Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!rutgers!ames!ucbcad!ucbvax!jade!eris!mwm From: mwm@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (Mike (Don't have strength to leave) Meyer) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: A better file requester ! Message-ID: <1865@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> Date: Tue, 9-Dec-86 02:37:34 EST Article-I.D.: jade.1865 Posted: Tue Dec 9 02:37:34 1986 Date-Received: Tue, 9-Dec-86 11:18:33 EST References: <546@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> Sender: usenet@jade.BERKELEY.EDU Reply-To: mwm@eris.BERKELEY.EDU (Mike (Don't have strength to leave) Meyer) Organization: Missionaria Phonibalonica Lines: 47 Keywords: workbench, file, requestor, icon, RKM In article <546@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> ralph@mit-atrp.UUCP (Amiga-Man) writes: >Why should I be dealing with file names in a little text box when I'm running >a machine from an *ICON* interface ? Heck, I started my program with an >ICON, how come when I want to read in a file I can't still pick an icon ? Because not all files you may want to read in have icons? That's one problem. If it isn't a problem for you (you know you'll always have icons for everything), how about a requestor with LOTS of gadgets, one per file? >I've been reading my serious Amiga manuals (i.e. RKM) and trying to figure >out how to do this. Has anyone thought of this and tried it? Anyone know >how to do it. You realize once we get this code written, no program need >ever worry about how to get a file again. I'm psyched and if you can suggest >a way, send me e-mail. Or, if a discussion here seems appropriate, so be it! >I just have the strong conviction that the ICON interface is THE way to >converse with my Amiga and that this is the way all file requesters should >work. For an alternative, the people at Xerox PARC dreamed up an interface called the "browser." It lets you wade through a hierarchy of objects via a menu system. In it's original form, it has two windows. The top window has a series of tall panes with names, and the currently selected name from that pane backlit. If you select an object the browser can display, it does so in the bottom window. If you select an object that is a "directory", it lists its contents in the next pane. The Amiga version uses the menu bar. The menu contains the current path, looking like "df0:this/is/a/path/to/a/directory/". Each element in the path is a menu, and pulling it down gets a listing of all the files in the directory. Selecting a directory re-arranges the menu to reflect the current selection (say, selecting "another/" under menu "a" gets you a menu bar of "df0:this/is/another/"); selecting a real file passes it to the main program. There are three versions of the browser on the fish disks. The original lattice version, which is pretty primitive. A MANX version that's been spiffied up (scroll bars and such like). Finally, the mg1a disk uses the browser to do a "find-file" on the selected file. Love wading through include directories with it. One interesting enhancement would be to notice .icon files, and use the icon imagery in the menu instead of the name. Not clear how hard that would be, though. Happy Hacking,