(Un)installing multiple applications with Ubuntu Software Center should be easier

[Oscurochu]

Binary package hint: software-center

There should be a tab for completed installations, completed uninstallations, and applications pending.
There should also be a progress bar next to the tab label.
Also, I do not believe the applications should be immediately installed. They should be added to the Pending Applications tab.

Once the user is ready to install, have a button at the bottom of the screen labeled, "Install..." or something that would make sense for that button, that takes you to the Pending Applications tab, where the user can look over the list of applications. This way, if they decide they don't want the application anymore, they don't have to install it.

Then they press a button thats labeled "Begin," or something of the sort.

During installation, and after installation, there should be a button at the bottom of the screen labeled "Processed Applications," which takes you to the "Processed Applications" tab. The processed Applications tab should have a list of all applications that have been (un)installed during the users current login session.

The Pending Applications should only contain applications that have not yet been (un)installed.

[Matthew Paul Thomas (mpt)]

I'm sorry, I don't understand this bug report.

How does the story about Nautilus and flash drives relate to Ubuntu Software Center?
Why should applications not be immediately installed?
Do you really mean that there should be a button labelled ",", or is there a word missing there?

[Oscurochu (oscurochu)]

I think I intended to write two bug reports, wrote them at the same time, but forgot to make the seperate bug reports. Just ignore the part about the flash drives,

No, I do not think there should be a button labeled, "," it is just a missing word. The button should be labeled, "Install," or something that would make sense for that button.

[Vish (vish)]

Description as per reporter's comment #2.

[Vish (vish)]

Description updated as per reporter's comment #2.

[guilloip (guilleip)]

I just tried to report the same bug.

If you want to install multiple software, the selection task becomes too slow, because each time you select a software its installation begins and the control is lost for few seconds in this action. The oldest way (the one of Ubuntu 8 or earlier), there were two steps, one for selecting packages (by checking boxes) and another one for telling software-center to begin installation (by pressing INSTALL button), was much more better for multiple packages installing.

I dont known why is it so important to begin the installation immediately after each software selection, but I respect that decision because I think that if there were a change there must be a reason for that change too. So it could be something optional, like a "Install later" button, or simply an option in a "preferences->advanced" menu.

[Oscurochu (oscurochu)]

There's a reason for everything. That doesn't mean it's always for a good reason.
I don't think there was really any "good" reason for the installation to begin immediately. It should most definitely be optional, and not enabled by default.

[guilloip (guilleip)]

Oscurochu, I hope you are wrong about that there is not reason. I want to believe that there is always a good reason behind a changing. I know that I could be expecting too much, but I learned to do so, to believe that a change is always thought twice. That I can not imagine a reason doesn't means that there is no reason at all.

I got another example why "select first - install after" should exist (or be optional). Imagine you have a "dial-up connection" or any paid-by- minute connection service. You might want to select first your software off-line and the go on-line only for the downloading. Or maybe you are so far away from any connection, so you want to do a careful package selection after find a connection point, just in order to save time.

[Matthew Paul Thomas (mpt)]

Well then.

A bug report of the form "X should be easier" is not, usually, a valid bug report. A bug report of the form "X is harder than it could be", with measurements or even usability heuristics to demonstrate that the current design is N% harder to use than some alternative design Y, would be useful. But we don't have that here. In the absence of anything like that, it's fairly obvious that a design requiring 3 actions to install 3 items ("Install", "Install", "Install") is both more learnable and more efficient than a design requiring 4 actions to install 3 items ("Install", "Install", "Install", "Begin").

guilloip has a good point that sometimes USC is not quite as responsive as it could be when installing or removing stuff in the background, sometimes screens move about when a task has completed, and we're quite forgetful about what you asked to do when Ubuntu was offline. But those are not problems that need to be fixed by changing USC's entire interaction model. They can be fixed by better threading, scheduling, and persistence. Please report separate bugs on individual problems of that sort.

Meanwhile, the first part of this bug report is fixed in Maverick: there is a screen for completed installations ("History" > "Installations"), and a screen for completed uninstallations ("History" > "Removals"), as well as the screen for applications pending ("In Progress"). You can also, if you really want to, set up a queue of items to install all at once: for example, enter "webservice-office-zoho,abcde,midori" (without quotes) in the "Get Software" search field, and you'll get a list with an "Install _ Items" link at the bottom. If that still doesn't suit you, try Synaptic.