RFE: Auto-load maps based on the app with focus

[Joanmarie]

It would be nice if Wiican could detect what application had focus and automatically load a map based on that application (if such a map existed).

I'm not sure how to accomplish this *without* using AT-SPI; but I do know that you can figure out the app with focus using AT-SPI. If you wind up having to go that route, I'd think all you'd need to do is listen for window:activate events.

For instance, try enabling AT support for your session (System->Preferences->Assitive Technologies), and then running this snippet:

~~~~~~~
#!/usr/bin/python
import pyatspi

def onWindowActivate(event):
    print "window activated %s" % event.host_application

pyatspi.Registry.registerEventListener(onWindowActivate, "window:activate")
pyatspi.Registry.start()
~~~~~~~

[J. Félix Ontañón (fontanon)]

The script works great!

I think this feature could be included in Wiican 0.3.x series. Once wiican-0.3 be released i'll target this rfe to the next milestone.

[J. Félix Ontañón (fontanon)]

I have some design questions.

I wonder what it's the better way to prompt the user the need of activate at-spi and restart user session. It's always needed to restart session in order to activate at-spi? Could wiican activate at-spi avoiding the user to manually activate it?

What will be more convenient for the user?: wiican detects a new focusing app and has a mapping for that app, so

1.- Wiican ask the user "a new app with matching mapping it's focused, would you like to run the mapping?"
2.- Wiican autoswitch the new mapping for the focused app.

Think that in every mapping switch the user still need to press 1+2 wiimote buttonts in order to link the wiimote.

[Joanmarie (joanmarie-diggs-deactivatedaccount)]

(is there really no 'reply' for comments, like there is in bugzilla?)

> It's always needed to restart session in order to activate at-spi?

I *think* so. In this case anyway.

> Could wiican activate at-spi avoiding the user to manually activate
> it?

I don't *think* so.

You can run an individual app in an environment in which you enabled accessibility support, even if that support is not enabled session-wide, e.g.:

    $ env GTK_MODULES=gail:atk-bridge gedit

But in this case, Wiican is not the app that needs to have AT support enabled. It's all the other apps.

As an experiment, try *disabling* AT support for the session, log out, log back in, then try the snippet. For each app you launch setting GTK_MODULES, you should see events; for each one you launch without first setting GTK_MODULES, you won't see events.

As for what would be more convenient for the user.... I think that might depend on the user and thus need to be a preference. Perhaps go with option 1 (ask the user), but add one of those 'do not show this dialog again' checkboxes.

Pressing 1+2 each time won't kill anyone, but it's kind of a drag. Why is this needed? <takes a guess> Perhaps a device could have a single mapping and that mapping could in turn have application-specific items??

Ya know, that might actually be kinda cool [she says, not having actually looked at the code to know if it would make sense. ;-)] Consider the case where there's a default mapping that works perfectly for all apps but Foo. In Foo, only one button needs to be re-mapped. It would be nice to just remap that one button and have the rest be inherited from the default map.

[J. Félix Ontañón (fontanon)]

I was meaning about how wiican could advice the use that AT-SPI support it's needed to be active in order to enjoy this feature.

I'll do the Accerciser way: When accerciser run it no at-spi support it's active it prompt the user that accerciser could to activate it and restart the session.

The need of press 1+2 for change mapping it's about wminput issues. I think the first not-fine-grained version of auto-load maps based on the app with focus could be:

* The mapping info.desktop file contains an Application field with mapping associated app
* The user could mark mapping (by mapping manager facilities) for attempt to auto-activate it in the case the app receives the focus
* If the app receives the focus and the mapping it's marked for auto-load the press 1+2 notification will be displayed and the fun start

This approx it's compatible with wminput. What do you think?

[Joanmarie (joanmarie-diggs-deactivatedaccount)]

I think that sounds like a good plan.