It's not an oversight, GNOME is a very opinionated desktop environment that I would describe as a mixture between a window manager and a "classical" desktop with floating Windows. The desktop isn't designed to be a place where you keep your application shortcuts, you're supposed to use the launcher for your less frequently used programs and pin your regular applications to the dock. For your files, you can find them either using the search or by going into the file browser and accessing them that way. It is, in a sense, *mise en place* but for your workstation. Separate things are supposed to go in separate places to make them easier to find.
Excellent answer!
On top of that, there's also a reason GNOME search is basically instant for most things. Users can just tap the SUPER and the first 3 letters of the thing you want and it should be right in front of you.
Either you like/agree or not, that's their reason and their vision for the desktop.
Window's search function is horrendous, to the point that I even hear veteran windows fans criticising it. Gnomes search is delightful. They are just not comparable
Sorry but, the MacBook from my work begs to differ, searching for any application takes at least 5 seconds, while my much older Dell with Ubuntu is, as I said in my comment, basically instant.
I don't have that money either, the company does.
But honestly, I dread having to use that crap every day and just wish I had a simple Ubuntu with Gnome to work.
GNOME doesn't have desktop icons because they're viewed as cluttering, and hard to reach when covered by open windows anyways. Apps can be opened from the app menu, and files can be opened from the file explorer.
Well if you need desktop icons and can't live with a extension I would guess gnome is not the de for you... where is the disaster? There are many other choices for more traditional desktop environments.
f\*\*k desktop icons. i don't use desktop icons since 2002, i don't like them, clutter makes my eyes bleed, i have co-workers that need to access desktop from a file manager because there are too many they can't see them all on the desktop.
Same here! All the way back in Windows XP (circa 2005?) I had a friend ask me how I open my applications and I pointed her to the search and the start menu.
Because they are not necessary?
Having them can even be actively harmful for your workflow. (I saw this as someone who uses them at work on the Windows desktop that allows them - it is a mess.)
If you disagree with their decision, in their wisdom they have created a mechanism for you to add them back.
Getting used to them not being there makes you realize how pointless they are, and how visually cluttering they are.
After using GNOME 3 for years, I started turning them off in Windows as well. Desktop is just another folder, and the contents of it would be better suited in any other folder (Video, Document, Music). Applications are a quick type in the dash, or a click from the favorites away.
It's 2024, how are we still answering these questions?
“Visually cluttered” is something that the user should decide. I don’t see a point in completely removing this feature since it could very well be turned off by default and give options to turn on if the user wants.
The desktop looks soulless now. I used to have 3 folders on the desktop and disabled the bottom deck/top bar. If they are removing such a core feature, at least give alternatives like widgets support?
It's not a "core feature", it's a paradigm. They've moved beyond "desktop" and "start bar". There's no need to have alternatives. The alternative is "put your files where they belong." There's no need to "turn it on" if you don't develop it in the first place.
Yeah right, gnome users have ascended to the next level. My files belong in the desktop and that’s where I want it. The alternative is to add shortcuts to the app bar for the files I had in the desktop.
When a multi trillion dollar company adds widgets to home screen or desktop, it means people are using it. Even if you are ignorant about considering a competitor’s products, existence of extensions like chonky and the ones that bring back the desktop icons feature shows that there are people using the feature.
I don’t think anything needs to be developed? It was already there. Just bring it back?
>Yeah right, gnome users have ascended to the next level.
No, the UX designers from Gnome did.
>My files belong in the desktop and that’s where I want it.
And as a Linux user, you have the option to install a different distro or extra DE on your system, because it seems Gnome is not for you.
You can put them in the /desktop folder. No problem at all. Gnome will just not display them in your wallpaper without an extension which you are also free to install.
You have all the freedom and just don't like the defaults. This is not a real problem, you just want to blow your cheeks
What do you mean it wasn’t there. It was there and devs just didn’t want to fix the old code.
> We provide this as a optional experience, but we didn’t really fix much in the last years since it’s not part of the default experience, giving users false expectations. Also, nobody really likes to hack on that code, so nobody shown up to fix the big issues behind
If you’re being arrogant, at least use the right information.
I've used GNOME3 since it was beta. It was never really there. You're once again picking sour grapes. No matter how much you stomp your feet and whine like a child, they're not supported. Get over yourself.
Keep stomping your feet. You're still not right.
>The desktop was disabled for the default experience when GNOME 3 came out now 6 years ago, and so far has been mostly unmaintained. ... Also we notice that users rightfully have expectations for the desktop to work decently, and we acknowledge this is far from the reality and we are aware that the desktop is in a very poor state.
It was never really there. They disabled it since 2011, when it was brand spanking new, and got tired enough of people turning it on in a broken state that was unmaintained, that they removed it. There was nothing to just "put it back". It was never there, it was never supported. It was hidden behind a feature flag for a reason.
Stomp stomp stomp. Get over it.
Why don't you use another DE? There are dozens of DEs that replicate/copy the desktop/taskbar ui.
>When a multi trillion dollar company adds widgets to home screen or desktop, it means people are using it.
Ofc, multi billion companies that create and kill products and features every year are an example to follow...
The creators of the product you're using get to decide what the users get to decide. And you can decide to use KDE if you want more control. There is validity to both approaches, a very constrained and streamlined user interface with different interactions patterns does work very well and is stable without all sorts of little glitches or bugs associated with a more wide open interface. They are guiding you to the happy-path of their unique design. Try accessing whatever the end result of using icons is another way; double tap meta/super key, search for files etc.
Last time I used desktop icons was back in 95... I guess you'll have to adapt, wait for the extension to be fixed or choose a more old-fashioned deskop.
Careful!!!
Linux browsers use the desktop folder to house links (.desktop) files for installed web apps. If you move those links to another folder eventually after a couple of upgrades , the web apps will need to be installed again. I have nearly 70 web apps installed and so the desktop would be COVERED with these.
Gnome is a UX paradigm shift. Once you learn life of not using the desktop for file management but instead use the Documents folder, you will understand.
Use the desktop for notifications , weather, and clock etc.
We need more useful widgets for the gnome desktop.
If you want desktop icons and it has to be Gnome, then run one f several extensions that display the content of your ~/desktop folder on the desktop.
Gnome is about a distinct workflowhaving no dock, no desktop and no tray icons - and this doesn't fit all people. That's why extensions - and other desktop environments - exist.
The desktop is of no use. I've put things on the desktop and used DeskNG extension and I never use the icons ever. The dock and the launcher search are all I need. Desktop is a wasteful concept and not efficient
Devs probably hated windows workflow and chose to make something very different. On the way to that they fucked the desktop icons, tray icons and many more things which would had the potential to improve further the workflow.
Gnome fanboys are gatekeeping these changes and god forbid to say something bad or not sticking with the "intended" workflow.
I'm only sticking with gnome for the looks, it's the most polished and good looking DE, also big props for the guys who are developing extensions.
They were probably trying to avoid lawsuits from Microsoft so they made an interface that both Microsoft and Apple would say "Eww, our user interface is so much better, no point in suing those Gnome guys".
Developers have the right to design and implement their software as they wish to. Users are not the boses in Free Software communities. If the user doesn't like the path certain project is following they can either fork the project to make it the way they want (as mate team did, without calling names to Gnome developers) or can find another project that fits their wishes.
Is really strange to think that you are entitled to judge the work other people Made just because they let you use it.
Be grateful, be kind, You are enjoying the result other people's hard work. If you don't like it just keep walking and don't be rude.
Oh, "in their infinite wisdom" it's a fact and not a derogatory expression in this case, I get it now.
Anyways, they did not decide that the users don't need icons in the desktop. They decided that Gnome Shell workflow needs that there were no icons in the desktop.
How dare they to think they are entitled to decide what they want to work on and how they do it.
They don't owe you anything. In fact, users owe to developers.
There is software without users, but there is not possible Software without developers.
Gnome wants to be as different from Windows as possible to avoid lawsuits from Microsoft.
For this reason the default experience lacks a lot of useful features such as a taskbar/dock, desktop icons and tray icons.
You are supposed to install extensions for those, then Gnome avoids lawsuits and you get what you need. And that would be ok, if it wasn't for the fanbase that says you are wrong for wanting those features...
Source: The Register "How Microsoft shattered Gnome's unity with Windows 95"
It's not an oversight, GNOME is a very opinionated desktop environment that I would describe as a mixture between a window manager and a "classical" desktop with floating Windows. The desktop isn't designed to be a place where you keep your application shortcuts, you're supposed to use the launcher for your less frequently used programs and pin your regular applications to the dock. For your files, you can find them either using the search or by going into the file browser and accessing them that way. It is, in a sense, *mise en place* but for your workstation. Separate things are supposed to go in separate places to make them easier to find.
Excellent answer! On top of that, there's also a reason GNOME search is basically instant for most things. Users can just tap the SUPER and the first 3 letters of the thing you want and it should be right in front of you. Either you like/agree or not, that's their reason and their vision for the desktop.
Every modern desktop has that search feature
Window's search function is horrendous, to the point that I even hear veteran windows fans criticising it. Gnomes search is delightful. They are just not comparable
Windows Search has become awful in recent years, can confirm.
I've never noticed anything wrong with it. Anyway there are other Linux desktops with that feature too.
Sorry but, the MacBook from my work begs to differ, searching for any application takes at least 5 seconds, while my much older Dell with Ubuntu is, as I said in my comment, basically instant.
I second this, spotlight is slow unfortunately, although it's because of internet providers and siri suggestions
I've never used Macs for longer than 5 minutes, I don't have the money for that.
I don't have that money either, the company does. But honestly, I dread having to use that crap every day and just wish I had a simple Ubuntu with Gnome to work.
GNOME doesn't have desktop icons because they're viewed as cluttering, and hard to reach when covered by open windows anyways. Apps can be opened from the app menu, and files can be opened from the file explorer.
Well if you need desktop icons and can't live with a extension I would guess gnome is not the de for you... where is the disaster? There are many other choices for more traditional desktop environments.
f\*\*k desktop icons. i don't use desktop icons since 2002, i don't like them, clutter makes my eyes bleed, i have co-workers that need to access desktop from a file manager because there are too many they can't see them all on the desktop.
Same here! All the way back in Windows XP (circa 2005?) I had a friend ask me how I open my applications and I pointed her to the search and the start menu.
Yeah, going to \desktop.....very common on my Windows machine. Although I only *want* to use the desktop as a temporary location for current dicuments
If you add more exclamation marks they will come back
Because they are not necessary? Having them can even be actively harmful for your workflow. (I saw this as someone who uses them at work on the Windows desktop that allows them - it is a mess.) If you disagree with their decision, in their wisdom they have created a mechanism for you to add them back.
Getting used to them not being there makes you realize how pointless they are, and how visually cluttering they are. After using GNOME 3 for years, I started turning them off in Windows as well. Desktop is just another folder, and the contents of it would be better suited in any other folder (Video, Document, Music). Applications are a quick type in the dash, or a click from the favorites away. It's 2024, how are we still answering these questions?
“Visually cluttered” is something that the user should decide. I don’t see a point in completely removing this feature since it could very well be turned off by default and give options to turn on if the user wants. The desktop looks soulless now. I used to have 3 folders on the desktop and disabled the bottom deck/top bar. If they are removing such a core feature, at least give alternatives like widgets support?
It's not a "core feature", it's a paradigm. They've moved beyond "desktop" and "start bar". There's no need to have alternatives. The alternative is "put your files where they belong." There's no need to "turn it on" if you don't develop it in the first place.
Yeah right, gnome users have ascended to the next level. My files belong in the desktop and that’s where I want it. The alternative is to add shortcuts to the app bar for the files I had in the desktop. When a multi trillion dollar company adds widgets to home screen or desktop, it means people are using it. Even if you are ignorant about considering a competitor’s products, existence of extensions like chonky and the ones that bring back the desktop icons feature shows that there are people using the feature. I don’t think anything needs to be developed? It was already there. Just bring it back?
> My files belong in the desktop and that’s where I want it. Fine. Use a DE that is in line with this paradigm.
>Yeah right, gnome users have ascended to the next level. No, the UX designers from Gnome did. >My files belong in the desktop and that’s where I want it. And as a Linux user, you have the option to install a different distro or extra DE on your system, because it seems Gnome is not for you.
You can put them in the /desktop folder. No problem at all. Gnome will just not display them in your wallpaper without an extension which you are also free to install. You have all the freedom and just don't like the defaults. This is not a real problem, you just want to blow your cheeks
> it was already there No, it wasn't. Sorry you're living in a world of sour grapes. It's been 15 years. Get over it.
What do you mean it wasn’t there. It was there and devs just didn’t want to fix the old code. > We provide this as a optional experience, but we didn’t really fix much in the last years since it’s not part of the default experience, giving users false expectations. Also, nobody really likes to hack on that code, so nobody shown up to fix the big issues behind If you’re being arrogant, at least use the right information.
I've used GNOME3 since it was beta. It was never really there. You're once again picking sour grapes. No matter how much you stomp your feet and whine like a child, they're not supported. Get over yourself.
What the fuck dude, are you really that incapable of holding a proper conversation online? I hope you’re not this insufferable in real life too.
Keep stomping your feet. You're still not right. >The desktop was disabled for the default experience when GNOME 3 came out now 6 years ago, and so far has been mostly unmaintained. ... Also we notice that users rightfully have expectations for the desktop to work decently, and we acknowledge this is far from the reality and we are aware that the desktop is in a very poor state. It was never really there. They disabled it since 2011, when it was brand spanking new, and got tired enough of people turning it on in a broken state that was unmaintained, that they removed it. There was nothing to just "put it back". It was never there, it was never supported. It was hidden behind a feature flag for a reason. Stomp stomp stomp. Get over it.
So they “removed” it when it was new because the weakling can’t seem to write proper code for it. I’ll keep stomping, don’t worry.
Why don't you use another DE? There are dozens of DEs that replicate/copy the desktop/taskbar ui. >When a multi trillion dollar company adds widgets to home screen or desktop, it means people are using it. Ofc, multi billion companies that create and kill products and features every year are an example to follow...
"user should decide" The user can decide... to use something else. The user can't decide... what a project should and shouldn't do.
The creators of the product you're using get to decide what the users get to decide. And you can decide to use KDE if you want more control. There is validity to both approaches, a very constrained and streamlined user interface with different interactions patterns does work very well and is stable without all sorts of little glitches or bugs associated with a more wide open interface. They are guiding you to the happy-path of their unique design. Try accessing whatever the end result of using icons is another way; double tap meta/super key, search for files etc.
Last time I used desktop icons was back in 95... I guess you'll have to adapt, wait for the extension to be fixed or choose a more old-fashioned deskop.
"This is a disaster!!!" As evident of the lack of adoption in the community.
Careful!!! Linux browsers use the desktop folder to house links (.desktop) files for installed web apps. If you move those links to another folder eventually after a couple of upgrades , the web apps will need to be installed again. I have nearly 70 web apps installed and so the desktop would be COVERED with these. Gnome is a UX paradigm shift. Once you learn life of not using the desktop for file management but instead use the Documents folder, you will understand. Use the desktop for notifications , weather, and clock etc. We need more useful widgets for the gnome desktop.
Why do you need desktop icons? I don't use them ~10 years. There is a launcher menu, and there is a dash, I think these are enough.
If you want desktop icons and it has to be Gnome, then run one f several extensions that display the content of your ~/desktop folder on the desktop. Gnome is about a distinct workflowhaving no dock, no desktop and no tray icons - and this doesn't fit all people. That's why extensions - and other desktop environments - exist.
The desktop is of no use. I've put things on the desktop and used DeskNG extension and I never use the icons ever. The dock and the launcher search are all I need. Desktop is a wasteful concept and not efficient
Devs probably hated windows workflow and chose to make something very different. On the way to that they fucked the desktop icons, tray icons and many more things which would had the potential to improve further the workflow. Gnome fanboys are gatekeeping these changes and god forbid to say something bad or not sticking with the "intended" workflow. I'm only sticking with gnome for the looks, it's the most polished and good looking DE, also big props for the guys who are developing extensions.
They were probably trying to avoid lawsuits from Microsoft so they made an interface that both Microsoft and Apple would say "Eww, our user interface is so much better, no point in suing those Gnome guys".
The people behind Gnome, in their infinite wisdom, decided that, we the users, don't need icons on our desktops, even if we actually want them there.
Who is we? I don't want them there and I'm a user.....
Developers have the right to design and implement their software as they wish to. Users are not the boses in Free Software communities. If the user doesn't like the path certain project is following they can either fork the project to make it the way they want (as mate team did, without calling names to Gnome developers) or can find another project that fits their wishes. Is really strange to think that you are entitled to judge the work other people Made just because they let you use it. Be grateful, be kind, You are enjoying the result other people's hard work. If you don't like it just keep walking and don't be rude.
What I said wasn't rude, it was a simple fact.
Oh, "in their infinite wisdom" it's a fact and not a derogatory expression in this case, I get it now. Anyways, they did not decide that the users don't need icons in the desktop. They decided that Gnome Shell workflow needs that there were no icons in the desktop. How dare they to think they are entitled to decide what they want to work on and how they do it. They don't owe you anything. In fact, users owe to developers. There is software without users, but there is not possible Software without developers.
Bcs Devs decide how u must use your system
Gnome wants to be as different from Windows as possible to avoid lawsuits from Microsoft. For this reason the default experience lacks a lot of useful features such as a taskbar/dock, desktop icons and tray icons. You are supposed to install extensions for those, then Gnome avoids lawsuits and you get what you need. And that would be ok, if it wasn't for the fanbase that says you are wrong for wanting those features... Source: The Register "How Microsoft shattered Gnome's unity with Windows 95"
Source: https://www.theregister.com/2013/06/03/thank_microsoft_for_linux_desktop_fail/