[wishlist] Click to dismiss

[Thiago Teixeira]

Binary package hint: notify-osd

Currently (and by design), the notifications in notify-osd cannot be clicked on. Instead, the notification becomes translucent and the click is propagated to the application below it.

The problem with this design decision is that before hovering over the notification the user cannot see with any clarity what is underneath it, making it hard to aim the mouse in the correct direction. Instead, the user must hover over the notification, look for the widget he wants to interact with, then click on it.

Even worse, when the user types on a text field that is beneath the notification (like Firefox's search field), the translucency of the notification above it adds unnecessary visual clutter, hindering legibility.

Additionally, there currently is no way dismiss a notification pop-up -- except for waiting it out.

I propose that the notification pop-up become click-aware. Upon a left-click the notification should be dismissed, giving the user the ability to freely interact with anything that was previously covered by it.

[Vish (vish)]

Click-to-dismiss is not possible with the current specs. But i agree that there needs to be a way to quick-dismiss the bubbles.

Maybe "Ctrl+Esc" to dismiss?

Why "Ctrl+Esc" because, "Esc" alone can trigger other fullscreen-elements to close.

[Mirco Müller (macslow)]

It is a deliberate design-feature of notify-osd to not have close-buttons. See https://wiki.ubuntu.com/NotifyOSD#Bubble%20behavior

[Thiago Teixeira (tvst)]

Mirco: Yes, its a design feature (as I acknowledged in my first post), but it breaks usability in many scenarios. Try this:

1) maximize firefox
2) produce a notification event (to show notify-osd)
3) then press ctrl-k (to access the search box)
4) start typing
Result: You will not be able to see what you are typing, as it will be obscured by notify-osd.

Clearly, while this "design feature" has its merits, it can also fail in very basic ways.

[Matthew Paul Thomas (mpt)]

tvst, it's best to report bugs, rather than reporting solutions. The problem of not being able to see what you are typing in Firefox's search field is an important problem, and that should be reported as a bug. But there are multiple ways of solving it, and we probably wouldn't choose the one involving "click to dismiss".