Right click menus on Docky, unlike typical GNOME apps, don't have mnemonic keys

[Allan Caeg]

Binary package hint: gnome-do

On typical GNOME applications, like the window list applet, there are mnemonic keys that make operations faster. This is one of GNOME Do's goals.

A new feature that can help satisfy this goal is to have mnemonic keys on Docky's right click menus. I don't know what toolkit is used for this and what can be done with this type of GUI, but it would be helpful if there are mnemonic keys. For example, when Firefox's icon is right clicked, the menu that pops out will have "C" in "Close" underlined, which states that pressing alt+C would close Firefox.

Of all GNOME applications, Do needs this the most.

ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: amd64
Date: Sun Nov 8 22:24:34 2009
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.10
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" - Release amd64 (20091027)
Package: gnome-do 0.8.2+dfsg-1
ProcEnviron:
 PATH=(custom, user)
 LANG=en_PH.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.31-14.48-generic
SourcePackage: gnome-do
Uname: Linux 2.6.31-14-generic x86_64

[Robert Dyer (psybers)]

This will not be implemented in GNOME Do. Docky is being removed from GNOME Do in about one release.

I have added Docky to the bug report. This is the stand-alone version of Docky that post-dates the Docky in GNOME Do.

[Robert Dyer (psybers)]

Most menus can be activated via keyboard, thus it makes sense for them to have mnemonics. Docky menus *must* be activated via mouse so since you already have your hand/finger on the mouse it makes sense you can select the menu item that way too! So for Docky menus it makes less sense to require keyboard mnemonics.

[Robert Dyer (psybers)]

After further discussion we decided this is a WONTFIX. The dock just screams at you to use the mouse, there is no keyboard support anywhere else so why should the popups support it? That combined with the fact that as I said you *must* use a mouse to get the menu and then the mouse is *right there*, so it makes sense you would use the mouse to dismiss the menu as well!

[Allan Caeg (allancaeg)]

Something to think about: when you right click an entry on the window list applet on gnome or even on other platforms, you can press "C" to close the window or window group. That's what I do all the time and it makes the operation much faster. Though I use the touch pad most of the time, even if I was on a mouse, my left hand would still be holding "C". Like Docky, you need a mouse to initiate interactions with the window list applet. If I'm used to this kind of operation, I will be slowed down a bit when I choose to switch from the window list applet to Docky.

What I liked about GNOME Do is that it allowed me to do more things with the keyboard in an efficient way. This isn't about the bug anymore, but this is a related feature request. If there is a way to interact with Docky entries without using the mouse, Docky would be more feature-rich and that would allow us all to do things faster. On Konqueror, if you press "Alt," you will get a shortcut key for each link in the webpage. Though I'm not sure that it's the best idea for a webpage (because some webpages just have too many links among other issues), it would be a helpful feature for Docky when executed well. For example, if you press "win+alt+F", Firefox's right click menu will be activated on Docky then you can just click its mnemonic. That's going to make window management a lot faster.