Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!mips!spool.mu.edu!uunet!mcsun!ukc!mucs!p4.cs.man.ac.uk!gilbertd From: gilbertd@p4.cs.man.ac.uk (Dave Gilbert) Newsgroups: comp.sys.acorn Subject: Re: Desktop editors Message-ID: Date: 18 Jun 91 08:44:39 GMT References: <1991Jun15.122613.12088@demon.co.uk> Sender: news@cs.man.ac.uk Lines: 34 In dbh@doc.ic.ac.uk (Denis Howe) writes: >I agree that it would be nice if !Edit was a bit more extensible and >programmable. A recent article in Risc User magazine revealed that >not only can you use function key presses to activate most menu >functions (eg. control-f2 (Close window), f3 (Save), f4 (Search), f5 >(Goto line) etc.) but you can also use function keys to simulate >clicking on action icons in the dialog boxes (f1 for the first icon, >f2 for the second etc.). Dont forget that the idea of using a function key to trigger a dialogue box event should be available in all Wimp programmes - if it is not available then it is not keeping all Acorns guidlines. May I remind any writers out there that it is ****** annoying to find that you have to select a menu item to save, or worse to use a search and replace where you have to advance. May I also note that it is VERY annoying to see programs which use keys like Shift-F3 or CTRL-F3 to save - everything else uses just a plane old f3 key - why cant everything else? The dialogue box functions in C do most of this for you. I only came accross one problem - I created a window to interface to a printer driver. Of course it had two radio icons - for portrait and landscape. C dutifully assigned two function keys - one for each of the icons. The icons where in an Exclusive Selection Group so that clicking on one turned the other off etc. The problem came in that by using the function keys you could turn the landscape on even while the portrait was on - I eventualy used a raw event handler to trap this wierd behaviour. Dave -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Dave Gilbert - gilbertd@p4.cs.man.ac.uk - The MTBF of a piece of equipment - - G7FHJ@GB7NWP - is inversly proportional to its - ------------------------------------------- importance -