I also would like to register support for this improvement. My preference would also be for it to remain animated (whether shaking/wiggling, or highlighted in a contrasting color) until focus is given.
-- You received this bug notification because you are a member of DX Packages, which is subscribed to unity in Ubuntu. Matching subscriptions: dx-packages https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1319542 Title: Unity urgent animation needs an adjustable time length. Status in Ayatana Design: New Status in Unity: Triaged Status in unity package in Ubuntu: Triaged Bug description: Ubuntu 14.04, fully up to date, Unity Version: 7.2.0+14.04.20140416-0ubuntu1 The Unity launcher in my setup is not hidden. It is always visible. The current behavior of the urgent animation goes like this: 1) An application needs attention (such as an instant message through Empathy or Skype) 2) Icon wiggles for about one second 3) Once the wiggle is over, the icon remains highlighted The problem is with step 2. The icon never reinitializes any sort of motion to catch the user's eye. People are busy. People are frequently multitasking. In a lot of cases, people are using multiple monitors or very widescreen monitors and their field of vision is in an entirely different place altogether. There really should be some sort of repeated motion that takes place to grab the users attention, thereby signifying that an application needs attention. A few possible solutions would be: A) Let the icon wiggle indefinitely until the user clicks on it. This is a bit obnoxious, because you have to consider the situations where a user might notice it, but might be too deep in a specific project to address it right away. This would stand as a potential distraction and/or annoyance, though it *would* eliminate the chances of the notification going missed. B) To allow the user to adjust the time frame in which the wiggle animation takes place. That way instead of one second, perhaps the user might want it to last 10 seconds, or 30 seconds, etc. There are times where I am engaging in an active conversation but switching to another application frequently. At times, I miss a message altogether despite the fact I'm looking at the screen. This is entirely due to the short time frame in which the urgent animation is moving. The length of time in which it moves is, more times than not, simply not long enough to be noticed. If the one second span could be adjusted, and say I have it set to 5 seconds, or 10 seconds, surely I would notice it. C) The most optimum solution in my opinion is to make the urgent animation continually come up over a specified span of time. Example, I receive a notification from Empathy, but I miss it. It wiggles and shortly thereafter stops wiggling, thereby just sitting idle but with the icon highlighted. A short time later, perhaps 30 seconds later, it wiggles again, and continues onward in 30 second intervals indefinitely until the user gives attention to the application requesting it. Option C would circumvent a potential "annoyance" factor of option A, and it would work around the fact that option B) would require another thing to change in the settings menu. All in all, there *really* should be a way for a user to more easily see that an application needs attention. A simple one second wiggle is not enough. A background highlight is not enough as it does not move to be noticed. You only notice a background highlight if you specifically look at the icon, whereas a motion-based notification (wiggle, etc) actually 'grabs' your attention to be noticed. Thank you for your time, consideration, and hard work. If I can be of any further assistance please let me know. Thank you again! ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04 Package: unity 7.2.0+14.04.20140423-0ubuntu1.2 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-24.47-generic 3.13.9 Uname: Linux 3.13.0-24-generic x86_64 ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3 Architecture: amd64 CompizPlugins: No value set for `/apps/compiz-1/general/screen0/options/active_plugins' CurrentDesktop: Unity Date: Wed May 14 15:28:24 2014 InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-04-04 (40 days ago) InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS "Trusty Tahr" - Daily amd64 (20140330) SourcePackage: unity UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ayatana-design/+bug/1319542/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~dx-packages Post to : dx-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~dx-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
