Redefining the desktop

Documents instead of applications; a global toolbar; 'tabbing' as an OS feature rather than an application feature.
v1.0 Nov 15, 2007

Introduction

The desktop & taskbar metaphors have not changed significantly since the days of Windows 95, and has since been adopted by a number of other operating systems, notably Linux distributions such as RedHat and Ubuntu. The desktop & icon metaphors have not changed since they were first introduced in the Machintosh operating system ages ago. As the number of applications kept open on a typical computer increases, the standard model's usability is starting to show signs of strain. Task switching has become a pain and the desktop is getting cluttered. Buying bigger screens is just one solution. Revisiting familiar windows metaphors is another.

Desktop & documents

Traditionally, the desktop is the place where we keep our open documents and books. But in the Windows GUI model, the desktop is just a container for files and shortcuts -- it is just another directory that is always open in the screen background. Some years back there was an attempt at an 'Active Desktop', but this simply involved opening web pages on the desktop itself. The idea was not successful as it was not a good usage of the desktop.

If the desktop is the place where open documents are kept, then the operating system's desktop is the place where running applications should appear. Instead of 'minimizing to taskbar', open windows may 'shrink to thumbnails' on the edges of the desktop. There is really no need for a separate 'taskbar' as long as shortcuts to open windows can be grouped logically and made readily accessible even when a full screen window is open. The 'multiple desktop' metaphor popular in certain Linux distributions is simply an attempt to group open windows.

The concept of a 'global toolbar'

Traditionally, the tools that we use on a document (e.g. pencil, eraser) are not a part of the document itself. There is also no concept of an 'application' in the real world. We pull out the right tools based on the document we plan to work on (e.g. the ruler and protractor if we're working on a technical drawing). In the Windows model, what we first open is an abstract entity called an 'application' or a program. The document is internal to the program. The 'application' abstraction makes sense when there are no documents involved -- utilities such as anti-virus programs should be launched as applications. But when a user intends to write a letter, he should ideally start by opening a document of type 'letter' rather than launching an application of type 'word processor'.

The toolbar need not to be attached to the window that displays the document. Instead, a single global toolbar can appear at the bottom of the screen, where the taskbar usually resides. The buttons and controls on the toolbar will change based on the currently selected document window. The global toolbar will not apply to applications that have no concept of a document. Since the user will only use one application/document at a time, there is no need to display more than one toolbar at a time. In the case of document based applications, the concept of an 'application' will be hidden from the user and there will be no 'application window'. Instead, all types of open documents will appear in their own simple windows that only have a title bar, a thin border and a display area. All other controls and status displays will be on the global toolbar. This approach will reduce a great deal of desktop clutter. When multiple windows are open, much of the 'clutter' on a desktop is due to unused controls that are still in view (toolbars, menubars and status bars of background windows).

With the removal of the 'application window', window size, position and arrangement of tool buttons rightly become attributes of each document rather than the application. For example, our research notes document will remember its position as a narrow window snapped to the right hand side of the desktop while our report document will remember its position as maximized. Presently, Windows and most other systems remember the last position of the application, not individual documents.

A downside of this approach is that existing applications will have to be changed to exploit the global toolbar feature provided by the operating system. Another disadvantage is that it is not suitable for multiple-document applications such as code editors, where a large number of files hold related content. The older model has to be retained for such special purposes.

A stationary global toolbar at the bottom of the screen may be a beneficial arrangement for touch-screen systems. It will place all controls within a single reachable region on screen and reaching for it with a hand will not cover the screen (as will happen when one reaches for a toolbar at the top of the screen).

Tabbed window groups

The concept of 'tabbing' is becoming an increasingly popular way of handling multiple documents in a single application, espeically for web browsing. But the mistake is building tabbing into each application. Instead, window tabbing should be an operating system feature which can be applied to any chosen group of windows. Not only will this automatically allow document tabbing for any application that opens each document in its own window, it will also provide a convenient alternative to window cascading, which does not work well when some of the cascaded window title bars get covered by other windows.