After a year of development, the release of User Interface Material Shell 42 has been published, offering implementations of mosaic and spatial window layout concepts for GNOME. The project is designed as an extension for GNOME Shell and aims to simplify navigation and enhance work efficiency through window automation and predictable interface behavior. The code is written in TypeScript and is distributed under the GPLv3 license. The Material Shell 42 release includes support for GNOME 42.
Material Shell employs a Spatial Model for switching between windows, which implies the division of open applications into workspaces. Each workspace can contain multiple applications. This creates a virtual grid of application windows, where columns represent applications and rows represent workspaces. Users can switch areas of visibility by moving through the grid relative to the current cell; for example, they can move the visible area left or right to switch between applications in one workspace, as well as up or down to switch between workspaces.
Material Shell allows users to group applications based on themes or tasks by adding new workspaces and opening applications in them, creating a convenient and predictable window space tailored to individual users. All windows are arranged in a tiled format and do not overlap. It is possible to expand the current application to full screen, display it side by side with other applications from the workspace, show all windows in the form of columns or grids, and also stack windows in arbitrary forms using horizontal and vertical attachments to neighboring windows.
The user-configured spatial model is saved between restarts, allowing for a familiar environment with elements pinned by the user. When the application is launched, its window is positioned in the previously selected spot, maintaining the overall order of workspaces and the binding of applications to them. For navigation, users can view the layout of the created grid, which shows all previously launched applications in the spots chosen by the user, and clicking on an application icon in this grid will open the desired application in its place in the spatial model.
Control can be achieved through a keyboard, touchscreen, or mouse. Interface elements are designed in Material Design style. A light, dark, and primary theme (color chosen by the user) is provided. A panel displayed on the left side of the screen is used for control via mouse and touchscreen. This panel shows information about the available workspaces and highlights the current workspace. Various indicators, the system tray, and the notification area are displayed at the bottom of the panel.
For navigation through the application windows running in the current workspace, the top panel is used as a taskbar. In the context of managing the spatial model, the left panel is responsible for adding workspaces and switching between them, while the top panel is for adding applications to the current workspace and switching between applications. The top panel is also used for managing the mosaic layout of windows on the screen.
Source: opennet.ru
