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From: clive@druhi.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Kudos for SuperPaint; suggestion for Mac Interface Guidelines
Message-ID: <1848@druhi.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 14-Apr-87 20:21:01 EST
Article-I.D.: druhi.1848
Posted: Tue Apr 14 20:21:01 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 18-Apr-87 00:54:09 EST
Organization: resident visitor
Lines: 39

This is *really* a useful program.  I just prepared a local network
plan in an afternoon with it, and I'm impressed.

The main reason I'm posting, is to clear up a confusion introduced by
an otherwise very complimentary review a month or so back in MacUser.  
The writer complained that one couldn't move the 'active box' in the 
reduced view around, as in MacPaint.

Well, it's true, you can't -- there isn't one!   But the way this
feature is clearly intended to be used is much, much superior to the 
way MacPaint works (though SuperPaint doesn't fit on 128k Macs, either, 
of course).

When you ask for the reduced view, it's presented *at the same time* 
as the drawing window it's co-active with -- takes about a third of it.  
The pair, incidentally, can be asked to take over the entire screen, 
even the menu area; and each drawing window has its own reduced view.  

Then, you can work on a window of the drawing (paint or draw layer), and 
watch what is happening to the whole page, all the same time!  No intermediate
printouts; no need for a Radius to see what you're doing.  Good stuff
out, the first time! 

All the tools, grabber, etc., work smoothly and quickly with this mode; 
the auto-scroll at window edges particularly helps.  It's an effective design.

This is a feature *all* mac programs with presentation should have.
Like the preview window in Word 3, except you can do everything and see 
the results.

Maybe that one'll be an upgrade??  It'll certainly be in anything I design.

It would be a very good candidate for inclusion in the Mac Interface Guidelines.

Thank you, Silicon Beach.  I've worked the other way, and I like this
ever so much better.


Clive Steward