Drag and drop a USB key into the trash should eject the USB key

[Charline Poirier]

In testing participant dragged and dropped USB key in the trash but it didn't eject.

Desired solution:
- dragging and dropping a USB launcher icon in the trash launcher icon should eject the USB key
- after the USB key is ejected confirmation should be given to the user via a NotifyOSD notification
- the exact copy to be used in the NotifyOSD notification is "USB storage device [name of drive, e.g. "Neils USB key"] successfully ejected"

[eric (obrowny06)]

I don't understand why dragging the usb key to the trash should eject it ?
The trash is used to erase files so the right behaviour should be :

Dragging the usb key to the trash proposes to format the drive.
Dragging out the usb key from the launcher should eject it.

It seems more logical to me.

[Daniel Manrique (roadmr)]

The reason why the user thought dragging the USB key to the trash would eject it, is probably that he has prior experience with Macintosh, where the trashcan icon ejects removable media (CDs, floppies, memory cards, USB drives).

However I agree with obrowny that this behavior per se is unintuitive and inconsistent, and it's only by residual Mac experience that the user was expecting that behavior.

Just a comment.

[Andrea Azzarone (azzar1)]

@John Lea: can you give me the exact text for NotifyOSD notification? And should we notify both the success and the failure?

[John Lea (johnlea)]

@Andrea Azzarone: description updated with text to be used in NotifyOSD notification. What are available failure modes? If you could list them I can write the text for the notifications.

[Julien (julienmbpe)]

I don't understand the interest of this function... If i send a volume to the trash, i expect it to be erased, not to be ejected...

Is the implementation of this fonction freezed or is it just a test ?

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package unity - 4.4.0-0ubuntu1

---------------
unity (4.4.0-0ubuntu1) oneiric; urgency=low

  * New upstream release.
    - moving a launcher icon around generates lots of disk write activity
      (LP: #733425)
    - compiz crashed with SIGSEGV in sigc::signal_base::impl() (LP: #762801)
    - Drag and drop a USB key into the trash should eject the USB key
      (LP: #764905)
    - unity window decorator needs to support different metacity frame types
      (LP: #795048)
    - Don't switch title to menu when hovering window buttons (LP: #691808)
    - spacing between indicators should be 5 pixels (LP: #734010)
    - Dash: highlight box is mis-aligned with smaller icon (LP: #761465)
    - Merge libindicator scroll signals (LP: #804618)
    - unity: Dead code in Launcher.cpp: "mask | (Button1Mask & Button2Mask &
      Button3Mask)" (LP: #805327)
    - TrashLauncherIcon::UpdateTrashIconCb is leaking (LP: #806984)
    - Title fade effect no longer works (LP: #809907)
    - Accessibility support not initialized on Oneiric (LP: #810033)
  * debian/control:
    - build-dep on libnotify-dev
    - bump libnux-1.0-dev dep for ABI break
  * debian/rules:
    - bump libunity-core-4.0-4 shlib for ABI break
 -- Didier Roche <email address hidden> Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:41:15 +0200

[John Lea (johnlea)]

Reverted to 'confirmed' because the d&d fails (impossible to d&d at all) when a single USB key is inserted after a fresh install of Oneirc. If two USB keys are inserted at the same time it works, and sometimes it continues to work even after both USB keys are removed and only one is re-inserted.

[Andrea Azzarone (azzar1)]

This a general problem, but for the app icons it never happens since there are always hidden app icons in launcher. Create a fake hidden launcher device icon is the simple solution. What do you think DBO?

[Alan Bell (alanbell)]

Should it not say "USB storage device [name of drive, e.g. "Neils USB key"] is safe to remove" because it doesn't eject USB devices and it seems silly to tell the user something has ejected when it plainly has not. Also, count me with the people who are bemused by the concept of putting a USB key in the rubbish bin and expecting it to be unmounted. I would think that would format it, if anything.

[John Lea (johnlea)]

@alanbell

Agreed that you do not literally eject a USB key, however we have found repeatedly in user testing that users look for a USB key 'eject' option, and are most comfortable taking about USB device removal in terms of "ejecting". This is very much a product of conditioning from using Windows, but none the less we don't gain anything from deviating from the recognised Windows conventions at this specific point.

[Alan Bell (alanbell)]

this is actually stated as something that shouldn't be done in the GNOME HIG
http://developer.gnome.org/hig-book/3.0/principles-match.html.en

"On the other hand, a waste basket should not be used for anything other than holding discarded files. It should not be used, for example, to eject a removable disk such as a floppy or CD."