Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mac:13739 comp.windows.misc:232
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!steinmetz!vdsvax!barnett
From: barnett@vdsvax.steinmetz.ge.com (Bruce G. Barnett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.windows.misc
Subject: Active windows (was Re: 2 button mouse)
Message-ID: <4037@vdsvax.steinmetz.ge.com>
Date: 9 Mar 88 17:48:16 GMT
References: <4129@hoptoad.uucp> <283@rhesus.primate.wisc.edu> <1710@ssc-vax.UUCP> <241@eos.UUCP> <1735@ssc-vax.UUCP> <5674@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> <7481@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> <7602@apple.Apple.Com>
Reply-To: barnett@steinmetz.ge.com (Bruce G. Barnett)
Organization: General Electric CRD, Schenectady, NY
Lines: 54
Keywords: window human computer interface

In article <7602@apple.Apple.Com> lsr@apple.UUCP (Larry Rosenstein) writes:
|The Apple human interface guidelines say that moving the mouse with the
|button up is not supposed to do anything (such as activating a window),
|except possibly changing the cursor shape.  It requires an explicit click on
|the button to activate a window.
|
|It seems to me that the mouse can get moved accidentally while typing, and
|that would cause windows to be activated.  For me (a long-time Mac user),
|this would take some getting use to, but I can see how some people would
|prefer in order to reduce the number of clicks.

for comparison, Sunview will send keyboard inputs to the window that
is under the mouse cursor (unless the click-to-type option is used).

The fact that the mouse automatically activates the window typically
doesn't cause problems, because the window receiving input doesn't
automatically pop to the top of the stack.

(Using the click-to-type option, the user must click a mouse button before
changing the focus of the keyboard input.)

I have briefly used systems where the active window was always on top of the
stack. Doesn't this get in the way at times?

For instance, I may have three windows open at once

	An editor
	Another window doing mail or reading manuals
	a compile window.

typically the compile window is a large size, but under the other two
windows. I usually do some edits, and reading the manual pages, etc.

then I move the mouse to the portion of the compile window and
type "!m" - make the program or "!r" to run the program.

If that window kept popping to the top of the stack, I would be upset
because I have to keep putting it back to the proper place it was.
I would only look at it if I made an error (which is very rare :-) :-).

This would be even more irritating if I had seven windows open at
once, and I wanted the compile window to be number 6 on the stack
(i.e. above 7 but under 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5).

	I can see on a small screen, where you don't have much room, pulling
the active window to the top makes sense.

	But with a large screen and 3-10 windows open at once,
this would be irritating to me.

Comments?
-- 
	Bruce G. Barnett 	<barnett@ge-crd.ARPA> <barnett@steinmetz.UUCP>
				uunet!steinmetz!barnett