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microsoft / wslg

Enabling the Windows Subsystem for Linux to include support for Wayland and X server related scenarios

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Per-Distro WSL2 Overlay Icon Customization

heamaral opened this issue · comments

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Is your feature request related to a problem:

No response

Describe the solution you'd like:

Overview
The WSLg repository currently lacks a feature for users to customize overlay icons for each WSL2 distribution, making it challenging to differentiate between shortcuts from different distributions. This feature suggestion aims to address this issue by allowing users to specify a directory containing custom overlay icons named after each WSL2 distribution.

Proposed Solution

  1. Introduce a new configuration option: WSL2_DEFAULT_APP_OVERLAY_ICON_DIRECTORY.
  2. Users can set this configuration option to point to a directory containing custom overlay icons for each WSL2 distribution.
  3. Inside the specified directory, users can place icons named after their respective distributions (e.g., Ubuntu-22.04.ico, etc.).
  4. When creating shortcuts or icons for applications within a specific WSL2 distribution, WSLg will use the custom overlay icon associated with that distribution, if available.

Example Configuration
WSL2_DEFAULT_APP_OVERLAY_ICON_DIRECTORY=/mnt/c/custom-wsl-icons

Directory Structure

/mnt/c/custom-wsl-icons/
     Ubuntu-22.04.ico

Benefits

  • Enhanced user experience: Users can easily differentiate between shortcuts from different WSL2 distributions.
  • Customizability: Users have the flexibility to choose their preferred overlay icons for each distribution.
  • Improved visual consistency: Custom overlay icons provide a consistent visual representation for each distribution across the system.

Implementation Considerations

  • Ensure backward compatibility with existing configurations.
  • Provide clear documentation and examples for users to set up custom overlay icons.

Additional Notes

  • This feature adds a simple yet powerful customization option to the WSLg experience, aligning with the project's goal of enhancing usability and user satisfaction.

Describe alternatives you've considered:

Text Labels on Icons
Instead of using different icons, add a small text label or abbreviation of the distro name on the existing WSL2 icon. For example, "UB" for Ubuntu or "DE" for Debian could appear on the corner of the icon.

Pros:

  • Easy to implement: Relatively simple addition to the existing icon design.
  • Clear identification: Directly shows which distro the shortcut belongs to.

Cons:

  • Potential clutter: Adding text to small icons can make them look crowded or harder to read.
  • Limited aesthetic appeal: Text labels may detract from the visual appeal of the icons.

Each of these alternatives provides a unique approach to solving the problem of differentiating between WSL2 distribution shortcuts. However, they also come with their own set of trade-offs in terms of customization, implementation complexity, and user experience. The original suggestion of allowing users to customize icons per distro offers the most flexibility and personalization, albeit at the cost of increased user involvement in configuration.

Additional context:

No response