windows, and if you also consider that you have to (1) click on a window first to focus on that window before you can go (2) HOVER over the top-panel just to (3) *SEE* the minimize button, I think you'll see the usefulness of adding this enhancement to the Unity interface.

It eliminates steps that were added to Ubuntu upon integrating title bars into the top-panel.

Its too much work, currently, just to minimize a window (with a mouse-click). These blunt launcher icons would be a God Sent, if we could only get this proposal implemented.

[Lonnie Lee Best (launchpad-startport)]

Lastly, think of the value this would give to Ubuntu's goal of having a touch-drivable interface, where fingers are used in place fine-point-mouse-cursors. We need blunter ways of minimizing, you need the ability to do things with the big buttons versus super small and hidden minimize buttons.

[Joe Carey (joecarey)]

Seems like a no brainer. Added functionality with minimal programming and takes up no extra screen real estate.

[Benjamin Xiao (ben-r-xiao)]

Minimizing windows for Case #3 doesn't work because this is already reserved for the "Expose" mode where it displays all the windows of that application.