Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!olivea!mintaka!proton.LCS.MIT.EDU!mikew From: mikew@proton.LCS.MIT.EDU (Michael B. Williams) Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms Subject: Re: Editor... Message-ID: <1990Oct10.232950.20637@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> Date: 10 Oct 90 23:29:50 GMT References: <90280.143318CC65MGTW@MIAMIU.BITNET> <122816@linus.mitre.org> Sender: daemon@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu (Lucifer Maleficius) Reply-To: mikew@proton.LCS.MIT.EDU (Michael B. Williams) Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lines: 29 I think that lapses like this (the lack of a GUI-based .INI editor) are what keeps Windows from being a great environment instead of merely a good one. A GUI-based .INI editor would be a very useful tool, even if it were tailored only for Windows' own settings. To date, the best attempt I've seen is the INI File Mangler distributed by Bogus Software (a freeware outfit?). It's a program that edits any .INI file that is organized in the standard format. The nice thing about it is that on the left child window are the sections such as [fonts] and [windows], and when you click on a section, all the `=' entries under it are displayed on the right child window. What Windows really needs is something like the Sun defaults editor, which lets you specify defaults for all of the SunTools programs, such as Mailtool. It lists textual descriptions of all the defaults (not just a code word) and provides help with each default you can set. The nice thing about it is that it's extensible; vendors can create their own defaults file so that the user can use the defaults editor to customize the program. This is similar to Window's help system, in which vendors supply a .HLP file for use with the Windows Help program. It's all quite possible and feasible--if Microsoft would only take the lead and do it. Is anyone at Microsoft listening? ________________________________________________________________________ Michael B. Williams \ 1-2-3-4, KICK THE LAWSUITS OUT THE DOOR MIT NE43-532 \ 5-6-7-8, INNOVATE DON'T LITIGATE Laboratory for Computer Science \ 9-A-B-C, INTERFACES SHOULD BE FREE 545 Technology Square \ D-E-F-0, LOOK AND FEEL HAS GOT TO GO! Cambridge, MA 02139 -------------------------------------- (617) 876-7429 Internet: mikew@athena.mit.edu CompuServe: 73667,3264