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From: bernard@cs.colorado.edu (Bernie Bernstein)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: Re: System 7 Aliases - only half there
Message-ID: <1991Mar15.210525.29143@colorado.edu>
Date: 15 Mar 91 21:05:25 GMT
References: <1991Mar14.203258.16538@fcom.cc.utah.edu> <7174@idunno.Princeton.EDU>
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In article <7174@idunno.Princeton.EDU>, bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig) writes:
> 
> In article <1991Mar14.203258.16538@fcom.cc.utah.edu> t-jacobs@ced.utah.edu writes:
> >.... allow a shortcut to
> >making an Alias by option-shift-dragging the file to the destination to create
> >an alias at the destination. This makes is possible to make aliases of
> >read-only folder items. This also speeds up the process for regular aliases
> >too. 
> 
> Hear, hear!  This is a wonderful idea.  "Duplicate" from the File menu
> has both a command-key equivalent (Command-D) and a shortcut (option-
> dragging); why is it that "Make Alias" (which I feel is going to be
> used more than Duplicate) has neither?  Option-shift-dragging seems
> like the perfect shortcut to me.
> 

I agree that this would be a great feature for me and you, but I think we
should see how cautious Apple is being about aliases.  This is the first
time that the desktop metaphor is displaying something that isn't really
there.  This is a new concept for most  (non-technical) people.  Normally
in the finder, if you see a file, that is the only place that it exists.  If
you make a copy of the file, it is just that... a copy of the entire file.

Imagine the dismay a novice user will be in when they click on an icon here
and a file opens from a folder over there.  I guess the designers had to
do lots of convincing to the human interfacers to get aliases in 7.0
in the first place.

Aliases are not completely intuitive, and therefore Apple doesn't want them
to appear on the novices desktop unless they know what they are doing.  I can
picture a novice making an alias to a file then a week later, kill the original 
because they didn't know they were actually using it when they click on that 
other icon (the one in italics).  I guess that is why they put "alias" on the
end of the name of all aliases when they are created.

Also remember that you can make aliases from servers or other disks.  If it
is very easy to make aliases, it might become habit to option-shift-drag
things when you meant to just option-drag or just drag it.  If I copy 
something from a floppy disk, I probably want a copy of it and not
an alias to it.

I'm sure it won't be long before someone writes an init which adds the
feature of option-shift-drag to make an alias to a file (without "alias"
in the name?) and I will be among the first to use it, but as far as the
design decision to make aliases the way they are, I will agree with
Apple.


> >Even the System itself doesn't do the right thing!!!!!! You can't have an
> >Alias of any of the special system folders (Apple Menu, Extensions, Controls,
> >Preferences, etc) replace the actual folder. Meaning the real folder is
> >somewhere else other that the System folder and the Alias is in the System
> >folder. I WANT THIS FEATURE!
> 
> So do I!  It sems rather flaky to me to have aliases be essentially
> the real things elsewhere, but not in the System Folder.
> 

I think it is a little late to be asking for features for 7.0, but maybe
they can start thinking about 7.1.  I wonder if Apple knows about this
bug... it sounds like a bug to me.



      o,  ,,   ,      | Bernie Bernstein                      | ,    ,,
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