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From: howard@amdahl.UUCP (Howard C. Simonson)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: Desired Finder Feature
Message-ID: <1405@amdahl.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 15-Apr-85 16:30:28 EST
Article-I.D.: amdahl.1405
Posted: Mon Apr 15 16:30:28 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 18-Apr-85 02:14:59 EST
References: <66@uw-june> <52@angband.UUCP>
Organization: Amdahl Corp, Sunnyvale CA
Lines: 40

> > While we're on the subject of the new finder, I'd like to put in a
> > request for a feature that would be quite useful.  I'd like to do a set
> > startup on a document, so the system would open that document when you
> > booted from the disk the document is on.  I find that in most cases, I
> > don't start an application, I open a template, modify it, and do a save
> > as, which makes set startup pretty useless...

> I wish that every application which offers a panoply of user-settable
> options would arrange to remember the settings from one execution to
> the next...
> 
> The resource mechanism could have solved this problem for every
> application. When the creator of the application defines a radio
> button, or a check box, or a piece of edittext, s/he could be required
> to specify the initial state of that button in the resource, instead of
> burying it in the code of the application. Then a user could employ the
> resource editor (or a special-purpose subset thereof) to customize the
> application's initial state to meet his or her preferences...
> 
>          ...developers might borrow an idea from other operating systems
> where applications typically read a text-file (often called a "profile") at
> startup to determine how the user wants the options set up.
> -- 
>                                                            --Steve Correll

Save me from tons of little profiles on my disk, please.  Actually,
I was giving this idea some thought yesterday and your article brought
to mind a reasonable solution.  Bury the initial settings in a resource
within the application and provide the user Res.Edit. templates to modify
that resource.  An example which I haven't had a chance to try yet is
the latest posting of the Idle DA.  Larry posted both the DA and a
template for just such a purpose.  Rah Rah for Res. Edit.!
-- 
Do not walk in front of me,
   I may step on your heel.                                  Howard C. Simonson
     Do not walk behind me,          ...{dragon,hplabs,ihnp4,nsc}!amdahl!howard
        I may stop abruptly.
          Just walk beside me, and be wary of sharp turns.  --  HamuS

[ Opinion? What opinion.  I think you have the wrong guy... ]