add global menu

[SimoneRiccardi]

It would be nice to have a global menu of the used application on the status bar like in macos or kde.

It looks nicer and It's more space efficient without giving up features ( because you can remove the menu bar on top of all applications on the screen and show the menu options just of the application that you're using on the status bar)

[vaxerski]

not possible without a protocol

IIRC KDE already has one, but it's not a wayland standard and I'd refrain from implementing KDE protocols.

[vaxerski]

1. probably the bar
2. wayland

[SimoneRiccardi]

Ok thank you

[lestcape]

This is not a good (in my opinion) or standard protocol:
https://wayland.app/protocols/kde-appmenu

This is what i think should really help in a good way for to have a cross toolkit/desktop global menu in a future:
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/wayland/wayland-protocols/-/merge_requests/52

If you want to have a global menu, you should ask for the support of the dbus_annotation protocol. If it becomes a standard, it is likely that it can then be used to define the global menu and then use it between different toolkits and desktops. I think most environments have no objection to using it, but there is also no rush for it to be implemented and become a standard :(

[malikwirin]

@lestcape so https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/wayland/wayland-protocols/-/merge_requests/52 is the blocker at the moment for an official wayland standard? You know about the current state?

[lestcape]

If you want a cross desktop global menu for Wayland applications, then yes, this is the most close way to have it and the one that at least accepts GNOME. There are more variants, but the GNOME people don't like the rest. However, it's a long road. It needs to be merged and accepted by everyone involved in Wayland, then implemented in at least the main projects that use Wayland for the desktop. Furthermore, all toolkits must implement it (this will be especially difficult with GTK, and the longer it takes, the worse it will get). The application developer has to use what the toolkit makes available (in GNOME applications, for example, there aren't even menus to export), and when all that happens, then you'll be able to display the menus of a GTK application running on Wayland in KDE or in other desktop environment with the support for it. It's a long run... they've barely made preparations and some may get tired along the way.

[skela]

ive got a global menu in qtile. doesnt work for all apps though, but some, weirdly enough most if not all electron apps seem to use dbus stuff to do it. shame there's no protocol that covers all apps.

global menus make a lot of sense in tiling window managers imho, since you've gotten rid of the window decorations etc, but apps with a menu at the top, just look broken or out of place. Its one of the main things thats preventing me from using hyprland as a daily driver.

but i agree, makes more sense to implement this stuff in a Bar, hopefully Waybar will do it one day.