Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mac:13517 comp.windows.misc:176 Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!steinmetz!grymoire!barnett From: barnett@grymoire.steinmetz (Bruce Barnett) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.windows.misc Subject: 3 button systems (was A/UX window systems, Mac toolbox, etc) Message-ID: <9790@steinmetz.steinmetz.UUCP> Date: 4 Mar 88 17:14:43 GMT References: <4129@hoptoad.uucp> <283@rhesus.primate.wisc.edu> <1710@ssc-vax.UUCP> <3996@vdsvax.steinmetz.ge.com> <346@esquire.UUCP> Sender: news@steinmetz.steinmetz.UUCP Reply-To: barnett@steinmetz.ge.com (Bruce Barnett) Organization: General Electric CRD, Schenectady, NY Lines: 69 User interfaces tend to start religious wars. Especially when we have people on the net whom have only used one interface proficiently. I am not saying that what you do is WRONG, but merely what *I* like. It is very hard to visualize a sophisicated user interface from these articles. So bear with me. In article <346@esquire.UUCP> sbb@esquire.UUCP (Stephen B. Baumgarten) writes: |I don't know. Having used 1, 2, and 3 buttons, I find I like 1 button |most of all First of all - did you have a DECENT 3-button window system, and did you learn how to use it effectively? Saying a one-button system is better that all three button systems is silly, because a flexible window system can allow you to emulate a one-button system. And if you want to take a pair of pliers to your three button mouse to perform a button-ectomy - fine! :-) But three button systems, with a flexible window system, have - to me - several advantages. For instance - I like the ability to move, resize, hide, expose, open or close a window by grabbing the window anywhere along the edge and hitting the proper combination of keys and buttons. Don't some window systems do a window resize by grabbing a special (fixed) part of the frame? And moving a window is another spot on the frame? And of course that part of the frame must be exposed. Maybe you like this. Hokay. But I would be frustrated because if I want to move and resize a window, I can't do both using any corner that's exposed. I have to expose the proper spot move the mouse to that corner ( say lower right). perform the resize ( assume the upper left corner stays fixed). move the mouse to another corner perform the move put the window back to the proper top-to-bottom position.. Given a flexible window system what I would like to do to make the same window larger - but leave the (say) lower right corner fixed, is to : Move mouse to upper left corner and press the proper buttons. move the mouse to the proper position and let go of the buttons. I would think that pull-down menus would also slow me down. Why move the mouse up to the top when all of my choices could be known by leaving the mouse in the same spot and pressing the button that gives you the pop-up menus? And I would bind the other buttons on the mouse to act as accelerators, so I wouldn't have to use the pop-up menus except for rare occassions. |On the other hand, what do multi-button, popup menu people think about |the new tear-off menus in Hypercard (I like them)? What are tear-off menus? -- Bruce G. Barnett