Ubuntu
ubuntu-meta package

Inconsistent dialogs and modifiers on core ubuntu applications

Bug #329185 reported by TenLeftFingers on 2009-02-13

This bug affects 6 people

Affects		Status	Importance	Assigned to	Milestone
	ubuntu-meta (Ubuntu)	Confirmed	Undecided	Unassigned

Bug Description

This issue actually effects Ubuntu historically and not just in Jaunty, but it's a pretty serious issue I think.

When exiting an application, a dialog may appear giving you choices on how you would like to exit (Save / Discard / Cancel). These are handled inconsistently by the various core applications. Most troubling is that key modifiers (eg. ALT+C to choose "Cancel) are available, and therefore encouraged for these dialogs.

This has led to a few accidents for me and I'm sure other users, and it forces the user to put a lot of thought into what should be a routine operating.

Just to compare, look at this:

Code:

Application Cancel Mod Save Mod Discard Mod

Gimp C S N
Gedit C A W
OOo no modifier S D
Evolution C S D

You can see from above that each application has it's own way of handling this situation and no two are alike. This means that the user, even if familiar with the applications, has to read each message word for word. Personally, I wouldn't dare get used to a keyboard modifier shortcut in case I used the wrong one on the wrong application.

Would it be possible to centrallize the location of these strings and their modifiers, in gconf for example? The applications could then retrieve them, ensuring consistency.

See attachments for screenshots of the dialogs. Also see http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=6728578#post6728578 for the original report (with better formatting!)

See original description