Goal: Port Gnome to Gmenu

This post was made with another stylesheet and it might be messed up!

Since GNOME 3.4, applications have been able to specify their own GMenu (or ‘application menu’). In the interests of consistency, all GNOME applications should provide a similar set of items in their application menu.

In Gnome 3.6, we can see many Gnome components and applications that already use Gmenus, but unfortunately there are a lot still to be done, ruining a completely coherent experience and even confusing the newcomers.

What is hoped is that every application, utility and component that has a simple/small menu, to entirely port it to gmenu. If the menulist is complex, it should be ensured that a small number of key items are moved to the app menu for the sake of coherence.

What is left to be done and how likely is it to have a full “gmenu Gnome” in version 3.8? Let’s see…

Gnome core – 100% done
Core utilities – 70% done
Gnome applications – 38% done
Other Gnome parts – 19% done

As you can see, there is still work to be done and hopefully developers will focus on this important detail, as right now it is more confusing than helpful.

Gnome Live Page

Marcos V.F.

And with respect to third-part apps? For me, what really lacking for Gnome Shell be complete is a AppMenu for all applications, without exception. Many users end up preferring the Unity because of globalmenu that integrates all the Apps. The Gnome should achieve the same. C’mon, Gnome Team, it has to be possible. And then we have the most beautiful DE and consistent as possible. Keep with the good work!

http://funsurf-blog.blogspot.com/ Satyajit Sahoo

Perhaps the problem is, converting menu to GMenu will make it much cluttered, due to it is a vertical menu unlike the global menu, which is horizontal. But apps can easily add GMenu support.

Marcos V.F.

I’m not a developer and I’m not sure, but it seems that doing this is not really difficult. A way of using the Gnome-Shell AppMenu 3.2: http://www.webupd8.org/2011/11/install-gnome-shell-global-menu-in.html

The fact is that the only AppMenu in Gnome applications will be incomplete. If AppMenu is for all applications, then things really much better.I’m currently using the extension Maximus, which makes things much better. Even so, the menus still in its traditional form. I really like the Gnome-Shell, but I think these details are the way so he can gain more users, IMO. =)

bzt

Seeing Empathy in the screenshot, I should maybe warn about it in GNOME 3.6: There is a nasty bug with the GMenu of Empathy 3.6 that’s making Empathy practially unusable, and it’s terrifyingly easy to reproduce with no prospect of it being fixed until the next major release: https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=684610
http://twitter.com/varemenos Adonis K (Vαяēмēиøš)

Kinda Offtopic: Supporting touch interfaces is great and all but will we be able to trigger that menu without using a mouse or touch? I really hate having to take my hands off the keyboard just to interact with a menu.

aspratyush

Super + F10 does the trick Gnome 3.4 onwards itself.

alex285

Yes, but you need both hands for it :)

goldspy

Ctrl+Alt+Tab and choose Panel, then left/right to the item, in this case the application menu, then hit down to bring up the menu. Present since 3.2 as part of the GSOC a11y work iirc.

alex285

yes it works also in 3.6 but.. if I don’t like one thing in Gnome3, is the application menus. They are very bad implemented, you don’t know if an app has one, and even if it has you can’t use spatial memory, because app menus are kinda random in each app.
http://twitter.com/varemenos Adonis K (Vαяēмēиøš)

That versus “Alt+ the designated menu key”… Now i wonder which one is faster, simpler and better
goldspy

Keybindings should be configurable, but that is beyond the point, it is still possible and meets the needs of keyboard-eccentric as well as the disabled and it also much more fluid in terms of the whole system being accessible via keyboard.

Michael Mistretta

I really think this should be a high priority because it adds consistency to the UI.. though I feel the vertical placement of the GMenu is a bit inferior to Unity (of course Unity implements this feature poorly thanks to hiding it unless you mouse over).

Some programs, say for example Gimp just have a lot of menu options, it’s a bit cumbersome to accomplish tasks if it were to have a GMenu.. I really wish Gnome Shell would implement a Mac OS X style menu or an extension, I suppose it’s not possible because no one has created one. Since Gnome Shell is extremely single app-centric it makes total sense no?

foobar

Gimp is one of those very very few application where the old school menu bar makes perfect sense. I’m sure it’s not going to vanish there. Just some app but not image-centric options are going to be moved there.

Michael Mistretta

I think in the current iteration we lose a lot of vertical desktop space because of the title bar + menu bar under the gnome top panel. It would really be nice if we can compact that a bit, even for programs with extensive menu options such as Gimp.