Re: Feedback: Panel, Applets and volatile preferences files.

[textshell t-online de]

Eric Kidd wrote:

> 
> In my case, the problem isn't crashes (fortunately). It's simply a desire
> to save preferences when removing Screen Shooter from the panel, and
> restore those preferences when adding it back.
> 
> Right now, the only way for me to save Screen Shooter's preferences is to
> keep it running all the time. But this is silly--I only use it every few
> weeks, and like all panel applets, it consumes a moderately-sized chunk of
> RAM.
> 
> But it's also obvious that I could (hypothetically) create *two* copies of
> Screen Shooter, and configure them differently. So it's not clear what the
> Right Thing<tm> to do is in each of these scenarios.
> 
> Here's one possible approach. (It presents a relatively simple system
> behavior model to the user, FWIW.)
> 
>   * When working with more than one instance of an applet, use the default
>     settings for each new instance.
>   * When adding or deleting a single instance of an applet, make
>     preferences persistent.
> 
> Here's one possible algorithm which meets these goals:
> 
>   func add_applet_to_panel:
>     if one or more instances of the applet are already running:
>       use default preferences for this instance
>     else:
>       if we have previously saved preferences for this applet:
>         use previously saved preferences for this instance
>       else:
>         use default preferences for this instance
> 
>   func remove_applet_from_panel:
>     if this is the last running instance of this applet:
>       save preferences for this instance

I think it would be easier and more intuitive to have a save settings
button to save the right settings.
This would work like all these good tool that let you change some
settings and don't save them unless you hit the save button.

Personally I hate these application that try to be smart(tm) and mess up
my setting without beeing told to. 


> 
> You'd have to get slightly trickier, of course, if you wanted to treat an
> applet crash as an unplanned "removal" (which would solve Preben's
> problem).
> 
> Am I completely off my rocker, or does this sound vaguely useful? If
> there's sufficient interest, I could prepare some patches for examination
> by the panel developers.
> 
> Cheers,
> Eric
> 

martin