Non Geek Usability

[LanceHaverkamp]

I'm a Linux end-user (I don't write code). I'm trying to switch from KDE to LXDE, but there seems to be a whole lot of right-click functionality & menu-driven choices that I can't do in LXDE without writing code.

* I can't get open-with to work for programs that require a console (like launch Aptitude when I click on a deb package).
* There's no way to edit the start menu (right-click > edit menu).

Is this my imagination, or am I missing something vital?

Thanks,
Lance

[maces]

Hi,

1.1. You can make a new "*.desktop" file. Once created you can use this and open files this way.
1.2. Another way is to open the file by typing in a command line application in the open with dialogue.

2. You can, just search in the forum for that. It somehow works with gnome's menu editor.

maces

[LanceHaverkamp]

I really appreciate your thoughts on this...

1.1 If end-users knew how to code (or had any desire to learn), they (we) could write .desktop files. But that's pretty much the definition of an end-user--someone who doesn't want to learn to write code to do simple personalization of a GUI (that's what the right-click button is for).

1.2 I tried that...I couldn't get it to work with deb packages & aptitude. Maybe it doesn't where a command console is required, or maybe I need to find better instructions. I don't know.

2 That's a great news and new to me. I hope it's well documented, because the vast majority of users migrating to LXDE that I'm seeing know almost nothing about gnome, because we are former KDE users who hate the new KDE4.

[Marty Jack]

the vast majority of users migrating to LXDE that I'm seeing know almost nothing about gnome, because we are former KDE users who hate the new KDE4.

This is a really interesting perspective. I was also a KDE 3 user who got started with LXDE because I could never bring myself to put up KDE 4.

We know the usability for less experienced users is not what it should be, particularly now that LXDE has become extremely popular. From the relatively simplistic point where LXDE was a year ago it is a good amount of effort to work on, but it has been my major focus over the last few months.

We are working on a menu system editor. It is a medium sized project so will take a little while.

Assuming you can find it packaged for your distro, there is no reason the menu editor he is talking about, which is named alacarte, will not successfully work on LXDE or any other Freedesktop-standard menu system.

[craigevil]

Install gdebi to be able to click on a.deb and have it install.

.desktop files are just simple text file, take a look in /usr/share/applications and open any of them with a text editor

For example I run Firefox rather than iceweasel, below is my Firefox.desktop that I wrote then put in /usr/share/aplications so it would show up on the lxde>Internet menu.

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Version=1.0
Type=Application
Terminal=false
Name[en_US]=Firefox
Exec=/home/craig/Download/firefox/firefox %u
#Icon=firefox.png
Icon=/home/craig/Download/firefox/icons/mozicon128.png
StartupNotify=true
Categories=Network;WebBrowser;
MimeType=text/html;text/xml;application/xhtml+xml;application/xml;application/vnd.mozilla.xul+xml;application/rss+xml;application/rdf+xml;image/gif;image/jpeg;image/png;

I get where you are coming from I too am a kde refugee that switched to lxde when kde4 hit Debian sid. the hardest part of the switch was figuring out what apps to use.