There are a number of things left to do, including:
- single runner mode (this is supported in libplasma, just not in the UI)
- fixed query mode (ditto)
- selected item presentation improvements (bigger, comlete text, float to top)
- put back access to per-match options in the UI
- replace the ugly pushbuttons with something cuter
- paging (so when there are more items than fit you can easily move between them)
- short text below individual match icons
- better default artwork
- respect the desktop graphical effects setting (to turn off all the glitz)
- consolidate the animation timers into just one (probably via
PhaseAnimator) - slightly better timeouts for updates so we don't icon dance toooo much
- documentation
These are all pretty minor items compared to we have done already though, and will be pretty easily achieved before the deep freeze. So what have we done? We've rovided a much nicer experience including more speed, solid stability, better usability (hooray for the tab key!), more configurability (including a UI to select which runners get used) and fun eye candy.
The people who have contributed signficantly to this release include Ryan Bitanga (threading work, configuration), Jordi Polo (abstracting out the management code, various improvements in efficiency), Riccardo Iaconelli (user interface and design), David Bettio (user interface) and yours truly. Thanks to everyone who's helped make krunner a bit shinier for 4.1.
Oh, before a forget, here's a screencast in ogg format (in which I forgot to mention that different kinds of matches have different colours; I was tired, so shoot me =):
42 comments:
This looks nice, but I think it is a bit cryptic. When you type a substring, you don't always know how the application logo looks, so typing "kat" and iterating through 4 icons just to find kate is more complex than I believe it should be. Wouldn't an organization scheme like "Type of application -> listing of related applications" be a lot more practical ? Thanks for the work anyway !
Wow! This looks awesome. Thank you!
Can it queue songs from the Amarok database?
If not, that's a feature request!
That looks really nifty :) i'm looking forward to the "text under the icons" thing, though, mystery meat navigation really is not too good ;) i really like it other than that, though, very very neat stuff there! Gotta do that svn up dance ;)
Oh, and another question. There was this announcement one year ago?
http://aseigo.blogspot.com/search/label/media%20center
What happened? I never heard anything of it again...
Very nice! Good to see krunner shaping up for 4.1.
One question: will I have to tab back to the line edit after having pressed tab, or will it be possible to just continue typing to narrow down the results?
@nikos: "but I think it is a bit cryptic."
that's why there are those items about text and display in the todo list i put there =)
@marcel: still on the books; just taking a bit longer, a complicated by the development timeline of 4.1
@erlend: currently you have to tab back, yes. i don't think i'll be able to work on a solution for that for 4.1 though; more 4.2 stuff.
@nikos: ah, i should also mention that the ordering of those icons aren't random either; they are actually ordered according to liklihood of matching (relevancy ranking).
@marcel: just write an amarok runner plugin for it :)
Wow, that's so cool, thank you all, plasma-devs!
I'm really admiring what you are doing and where plasma is going.
btw:I got the strong feeling that your blog is often used as some kind of bugs.kde.org-replacement or worries-board.
Anyways, keep on making WoC happening!
Cheers!
Very nice!
Suggestion: The button "Close" could be removed. Replaced by "X" perhaps at the top or the just press ESC
Nice addons - I hope that final 4.1 KDE will be usable (recently moved back to 3.5.9 from 4.0.72).
Looks great, but I would replace the 3 buttons with one like "options" or similar. IMHO in 99% the user don't use the button close, system activity and settings!
Few comments (no, I haven't really tested KDE4 yet):
First: what is "Show system activity"? Do we really need it? How about those other three buttons on the bottom? Do we really need those?
Second: I bet you have heard this before, but I believe that Krunner should blatantly rip off the best launcher in the planet: Quicksilver for OS X. Well, Quicksilver is more than just a launcher, but Krunner could be more as well.
On my OS X-machine I have been using Quicksilver with the "Showcase"-UI. And that thing is gorgerous. It's functional and it's very, very pretty.
I hope the new KRunner also gets rid of the dropdown list of previous commands - it's not so nifty to have "konq", "konquer" and "konqueror" popup that all do the same thing but have been entered in a different state of completeness.
Those choices are listed anyways, so they mustn't be duplicated by another indirection that prevents reaching the goal fast. Perhaps you already solved this - I didn't notice the dropdown to pop up in the screencast, but I still noticed the dropdown arrow in the textedit.
Anyways, KRunner will be working for me when I can type "konq<Enter>" (for Konqueror) and "kont<Enter>" (for Kontact) without even thinking about what appears below or in the dropdown list, and when I don't have to wait for the runner plugins to complete their matchings before pressing Enter.
One nice thing would be to add the possibility to drag and drop one of the result icon on the desktop or the panel to create a launcher.
Nice work !
Great work, congratulations! If I understand correctly, will be possible, as a example, type k3b, and get in result not only the application name/icon, but also some actions associated to it (like create a DVD or Audio CD project)?
If possible, this will be a huge step forward in usability, IMHO.
Bye.
It's very nice, but is Krunner supposed to replace Katapult?
Right about now I'm starting to think that the user switching runner could look way better with this setup, as well as feel less "tacked on" like it does in KDE 4.0.x.
I like it.
Nice! Where can I find more KDE4 screencasts (with voice)?
Also http://plasma.kde.org/ looks way dated... it seems like the page hasn't been update for a year?
@everyone who mentioned the buttons: i put a list of things left to do specifically so i wouldn't need to wade through endless "how about you replace the buttons" type stuff. seriously, it's right there in the blog entry:
"replace the ugly pushbuttons with something cuter"
i understand it's fun to comment, but it makes me sort of feel like you aren't even reading what i'm taking the time to write =)
@Janne: "First: what is "Show system activity"?"
it shows you your process list.
"blatantly rip off the best launcher in the planet: Quicksilver for OS X."
can't. i like quicksilver quite a bit, but it's not the end all be all either. we can go a lot further with deeper integration with the rest of the desktop (a lot further), but even then ... krunner must remain a _run command_ dialog as well.
i also don't like simply copying something because it's done well. there are more than one way to skin a cat in this case.
@Jakob Peskovits: "I hope the new KRunner also gets rid of the dropdown list of previous commands "
you really need to watch the screencast then.
there is a history, but we don't by default use the drop down completer.
"KRunner will be working for me when I can type "konq<Enter>" (for Konqueror) and "kont<Enter>" (for Kontact) without even thinking about what appears below or in the dropdown list, and when I don't have to wait for the runner plugins to complete their matchings before pressing Enter."
so then it works for you. congrats. =)
@anonymous: "possibility to drag and drop one of the result icon "
we won't get to d'n'd or other such external interaction until 4.2, unfortunately =/ but it's on our radar, as it's a good idea.
@anonymous: "type k3b, and get in result not only the application name/icon, but also some actions associated to it (like create a DVD or Audio CD project)?"
we don't have generic verb-based-on-noun support yet, but individual runners can do this on their own already (and some do). in 4.2 we'll have a more generic facility for it.
@Konjofsky: "but is Krunner supposed to replace Katapult?"
it replaces minicli from kde3, along with a few other things (screen saver, launch feedback..)
@JontheEchidna: "he user switching runner could look way better with this setup, as well as feel less "tacked on" like it does in KDE 4.0.x."
what's interesting is that the user switching is exactly the same under the covers, it's just the ui that's finally getting to what i wanted it to be in the first place. and yes, it'll now be able to show cute pictures for the sessions =)
@Darkelve: "Where can I find more KDE4 screencasts (with voice)?"
check out youtube. lots of them up there.
"Also http://plasma.kde.org/ looks way dated."
yeah, i know. we've been busy writing code.
I liked davigno krunner better:
http://davigno.oxygen-icons.org/2007/06/15/run-forrest-run/
"it shows you your process list."
Is that needed? I could see process list being useful in places like Windows Task Manager, OS X Activity Monitor, and KDE System Guard. But a launcher? I don't see the connection.
Same thing with "Close" and "Settings". Could those be done some other way? In Quicksilver, ther eis no separate Close-button, since the window disappears automatically if you don't do anything with it. And settings are handled elsewhere.
"i like quicksilver quite a bit, but it's not the end all be all either."
No, Quicksilver is not the ultimate launcher that can never be bested. But it IS the best launcher at the moment. No, I don't think that Krunner should become 1:1 clone of Quicksilver. But it should not hesitate in taking what is cool from Quicksilver.
And for those who don't know Quicksilver: MacBreak did a great video on the subject:
http://www.43folders.com/2006/07/26/macbreak-quicksilver
Can you give it ability to integrate to Plasma (I mean the panel/dashboard) and the icons and results will popup in buble?
I like it, but do not want to give it its own window and rather integrate it into panel.
Janne, this is not OSX or QuickSilver, so fuck off.
Guys... your work is simply amazing! I am watching KDE progression very closely and I can say for sure that this project rocks! Keep up this great work. If it will lead to "world domination" I don't know, but it is always terrific to have a great free choice like that!
Don't really know if KDE is going to dominate the world, but it will help making it a better place.
Sorry for my bad Englis, still learning....
Miroslav: You mean something like this Plasmoid: http://kde-look.org/content/show.php/plasma-runner?content=75059&PHPSESSID=1d378d6ce8102353cef359f11eff157f ?
I'd love to have an applet like that which I could embed in a panel. (preferably a second panel on the top screen)
@Janne: "Is that needed? I could see process list being useful in places like Windows Task Manager, OS X Activity Monitor, and KDE System Guard. But a launcher? I don't see the connection."
one of the issues people had was finding how to get at the task list. this solves that problem very nicely. (see, real world solutions for real world problems.)
the other issue is that the process list can take a while to pop up if it is its own process, especially when you really need it (e.g. a process has run amok). by having it integrated with an always-running process (the launcher) we can give snap access to it.
the button will be replaced with something a lot calmer, however. as i already said a couple times now =)
"Same thing with "Close" and "Settings". Could those be done some other way?"
yes, and i already said that was happening.
"But it should not hesitate in taking what is cool from Quicksilver. "
yep; we've studied a number of launchers, including quicksilver, enzo, katapult, deskbar, spotlight ... we've gathered numerous decent ideas, and will be adding even more.
the biggest bonus we get is that we can deliver it with the desktop by default. only spotlight manages this currently, and we can outdo spotlight quite handily. i already know mac people who miss some of the features of sherlock.
@Miroslav Suchy: "Can you give it ability to integrate to Plasma"
the functionality (runners) is all in libplasma for exactly this reason. in 4.2 we'll work on providing a plasmoid wrapper as well as support in kickoff. breaking out the runner management from krunner into libplasma was done speicifically for this.
@anonymous: "Janne, this is not OSX or QuickSilver, so fuck off."
hey, be nice.
@Guto: "Guys... your work is simply amazing!"
thanks; hope you enjoy using it as much as we do making it.
Nice Job, Krunnner becomes more and more pretty and usable.
But some rather offtopic-questions a this point(it seems many people use your blog for this=)
1. What about the new default-interface for Plasma? I think the Plasma-folks developed a new UI together with Nuno at Tokamak?
2. What about Raptor? I haven't heard any news off it since a while. Is raptor going to be the default menu in 4.1 as planned? Or at least included i the release?
Back to topic: I recommend to resize the icons in the runner a bit, and also list them different. Maybe collums are a good idea.
Greetz from Berlin: a happy 4.0.4 user ;)
Gahh. Blogger screwed up the submit.
Anyway, the gist was: Has matching improved in Krunner?
Right now if I type "ice", I get Openoffice Calc as the first app, then a bunch of other openoffice apps, then Iceweasel at the very end, which is waht I actually wanted.
Now no one in their right mind would type "ice" to launch OO Calc, but because of the simple substring matching, it becomes the first match. This problem is endemic to search implementations, for example FF3 has some truly awful results in its awesomebar because of this problem.
The solution is very simple. Prioritize matches at index 0, and prioritize matches at the start of words. That simple change makes a huge difference in match quality.
So, any plans for this in Krunner?
The new UI looks really cool by the way, can't wait to test it once it hits debian.
Whoah! Very pretty. :-D I can't wait to play with it!
One question: How is the text going to appear? I imagine that putting something like the text of the calculator runner will be easy, but will there be room to fit, e.g., the name of the application on those little icons?
@janne: Did you have a look at Katapult?
I have compiled the latest svn source. Looks like a mixture from krunner kde 4.0 and katapult. Very nice the new krunner!
I think the buttons in the new Krunner could be black too, maybe with more contract or something to make it look nicer... Nuno is an expert on this ;-)
s/contract/contrast
Great work here, thanks.
Very interested in the media centre idea mentioned earlier. Is there any code for it yet? Has it had to be pushed into the indefinite future or is there some plan as to when it will start to appear in KDE? Appreciating that your working hard on the stuff you are doing now I'd love to hear more.
@maninalift and marcel: The "KDE media center" project is actually LinuxMCE. From the videos, it's an incredibly kick-ass program that can do everything, including control your lighting, double as a security system, and probably even make toast. From its complexity, I expect it will be a year or more before it is ported to Plasma. It is currently based on Kubuntu.
@ Aaron: Dude, that new KRunner rocks! Assuming it's stable, KDE 4.1 is going to blow people away. I get more freaking excited with each new post on PlanetKDE, and only my strongest self-restraint keeps me from immediately trying to compile from SVN, which given my inexperience, would be a dangerous thing for me to try to do the week before finals. But as soon as school lets out baby, I'm compiling!
"one of the issues people had was finding how to get at the task list. this solves that problem very nicely. (see, real world solutions for real world problems.)"
So, is it a list of running apps (that usually number in half a dozen or so), or is it a list of processes (that can number in several dozens). I'm asking because I can see the value in having the former (since it would let you switch from one app to the other), but the latter seems like overkill (since normally user don't have the need to see that Kwin, or Dbus-daemon or something like that is up & running).
"Did you have a look at Katapult?"
No, I haven't. To be honest, I haven't really used Linux during the last few years (as you might have guessed, I have been using OS X. I have my reasons for the switch, but they are besides the point here), but I have kept my eye on it during that time.
@kwilliam thanks. wow, I'm not going to cover my house in media centre clients but now I want to. (And yes there is no reason why I couldn't put a few servos together and get it to load and start the toaster for me).
looks nice, but, for me, program descriptions are more usefull that icons with short names. Like krunner in kde 4.0.
could be it available as option?
Hi This looks like the start of a great replacement for katapault as a keyboard quick launcher, just what I need for keyboard launching, One suggestion is it possible to set up a default favorites list that shows up when the search bar is empty, so that I can quickly launch my favorite/most commonly used apps from the keyboard?
Also is it possible to make the colour scheme customizable, maybe I missed the settings but brown writing not a fav.
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