From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: floyd@barrow.com (Floyd L. Davidson) Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: emacs for everything? Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 03:24:52 -0900 Organization: __________ Message-ID: <87llcmupnv.fld@barrow.com> References: <87pt2ej98v.fsf@node1.ddorf.de> <87zn1g2t5j.fld@barrow.com> <876540gxzw.fld@barrow.com> <87653u4x4t.fld@barrow.com> <86sm6voy32.fsf@ketchup.de.uu.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: deer.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1101644745 14717 80.91.229.6 (28 Nov 2004 12:25:45 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 12:25:45 +0000 (UTC) Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sun Nov 28 13:25:40 2004 Return-path: Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by deer.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1CYO7X-00080I-00 for ; Sun, 28 Nov 2004 13:25:39 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.33) id 1CYOGs-0007fo-BF for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sun, 28 Nov 2004 07:35:18 -0500 Original-Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!newsfeed-east.nntpserver.com!nntpserver.com!falcon.america.net!eagle.america.net.POSTED!not-for-mail Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help User-Agent: gnus 5.10.6/XEmacs 21.4.15/Linux 2.6.5 Cancel-Lock: sha1:wdkHuv9KV8HIWuV9pmLwLOnlvs8= Original-Lines: 78 Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 209.124.156.132 Original-X-Trace: eagle.america.net 1101644830 209.124.156.132 (Sun, 28 Nov 2004 07:27:10 EST) Original-NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 07:27:10 EST Original-Xref: shelby.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:126993 Original-To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:22396 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.help:22396 Micha Feigin wrote: >Kai Grossjohann wrote: >> floyd@barrow.com (Floyd L. Davidson) writes: >> > Kai Grossjohann wrote: >> >> >>There is a feature sometimes called "window tabs", or "piles".[...] >> > >> > Wow, that looks very useful. >> >> Perhaps fvwm has a module for this? >> >> ... surfs fvwm.org ... >> >> No, I couldn't find anything. Hm. But I think I heard something >> about it. Hm. >> > >You are probably talking about fvwmtabs >http://users.tpg.com.au/users/scottie7/fvwmtabs.html After looking at that web page, I'll admit that I just don't see much value in what it does compared to using the FvwmPager module with simply a large number of virtual desktops. For one, the pager window is not tied to any other window, but is placed where ever you like it on the screen (and in theory can be move whenever you wish, though I don't use it that way). The pager window of course has an entirely different type of system to cue the user about what is available. The two systems perhaps use different means to access tabs or desktops, but I don't see that as significant. What they index, however, is very different and I find that very significant. I didn't look into exactly how the tab system decides what label to apply in each tab. Hopefully it is something useful, though in fact I have yet to see one that is for me. I don't relate short names (or icons) to what a program is being used for. In particular I may have several similar projects going, all of which use some of the same programs. Hence just a program name is no clue at all to which tab I might be interested in. The pager doesn't have labels at all though! It does provide some slight clue with a graphic representation of the physical size of the windows open on each desktop. But essentially it requires that the user remember the physical position of a virtual desktop in relation to the project on that desktop. I can see where either of those two systems might be of more or less use to different people with different styles. For me the window tabs are not useful, and the pager is very useful. But aside from that aspect, the tab system is just too restricted. I don't want to switch between projects on the same screen or worse yet the same window. I very much like having a desktop with multiple programs running in multiple windows, each positioned in on the screen in whatever way works best for the immediate task at hand (which might be very different, even for the same project, from day to day or even for a few minutes for one particular task). When I switch to some other project, I don't want to upset the layout for the one I'm leaving. And rarely ever does any project take up a fullscreen window all by itself, as opposed to having several windows (some of which might, such as emacs, have the ability to multiplex various displays too). Which is to say that sometimes the tabbed window would be useful, but that would not be often, and would never replace using virtual desktops and the FvwmPager to manage them. I suspect that the smaller the actual physical size of the screen being used, the more useful window tabs would be. If I used a laptop a lot that might be *very* nice. -- Floyd L. Davidson Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) floyd@barrow.com