Not so long ago I commented in a reply on somebodies question why Lubuntu does not have the FancyMenu as the default menu plugin.
Below is a long story, firstly about FancyMenu, followed by and needed in the context of my response about WingMenu.
FancyMenu
If you read my response (which I referred to earlier) I was a bit negative about FancyMenu. I later found out why exactly, and how to mitigate that sensation. The strange thing about FancyMenu is, that its default navigation / layout is counter-intuitive. In fact, it is almost the “Classic Menu” with Favorites, but it feels different.
Until now I always put a shortcut to an application that is a favorite for me in the quick launch area in the panel. I would not like to replicate that in the designated favorites area in FancyMenu.
Thus, until recently, when I used FancyMenu, I always started with an empty “Favorites” area on the left (where the favorites are supposed to be), and I then needed to move the mouse all the way to the right where the menu categories are. That felt strange, I did not like to use FancyMenu (as a direct replacement of the classic menu).
Later I found out that there is a setting which swaps the ‘favorites’ and ‘categories’ areas. It is a psychological thing, that swapping, or lets call it ‘haptanomy’ in action.
Now, it works for me. I lied earlier; I do not put every favorite application in the quick launch area on the panel. A desktop is almost like a pig farm: all favorite applications are equal, but some are more equal and deserve their special place on the panel. The others, less favorable (i.e. less frequently used) can now be placed in FancyMenu, and reached quickly as well! Quite acceptable, my current FancyMenu.
WingMenu
After installing WingMenu and playing around with it, one thing is clear to me. WingMenu is superior to FancyMenu (even with the twist I described).
It is almost the same, but has on the left side an extra column with the ‘obvious’ system related actions. Very handy. Theming is still an issue (I use ‘Lubuntu Arc’), but that is not the most important thing. In general, it feels just good!
I think the LXQt project team (not the Lubuntu team, this is another project) missed the unique opportunity to embrace and incorporate WingMenu in the official software, and unfortunately came up with FancyMenu.