The way in which the Unity Launcher is accessed by users is changing to make it more ‘intuitive’ to new users.
A new tab will be added to ‘Appearance Properties’ called ‘Behaviour’. From here users will be able to choose between two settings that affect how the launcher is revealed/accessed.
- ‘Show launcher with mouse on left of screen’ – This is the new default. When needing to access the launcher a user can now just move their mouse to the left of the screen to trigger the reveal.
- ‘Show launcher with mouse in top left corner’ – this is the incumbent default and requires a user to prod the top left of their screen with the mouse in order to revealed the launcher
To prohibit this new default from becoming necessarily activated “…the user must apply sustained pressure against the edge of the screen for a set length of time in order to reveal the launcher. Brushing on the side of the screen, or placing the cursor against the side of the screen should not reveal the Launcher.”
To compliment the new default the previously removed method of alerting users to applications requiring attention – where by the launcher icon juts out and wobbles – is returning. This option is disabled when opting to enable the top left reveal.