Applet has too much horizontal padding

Bug #272824 reported by Phil Bull
18
This bug affects 1 person
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
fast-user-switch-applet (Ubuntu)
Fix Released
Undecided
Unassigned
Intrepid
Invalid
Undecided
Unassigned
Jaunty
Fix Released
Undecided
Unassigned

Bug Description

Binary package hint: fast-user-switch-applet

The fast-user-switch-applet has too much horizontal padding, so the logout icon doesn't fit right into the corner of the panel. This might fool some users into thinking that they have to accurately place their mouse pointer over the applet, when they could save time by just jamming the pointer into the corner (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitts%27_law for details).

Ubuntu Intrepid with latest updates
fast-user-switch-applet 2.22.0+svn20080815-0ubuntu3

Revision history for this message
Phil Bull (philbull) wrote :
Revision history for this message
Tuomas Aavikko (taavikko) wrote :

Up-to-date Intrepid

Confirmed, it doesn't fit the panel very well.
Theme in use "NewHuman"

Changed in fast-user-switch-applet:
status: New → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Ricardo Pérez López (ricardo) wrote :

I can confirm this, too. It's rather ugly and it reduce usability.

Revision history for this message
Ralf Nieuwenhuijsen (ralf-nieuwenhuijsen) wrote :

Not to mention the fact that we are free to horizontally put any applet anywhere, so why would it even contain any padding?

Revision history for this message
Ralf Nieuwenhuijsen (ralf-nieuwenhuijsen) wrote :

But who do we subsribe to even get this fixed?

Revision history for this message
Phil Bull (philbull) wrote :

Hi Ralf,

We should wait for a developer/triager to set the importance, and then wait for a fix from a developer. This is a minor issue, so is unlikely to be a high priority bug for the forthcoming Ubuntu release.

Revision history for this message
Tuomas Aavikko (taavikko) wrote :

@Ricardos comment on usability, I disagree, it's only, visually unappealing.
Seen on my padding.png it leaves a gap, between notification area and blue arrow (fast-user)

But waiting for an developer to comment.

Revision history for this message
Ricardo Pérez López (ricardo) wrote :

The lack of usability is due to lack of Fitt's law fulfillment, as #0 says.

Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote :

This bug was fixed in the package fast-user-switch-applet - 2.24.0-0ubuntu3

---------------
fast-user-switch-applet (2.24.0-0ubuntu3) intrepid; urgency=low

  * 84_session_management.patch: Add a check for the lock screen lockdown
    key and ensure that if it is set, there is no lock screen option.
    (LP: #277650)
  * 88_status_icons.patch: Adding the removal of the generated icons so
    that the package can rebuild correctly.
  * 90_status_management.patch: Reducing padding on panel. Not able to get
    rid of all, but it's better. (LP: #272824)
  * 90_status_management.patch: Adding a check for the status manager
    validity in get status. (LP: #262187)
  * 91_ltsp_new_features.patch:
   * Remove guest account with LTSP. (LP: #282610)
    * Make it so that failure to send a command to GDM on logout
      still results in logging out. (LP: #282595)
    * Hide the Reboot and shutdown items when the LTSP_CLIENT environment
      variable is set. (LP: #282613)
  * 92_autotools.patch: Update with other patches

 -- Ted Gould <email address hidden> Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:03:35 -0500

Changed in fast-user-switch-applet:
status: Confirmed → Fix Released
Revision history for this message
Ricardo Pérez López (ricardo) wrote :

Ted, I have exactly (at least for my eyes) the same padding as before. The padding is the same as you can see in the screenshots at comments #1 and #2.

$ dpkg -s fast-user-switch-applet | grep Version
Version: 2.24.0-0ubuntu3

Revision history for this message
Tuomas Aavikko (taavikko) wrote :

Confirming Ricardo's view.
Still leaving that unappealing gap between "fast-user-switch><notification area"

Revision history for this message
Ricardo Pérez López (ricardo) wrote :

Back to Confirmed, as several users said it's not fixed.

Changed in fast-user-switch-applet:
status: Fix Released → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Kevin Krafthefer (krafthefer) wrote :

The problem is very clear if the panel is vertical, eg. dragged to the left or right side of the screen. The text needs to be rotated. See attached screenshot.

Menu heading had the same problem a few years ago.

Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote :

This bug was fixed in the package fast-user-switch-applet - 2.24.0-0ubuntu7

---------------
fast-user-switch-applet (2.24.0-0ubuntu7) jaunty; urgency=low

  * Added debian/patches/73_max_users_from_passwd.patch which makes it so
    there is a maximum of 15 users that can be read from the password file
    before going into overload mode. In that mode there are no users shown
    from the password files, only logged in users and an other that will
    take you back to GDM. Fixes LP: #203217
  * Added debian/patches/94_user_manager_signals.patch which adds removal
    of signals on shutdown. Each of these signals are invalid if they're
    called anywhere after this function.
  * Updated 90_status_management.patch to better handle removal of signals
    which should fix LP: #285797
  * Updated 84_session_management.patch to properly disconnect the signals
    related to the DBus events it is watching.
  * 90_status_management.patch: Changing 'Online' to 'Available' fixing
    LP: #279057
  * 90_status_management.patch: More work into handling the pixels around
    the applet. This will be the final version for how those pixels are
    handled, closing LP: #272824

 -- Ted Gould <email address hidden> Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:48:15 -0600

Changed in fast-user-switch-applet:
status: Confirmed → Fix Released
Revision history for this message
Martin Pitt (pitti) wrote :

UI change, but much less intrusive than bug 279057. Bearable for SRU, approved.

Changed in fast-user-switch-applet:
status: New → In Progress
Revision history for this message
Martin Pitt (pitti) wrote :

Accepted into intrepid-proposed, please test and give feedback here. Please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/EnableProposed for documentation how to enable and use -proposed. Thank you in advance!

Changed in fast-user-switch-applet:
status: In Progress → Fix Committed
Revision history for this message
Martin Pitt (pitti) wrote :

This update has been in intrepid-proposed for over three months, without any testing feedback. Can anyone please test this version and tell us whether it still works normally, and this bug is fixed for you? Thanks!

Revision history for this message
Phil Bull (philbull) wrote :

Hi Martin,

The updated applet works fine, I haven't noticed any regressions.

The padding is much better, but I'd still argue that another couple of pixels could be removed from the right-hand side of the applet, just to avoid the same Fitts Law problems that the Windows 95 Start button had [1]. In fact, would it be possible to set the applet to raise/light-up on mouse-over, like the clock applet? This would solve the problem completely, IMO.

[1] - http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh/archive/2006/08/22/711808.aspx

Revision history for this message
Martin Pitt (pitti) wrote :

Current SRU was removed from proposed for bug 279057. If this is still an issue, it needs to be reuploaded without string changes.

Changed in fast-user-switch-applet (Ubuntu Intrepid):
status: Fix Committed → Triaged
tags: removed: verification-done
Revision history for this message
Alex Valavanis (valavanisalex) wrote :

Intrepid Ibex reached end-of-life on 30 April 2010 so I am closing the
report. The bug has been fixed in newer releases of Ubuntu.

Changed in fast-user-switch-applet (Ubuntu Intrepid):
status: Triaged → Invalid
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