Desktop Integration:System Tray

From KDE-HIG_Wiki

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Applications in the System Tray

TO DECIDE:

  1. Should the system tray host all applications that run in the background even if the main window is closed?
  2. Or should it be used as a pure 'notification area'? If so: Define notification (e.g. page in konqui is loaded versus new email or battery)
  3. What about keyboard switching which is neither a background process nor a notifier?


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Button Behavior in the System Tray

Single clicking on the systray icon will show/hide the main interface of the application. This can mean that an extra window will open or that a menu opens where the normal functionality of the application is present. The first single click will show the main window or menu, the second click will hide the main window or menu.

Problem: What about people who configured double click for their desktop? Does the icon in the systray differ significantly from the desktop icon, so they will understand they have to single click it? On the other hand: It may be confused with the taskbar which requires single click.

Suggestion: Allow both single and double click to open the main window/main menu (while the maximum interval between two clicks is defined by the corresponding control center settings).


Right clicking will show a popup menu with at least a quit and a configure option. If the main interface of the application is a window then closing (with the 'X') that window will only close the window and keep the systray icon visible.

Problem: This behavior is not understandable for less experienced users (Why does amaroK not quit while Noatun does?) and might annoy them. (How to quit?)


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Feedback Mechanisms for Applications in the System Tray

  • An application should never move to the system tray at initial start-up.
  • When the user tries to start an application that already resides in the system tray, its main window is opened. It is not convenient to start the application a second time, do nothing or even present an error message.
  • When the application's main window moves to the system tray after closing it, this has to be visualized by light traces.
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