Bug 769 - Please make it more obvious when Quiet or Suspend is on; here are some suggestions how to do so
Status:
NEW
Component:
GUI
Version:
1.8.5
Hardware:
PC Windows XP
Importance:
P3 enhancement
Target Milestone:
---
Assignee:
Rob Caelers
URL:
Depends on:
Blocks:
Reported:
Aug 14 2008 01:49:13 UTC
by:
Jason Spiro
Modified:
Jul 5 2012 00:43:00 UTC
CC List:
Aleksej
Jason Spiro
WhoWhenWhatRemovedAdded
Rob CaelersJan 28 2009 19:36:50 UTCseveritynormalenhancement
Jason SpiroJan 29 2009 01:54:23 UTCccJason Spiro
AleksejJun 30 2012 12:40:09 UTCccAleksej
Description
Jason Spiro  Aug 14 2008 01:49:13 UTC
Thank you for writing Workrave -- it's a wonderful tool.  One problem: It's too easy for new users to leave it in Quiet mode or Suspended, and to not realize why it isn't working.[1][2]

I suggest three solutions you can implement to combat this.  You can do some or all three; or you can come up with your own solutions.

1.  When you point the mouse at Workrave's tray icon, it shows a tooltip.  But the tooltip should say what mode Workrave is in.

2.  Under Preferences > User interface > General, add three option buttons (Normal, Suspended, and Quiet).  (It would be nice if you also added a one-line description of what each mode does, preferably using tooltips.)

3.  Get rid of the current quiet-mode (a sheep and door).  Instead, use a full-size dark gray sheep.  (Dark gray, not black; a black sheep would be completely invisible for the few people who have a black-colored taskbar.)

Footnotes:

^ [1].  See http://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/112250 for an example of a user who didn't realize they were stuck in Quiet mode.

^ [2].  An aside:  I'm not 100% sure, but I suspect that maybe when I installed workrave-win32-1.8.5-installer.exe on my Windows XP laptop recently, it came preinstalled in Quiet mode.  This is the first time I've ever installed Workrave on this laptop, and I never imported any settings from any other computer.
Comment 1
Rob Caelers  Jan 28 2009 19:36:50 UTC
1: implemented. Suspended and Quiet mode is mentioned in the tooltip.

2: What would the buttons do? The same as the menu items? Default values when Workrave starts up?

3: Feel free to contribute new bitmaps :-)
Comment 2
Jason Spiro  Jan 29 2009 01:54:23 UTC
re 1.  Thanks!

re 2.  They would do the same as the menu items:  they would enable Suspended or Quiet mode right now.  (Also adding a way to choose the default values when
Workrave starts up would be interesting.  I can't think of any use case for it though.  Can you?)

re 3.  No time, sorry  :)
Comment 3
Jason Spiro  Jul 5 2012 00:42:33 UTC
I've adapted my mode-description-tooltip idea from comment 0 point 2 into a separate bug.  It's bug 1078:  "Please use tooltips to clarify what the Suspended and Quiet operating modes do".
Comment 4
Jason Spiro  Jul 5 2012 00:43:00 UTC
re 3.

    a)  What's the difference between workrave-sheep.svg[1] and workrave.svg[2]?

    b)  Which is used to derive the Workrave system-tray icon?

    c)  Does it really make sense to have two SVG sheep in git?  :)

    ^  [1].  http://github.com/rcaelers/workrave/commits/master/frontend/common/share/images/workrave-sheep.svg

    ^  [2].  http://github.com/rcaelers/workrave/commits/master/frontend/common/share/images/scalable/workrave.svg