Let’s admit it. Gnome wants simplicity in their desktop environment but I think they when extra too simple on implementing the dash.
Here are my thoughts.
You are forced to open window picker.
It is not a quick access.
And I thing it only serves a purpose of pinning and unpinning if an actual dock exist.
opening multiple apps fast is impossible. Yes we can just disable auto overview close on app launch but still its too complex.
Gnome tries to simplify it but i think it is too simple that most users just end up using dash to dock and other alternatives.
What we can keep instead:
We can support dash peaking through pressure barrier
Add a very simple intellihide. Only monitors focused app.
Reuse dash of course.
I have been experimenting through an extension.
I’ve done a lot of tweaks since dash doesn’t expose a lot of things that I need to implement as a top chrome just like not supporting animating icon size when not in overview
Users are supposed to use shortcuts for this (super+{1-9}). I agree it’s not very discoverable tho. While current design isn’t perfect and it definitely requires a couple of shortcuts for it to not be clunky, I personally don’t want to abandon it in favour of dock.
Dash peaking certainly is interesting idea, but it have the same problem as hot edge have - it effectively turns a lower edge of the screen into a “danger zone” where if you move your mouse a little too fast in the wrong direction, it will hide the content of your window. And it will cause a guaranteed wave of complaints if it will be left without being able to tweak it, and IMO preference just for it will be bad.
And it will also cause another wave of “why not just implement a proper dock”.
Just press and hold the Control key to keep the overview open after clicking an app icon. If the app is already running, a new window will be opened if the app supports it.
That Ctrl tip is useful for power users, but it’s basically a band-aid. Relying on a hidden modifier to keep the overview open is not something the average user will ever discover. It also requires using both hands just to open multiple apps, which defeats the idea of quick access.
The trick is only convenient while you’re already in the overview, but most of the time you’re working outside of it. In that case, a dash peek / pressure reveal would be far more ergonomic it keeps the dash available without forcing the full overview and can stay visible as long as the focused window doesn’t overlap.
In short: GNOME could keep things simple and improve usability by making the dash itself more directly accessible, instead of hiding multi-launch behind a modifier key.
I think sometimes gnome simplifying stuffs makes it more complicated. I repeat, that is why many users end up installing alternatives
Yeah you got a unique design and workflow. But does that benefit with ergonomics. Dock is already very common UI element on devices like tablets and desktops and its already not a concern of ‘copying’ others. If gnome is concern about being different then why are they hiding the name ‘Dock’ with a Dash. Obviously dash is a bad naming.
Dash doesn’t even have multi monitor support. For me dash would have been useful if it is functions as i proposed. The only benefit of Dash is that the source code was used as a baseline of Dash to Dock which is more functional. And I personally use dash to dock on non Fix mode just to “peak”. Hopefully someday I see my self removing that extension in favor of a more simple native implementation.
You’re throwing around a lot of “obviously”, “most users”, “many users” as a way to support your argument, but I don’t see any actual proof in the form of user testing, or telemetry data.
As a general recommendation when talking about design issues: don’t try to elevate your personal preference with generalised statements. It does not do what you think it does; it actually makes it really easy to dismiss what you’re saying.
You want to have a dock with automatic hiding, because you find yourself more productive with it. That’s a perfectly valid statement. No need to resort to cheap tricks to aid your position.
In practice: no, it’s very unlikely to happen. Reactive edges have their own problems, and they come at a cost. A dock (with our without “intellihide”) would also not fit in within the overall set of design tenets that favour unencumbered user attention, which is why it hasn’t happened in the nearly 15 years of the current GNOME UX. The overview is a representation of the context switch necessary to switch between applications and tasks. We already have mechanisms for launching applications without leaving the overview—Ctrl click, middle click—which are similar to opening links in another tab when using web browsers.
If you’re asking a whole new set of user interactions with the desktop then you will need a lot more convincing power than saying “a lot of people stop using GNOME otherwise”—mainly because you literally cannot know if it’s true.
Then at least support dash across monitors not just the primary monitor. If you are taking it as a personal preference then i will own it : “Don’t make me open an app and drag it to the other monitor”.
