Shorten Start Menu Shortcuts

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Which one?

Poll ended at Tue Sep 15, 2015 12:43 am

As is
11
69%
Both short
1
6%
Short RAPPS
3
19%
Short Explorer
1
6%
 
Total votes: 16

Z98
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Re: Shorten Start Menu Shortcuts

Post by Z98 »

Yes and no. The ReactOS Application Manager is at present a standalone application and can be used as such even on Windows. Its name is specifically ReactOS Application Manager. Cutting it down to just Application Manager implies that it is "the" application manager for ReactOS, which is at best a half truth since on a Windows system you can't have a genuine application manager like with on Linux distros.
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gonzoMD
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Re: Shorten Start Menu Shortcuts

Post by gonzoMD »

Z98 wrote:Yes and no. The ReactOS Application Manager is at present a standalone application and can be used as such even on Windows. Its name is specifically ReactOS Application Manager. Cutting it down to just Application Manager implies that it is "the" application manager for ReactOS, which is at best a half truth since on a Windows system you can't have a genuine application manager like with on Linux distros.
Yeah, but we won't rename the App, only the shortcut.
Pi_User5
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Re: Shorten Start Menu Shortcuts

Post by Pi_User5 »

gonzoMD wrote:
Z98 wrote:Yes and no. The ReactOS Application Manager is at present a standalone application and can be used as such even on Windows. Its name is specifically ReactOS Application Manager. Cutting it down to just Application Manager implies that it is "the" application manager for ReactOS, which is at best a half truth since on a Windows system you can't have a genuine application manager like with on Linux distros.
Yeah, but we won't rename the App, only the shortcut.
That's what I'm trying to do. ReactOS Explorer will stay as is, only the ReactOS Applications Manager is getting shortened. Y'all understand? :D
I use ReactOS on real hardware. Will you? My Computers: https://www.reactos.org/wiki/PC_ROS_Rigs Go all the way to the bottom.

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Z98
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Re: Shorten Start Menu Shortcuts

Post by Z98 »

Ask yourself this then. How many application shortcuts shorten the name from the full program name?
Pi_User5
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Re: Shorten Start Menu Shortcuts

Post by Pi_User5 »

Z98 wrote:Ask yourself this then. How many application shortcuts shorten the name from the full program name?
The RAPPS shortcut on the desktop; mplay32-Shortcut uses Multimedia player but the program is called ReactOS Multimedia Player; msconfig-Shortcut uses System configuration but the app is called System configuration program. Just to name some.
I use ReactOS on real hardware. Will you? My Computers: https://www.reactos.org/wiki/PC_ROS_Rigs Go all the way to the bottom.

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Z98
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Re: Shorten Start Menu Shortcuts

Post by Z98 »

I'm referring to on Windows. ReactOS' shortcuts and links are inconsistent because we never bothered with normalizing them.
PurpleGurl
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Re: Shorten Start Menu Shortcuts

Post by PurpleGurl »

Since I have so much stuff installed, I usually set XP and others to use the classical start menu that does the list that expands to the right as the columns fill with shortcuts, not the single pane view that is the default. Then I manually shorten some of the names to allow for more columns. So "Internet Explorer" becomes "Internet," etc.
Pi_User5
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Re: Shorten Start Menu Shortcuts

Post by Pi_User5 »

I just deal with the large start menus. :D
I use ReactOS on real hardware. Will you? My Computers: https://www.reactos.org/wiki/PC_ROS_Rigs Go all the way to the bottom.

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middings
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Re: Shorten Start Menu Shortcuts

Post by middings »

My recollection is that a freshly installed copy of Microsoft Windows XP consistently uses the same name for a program and the program's shortcuts.

I've worked at more than one manufacturer where a part had one name in the bill of materials, another name in the assembly drawing, and a third name in the field service manual. Controls might have one name on the display screen, another name in the operator's manual, and a third name in the diagnostic software's command set. Customers would complain that the product was hard to use and my colleagues couldn't understand why.
PurpleGurl
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Re: Shorten Start Menu Shortcuts

Post by PurpleGurl »

Pi_User5 wrote:I just deal with the large start menus. :D
That is what I have, but what I talked about was so it would all fit on the screen and be reachable.

Now, just because Microsoft tends to use the same name for both (and very close the few times they might shorten something), doesn't mean we have to, at least not in terms of compatibility. A program will run regardless of its shortcut's name. The issues involved here are user friendliness and display room.

Now, just as a brainstorm, and not really as an active proposal, an idea could be to have a tool or setup option to use either same names (full formal names) or shortened ones for power users who may load lots of apps.
Pi_User5
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Re: Shorten Start Menu Shortcuts

Post by Pi_User5 »

Guessing by the votes, no one wants to change anything. ;)
I use ReactOS on real hardware. Will you? My Computers: https://www.reactos.org/wiki/PC_ROS_Rigs Go all the way to the bottom.

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EmuandCo
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Re: Shorten Start Menu Shortcuts

Post by EmuandCo »

Sooner or later we need consistency in app names and shortcuts, but in a stage where many things can and will change daily, it is sort of contraproductive IMO
ReactOS is still in alpha stage, meaning it is not feature-complete and is recommended only for evaluation and testing purposes.

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Swyter
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Re: Shorten Start Menu Shortcuts

Post by Swyter »

Many of you also forget that prefixing the entries with ReactOS makes them sortable when many applications pollute the menus.

That way they stay grouped together. I suggested and sent that patch for a shortened RAPPS shortcut in the desktop because it made sense on that specific case; the huge label was spilling out, but the start menu counterpart clarified it. It was obviously a system application needed after the first bootup and the ellipsis didn't look clean.

Hope this clarifies my position. Anyway, there are many unpolished and inconsistent areas out there in need of more hands than these ones. Let's not forget the big picture and the bike-shed effect.
External patch contributor for ux/user-mode/l10n/winapi. Sometimes I fix a bit of everything everywhere.
Pi_User5
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Re: Shorten Start Menu Shortcuts

Post by Pi_User5 »

That settles it. Nothings changing.
I use ReactOS on real hardware. Will you? My Computers: https://www.reactos.org/wiki/PC_ROS_Rigs Go all the way to the bottom.

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