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Path: utzoo!utcsri!ubc-vision!alberta!calgary!radford
From: radford@calgary.UUCP (Radford Neal)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac,net.cog-eng
Subject: Menubar items without menus are AWFUL
Message-ID: <445@calgary.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 9-Oct-85 15:14:27 EDT
Article-I.D.: calgary.445
Posted: Wed Oct  9 15:14:27 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 9-Oct-85 20:43:43 EDT
References: <3281@nsc.UUCP> <5387@mit-eddie.UUCP> <1701@dciem.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta
Lines: 19

Somebody's got to say it...

The idea of clicking on a menu item causing an action in itself, without
a subsequent selection, is TERRIBLE.

The present interface makes "browsing" through menus a very desirable
activity for a user to engage in. It lets him know what commands are 
available, their command key equivalents, etc. If a menu item is followed
by "...", he knows that he can furthermore select it to see what its
dialog box is like, without worrying that it might do something he doesn't
want. (The dialog box had *better* have a "cancel" option, or we'll send
around the boys...)

If I understand it properly, the proposed extension would eliminate this
useful behaviour, and no doubt result in many mangled documents before users
caught on to the change.

    Radford Neal
    The University of Calgary