Cannot drag application icons onto covered-up windows

[Andrew]

Binary package hint: unity

When I try to drag-and-drop an application icon onto a window that is covered by another window, there is no way raise the covered-up window. A screencast is attached.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04
Package: unity 3.8.10-0ubuntu2
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.38-8.42-generic 2.6.38.2
Uname: Linux 2.6.38-8-generic x86_64
Architecture: amd64
CompizPlugins: [core,bailer,detection,composite,opengl,imgjpeg,compiztoolbox,decor,resize,wallpaper,snap,regex,gnomecompat,move,grid,titleinfo,text,mousepoll,imgpng,vpswitch,place,unitymtgrabhandles,animation,wall,session,workarounds,expo,ezoom,staticswitcher,fade,scale,unityshell,scaleaddon]
Date: Sun Apr 24 20:43:22 2011
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Beta amd64 (20110413)
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=en_US:en
 PATH=(custom, user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: unity
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

Thank you for your bug report, do you have any suggestion on what the behaviour should be?

[Andrew (andrewkvalheim)]

Brainstorming solutions:
 - Implement a fix for bug #111939 in 11.04.
 - Use a modifier key to inhibit the icon rearrangement mode, similar to the Snapping Windows Compiz plugin's Avoid Snap Modifier.
 - Detect that the dragged icon has crossed the target icon twice in a row, then open up empty slots on both sides (instead of just one side) of the target icon and halt the target icon's movement. The user could then choose to drop the dragged icon onto the target icon, drop it into either empty slot, or hover over any other icons to resume normal behavior.

[Damián Nohales (damiannohales)]

A possible solution:

When user hover a dragged icon onto an app icon at the launcher and stop the mouse motion during a while :

 - If there is no windows for the app:
      Do nothing.
 - If there is one window for the app:
      Raise that window allowing user to drop the dragged icon into the raised window.
 - If there are many windows for the app:
      Spread all windows for the application.
      Then user will move the cursor (and the dragged icon) to a window in the spread, when user stop the mouse motion during a while, that window will be raised and focused, allowing to drop the icon in that window.
      If user drop the icon before spread disappear (no window is raised), but the cursor is over a window, the behaviour should be the same if user drop the icon on the raised window.
      If user drop the icon before spread disappear, but the cursor is NOT over any window, the DnD should be canceled.

When user drop the icon directly in the launcher, the current behavior should be maintained.

For me, that is the dream behavour :) .

[Andrea Azzarone (azzar1)]

You can actually do that now both dnd while alt+tabbing or dnd over a launcher icon should activate the spread view. Closing the bug.