Bring back Intellihide for unity as an option

[eric]

I understand the fact that newcomers were dragging all windows to the right to make the launcher appears.
To avoid it I understand the fact that "Launcher is always visible" is the right option for newcomers to discover the launcher.

But most of regular users prefer the intellihide option and I think it must be an option in appearence<behavior.

Ubuntu should suit everybody, newcomers and regular users and I don't understand why intellihide as an option is such a drawback that you decided to remove it !!

I am not asking to have it as the default behavior but to be able to use it without ccsm or myunity tweaks.

Thank you

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: unity 5.2.0-0ubuntu3
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-14.23-genUser Name 3.2.3
Uname: Linux 3.2.0-14-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 1.91-0ubuntu1
Architecture: amd64
CompizPlugins: [core,bailer,detection,composite,opengl,decor,compiztoolbox,move,gnomecompat,snap,mousepoll,imgpng,resize,grid,regex,vpswitch,place,wall,session,animation,workarounds,fade,expo,scale,ezoom,unityshell]
Date: Wed Feb 8 10:07:16 2012
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot" - Release amd64 (20111012)
SourcePackage: unity
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to precise on 2011-11-23 (76 days ago)

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[flux (luigimarco)]

doesn't work even with ubuntu-tweak now

[cometdog (ericctharley)]

There seem to be a significant number of users who like to use the dodge option and are disappointed about its demise, and I am one of them.

I like to use it because it is the only way to achieve the following balance:
1. It keeps the launcher visible in situations when I don't need all of my screen real estate. It is convenient to refer to the launcher at a glance, and the launcher looks attractive.
2. It hides the launcher when I need all of my screen real estate, such as when I am maximizing a window.
The autohide option achieves point 2, but does not achieve point 1. Therefore it is not an equivalent substitute for those of us who like dodge, as is often argued.

The only valid use arguments I have seen against it are:
1. It tested to be confusing for a particular class of users.
2. Leaving it in place as an option can make the choice of launcher behavior more confusing for some people.

The first argument does not by itself make a compelling case for removing the option. Many advanced features are confusing for some class of users, but still they are kept. Making sure this is not the default option should be sufficient to keep those users from being confused. If the feature has a legitimate use case, which I argue above that it does, and if a reasonable number of people find it useful, then it should be kept.

The second argument is also weak. Someone who is poking around menus to customize the behavior of the launcher is sufficiently advanced that they can handle the overhead of looking at three options rather than two. Even if they do not understand what the option means, there are few enough options that they could even experiment and figure it out if they desired. Keeping this as an option does not somehow take the intimidation factor from "Shotwell" to "Blender" equivalent. In any case, if the primary concern is confusion, the best option would be to figure out something different to call it, rather than dodge.

[montini (montini)]

I should also add - the only possible option now stays "Autohide" (for those who really need "window dodge", the option "Always show" is not an option at all). Which means when I am working only with one (right) hand, to be able to work quickly, I cannot - as I should use the left hand to reveal the launcher by clicking the "Super" key. Earlier, when I just needed to access dash to search for some app or smth, I always had a chance to leftmouseclick the dash icon right away - and now I need either two hands or one additional action to do - to move the mouse pointer hitting the screen edge (which is also a bit of a lottery at current stage - it's improving, but still), so now it takes more time to achieve the goal. I am not even talking about the elegance of the "window dodge" effect.

Sometimes I think that maybe the argument about new users not being able to understand "where did the launcher go" after maximizing the window is all about the compiz "Sticky windows" effect being turned on by default. For me, the first thing I do after reinstalling, I install the CCSM, and turn on the "Wobbly windows" effect. The "Sticky windows" conflicts with that, so it's being switched off, though I don't see any problem with that - I always use the "Shift" key to stick the window to some object on the screen. So when you use the "Wobbly windows" when maximizing window, you just can't really miss what is going on, and where the launcher goes. So I think this might be the solution for some. Actually I don't imagine ubuntu without "wobbly windows" - are you going to restrict THAT as well??

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

(you can read https://lists.launchpad.net/unity-design/msg07662.html about the topic)

[Mike (mikeken763)]

I agree and I couldn't have said it better myself! This needs to be an option right next to Auto-hide in the Appearance->Behaviour settings area.

[Omri Har-Shemesh (omrihar)]

I have read the thread mentioned by Sebastian and it seems
to me that the direction in which Ubuntu (and especially Unity)
is going is - "Be the best OS for the first 10 minutes of a completely new user".
Although I think it is important to increase the exposure of normal
users to linux, and I advertise it every time I can, for me one of the main
advantages of linux is (and, in the case of Ubuntu 12.04, was) that I was
given options, which I could over time incrementally learn to customize the
system to the way I work. Does Ubuntu really strive to be an OS ONLY used by
new users?

This case seems to be a clear indication of the future - any function which after
10 minutes of a new user is in any confusing - remove from the system instead
of changing the defaults to wise ones. A new user, after 10 minutes, will not discover
how to change the behavior of the Dock, and a result will not be confused by it.

Sorry for the rant.

[Jan Schürmann (visionfactory.net)]

this definetely is an annoying bug! it's still there and actually there's no workaround in Quantal!
what is the reason to completely remove such important feature?
did someone know if there is a string in dconf to change that?

[Phillip Whelan (pwhelan)]

This still totally affects unity.