Feature Request on Cinnamon panel: Windows Title on icon with vertical panel position

[gergio75]

I hope I am writing in the correct category.
Actually, when I use the vertical panel on right side of the screen, Cinnamon show the icon without the name of the icon (see the attached image). In this way when I open more folder I can't find directly my folder because they are all similar, without the windows title.
I desire to have the windows title on the icon like that shown in the next attached image (I have added also a screen of how the appear in Windows). Note that when the panel is in the bottom side of the screen the windows title appear.
Many thank for Your attention

Gerardo

[cplittlfield]

I have no idea of the difficulty of implementing this, but it seems like a good idea, so I am adding my support.

[gergio75]

I don't know if it is possibile to use the same code used for the bottom and up position of the panel (in these position the title are already present).
Thanks
Gerardo

[klangman]

I can add an option to the CassiaWindowList applet so that it will use the number label to show the first character of the window title.

i.e:

Would that be useful to you?

The rule would be this. When the option is enabled, and the number of windows for a given application is greater than 1, the number label will show the first character of the windows title. Works great for Nemo, xed and chrome, but others (like my code editor, which always prepends the the editors name to the windows title) don't work so well.

[gergio75]

Oh thanks, it maybe very useful for me to have the first character of the title.

A question: I move the panel to the horiziontal position it appear like the following image

If the vertical position is a rearrangement of the icon maybe (I don't know the code) possible to simple rearrange the icons like the horizontal position?

Many thanks for you help :)
Gerardo

[klangman]

Oh thanks, it maybe very useful for me to have the first character of the title.

A question: I move the panel to the horiziontal position it appear like the following image

If the vertical position is a rearrangement of the icon maybe (I don't know the code) possible to simple rearrange the icons like the horizontal position?

Many thanks for you help :) Gerardo

The labels are removed when on a vertical panel because there no room for a label. So all the windows list applets check if they are on vertical panel and adapt accordingly to avoid odd graphical results. I am not sure if I fully understand your question, so I hope this answers it.

I will add this feature to the CassiaWindowList applet in the near future, but to get this you will have to remove the Grouped WindowList and add CassiaWindowList in it's place.

[klangman]

I add the feature to CassiaWindowList on my GitHub.

klangman/CassiaWindowList@1f86644

I'll pushed to the Cinnamon Spices version after some time for testing. Any one interested in the feature can use my Github version to try it out. The option is in the configuration window under the "Labels" tab in the "Number label contents" drop-down list. The new option is called "First character of window title".

[gergio75]

Hello Kevin. Many thanks for you support :)

[klangman]

Hello Kevin. Many thanks for you support :)

OK.. I finally pushed Version 2.4.2 of Cassia Window List.

Upgrade the applet and then you can open the configuration dialog for Cassia, select the "Labels" tab, change the "Icon overlay label contents" drop-down list to "Two characters from the window title".

Let me know how this works for you.

[gergio75]

Hello Kevin,
many thanks for your work. I have updated the Cassia Windows List and I have appreciated the preview of the thumbnail that I have not used before.

I put here my notes:

1. I don't have understand how to put the Cassia Windows on the top of the vertical bar (now I am using it in the bottom)
2. It is possible to have the icon on the tool bar greater? It seems that the icon is little because there is a frame around the icon that is necessary for the label? I have tried to remove the label but the icon is always little
3. I have some difficult to read the label, I think because it is small for my screen and there is the blue round that crop the letters.
   This is my actual view (I attach the normal view and a 4x enlargment):
   
   

This is what I find more comfortable (I have edited with GIMP to have a preview):

Many thanks for your attention
Gerardo :)

[klangman]

• I don't have understand how to put the Cassia Windows on the top of the vertical bar (now I am using it in the bottom)

To move any applet within the panels you first need to enter "Panel edit mode" by right clicking on an unused section of the panel to bring up the context menu and then click the "Panel edit mode" option. This will make the panels show three sections (left: red, middle: green, right: blue). You can then click on any applet on the panel (for this case you want to click on the window-list) and drag-and-drop it to a new location on the panels, anywhere within the coloured boxes. In this way you can move the window-list to different panels and/or different locations on a panel. After you have positioned everything as you like, you then have to remember to turn off "Panel edit mode" in the same way your turned it on.

• It is possible to have the icon on the tool bar greater? It seems that the icon is little because there is a frame around the icon that is necessary for the label? I have tried to remove the label but the icon is always little
• I have some difficult to read the label, I think because it is small for my screen and there is the blue round that crop the letters.

The size of the label and it's shape is determined by: the current theme, the overlay label contents, and the current font. You might be able to make things a bit better by changing the font size for the panel section where you placed the window-list (using "Panel settings" in the context menu for the specific panel), but in general the size of the circle scales to fit the text size, therefore this will help with read-ability but might not help if the theme is not giving you the space to fit the text properly. You might also find that changing the font type/size under the System-Settings/Fonts/Desktop-font option will help. Assuming you are not over-ridding the font size under the Panel-settings (as described above) then changing this font size will effect all the panel fonts all at once.

You can also try using different Desktop-Themes under System-settings/Themes/Desktop, some themes might allow more space for the overlay label.

Lastly (more of an advanced option) you can try your hand a modifying your theme to get the results you are looking for, but this will require CSS knowledge. The container CSS element is "grouped-window-list-badge" and the label CSS element is "grouped-window-list-number-label". I would not attempt this unless you know what you are doing and have made a backup of the theme.

Hopefully you can get good results by increasing the font size or using some other desktop theme, but there is not much I can do in the CassiaWindowList code other than overriding the theme settings which would be a bad idea in general since that would prevent the window-list from conforming to the design that the theme is requesting.

Hope this helps.

[gergio75]

Hello Kevin, I have followed your instruction and your help for me is very useful.
I have tried with the panel edit mode but, with the vertical panel, I have only the red colored section, that I think that it correspond to the "Bottom Zone" (it is only in this section that the variations of the font and icon size act on the panel appearance).
When I increase the font size the blue circle area remain at the same dimension, so there is a limit in the visualization of the font (in my case 10.0 pt).

I have some CSS knowledge: where are the .css file to edit? When I have edited them how I can refresh the panel appearance?

Many thanks
Gerardo :)

[klangman]

Here is an example of two panels, one horizontal and one vertical.

In Panel edit mode you can drag-and-drop any applet to any of the coloured areas. Your panels should look the same as this (other then your panels are most likely not transparent or blurred). If you don't see the coloured area as in my example then send a pic.

The CSS file is called cinnamon.css. It can be found in any of the cinnamon themes. I only have limited knowledge about how the themes work so I can't help much here.

[gergio75]

Kevin, many many thanks for your help!
My desktop appear like this:

I must activate some feature to see the other sections?

I have found the CSS file: it is very interesting how it is customizable!

Gerardo :)

[klangman]

My desktop appear like this:

I suspect you have used some extension that is changing the color of the panel (i.e. Transparent panels reloaded
or Blur Cinnamon)? Maybe that is making it harder to see the color of the edit mode boxes?

[gergio75]

I never changed the theme. After your suggestion, I have tried some other themes, but I have always one zone, the red zone (corresponding the bottom zone or right zone if I use the bottom or up position for the bar).
Have You other tips to suggest?
Thanks, Gerardo :)

[klangman]

I never changed the theme. After your suggestion, I have tried some other themes, but I have always one zone, the red zone (corresponding the bottom zone or right zone if I use the bottom or up position for the bar). Have You other tips to suggest? Thanks, Gerardo :)

I don't think it's your theme. I think it's an "Extension". Your screenshot shows that the background is visible beneath your panel. This is not how the default Cinnamon, Mint-X, or Mint-Y themes shows the panels so I think it's being modified by an extension. So go to "Main Menu -> Preferences -> Extensions", then see if there is an extension called "Transparent Panels Reloaded", if so, highlight the extension and click the "-" button on the bottom of the extensions window to disable the extension. Now the panels should have a solid color and when you enable the "Panel edit mode" you should see the colored zones. After modifying the panels as you see fit you can go back and re-enable the extension if you like.