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Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!mtune!mtgzz!drutx!clive
From: clive@drutx.ATT.COM (Clive Steward)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.windows.misc
Subject: Re: Useability, Das, Trashcans, etc.
Message-ID: <7004@drutx.ATT.COM>
Date: 20 Mar 88 01:11:14 GMT
References: <2956@whutt.UUCP>
Organization: resident visitor
Lines: 48

From article <2956@whutt.UUCP>, by mls@whutt.UUCP (SIEMON):

> I like having desk accessories stick around, but then I find that they are 
> almost always buried underneath the active window....

Really, the answer here is probably usage habits, at least it's worked out that way
for me, after a bit of thought (and forgetting about Switcher!).

Most programs support the window shrink/expand box.  Some even automatically do
various good jobs of guessing what a shrink might be.  So by resizing windows
to appropriate smaller versions just after startup, everything you need can be
visible, and instantly growable to full screen.

This way, you can get to the trashcan, or extra disk icons, etc., too.
Some apps will now remember this kind of setting for you -- Apple encourages it.

A second solution is to use one of the Inits which gives you popup features
including DAs.  I like MFMenus much better than 'Popit!', since it's much more
oriented to multifinder in that the active applications and a heirarchically
extended DA selection are right there.

Using the shrink/expand windows and MFMenus together gives a very easy environment.
At least I think.


> complaint -- I dislike programs that I HAVE to interact with.  One of the
> beauties of UNIX is that programs can be QUIET and not flood you with inane
> chatter ("Do you really want me to do this? Huh? Really, really? And how about
> this next one too?  Oh, really?  And this one?")  What Apple needs is a good
> dose of regular expressions.


Well, probably not.  Skilled use is really a pleasure, for the right things,
and applications can provide this -- LSC does, and quite nicely.

A way your complaint might be well taken would be to allow users to set a
'don't unduly warn me mode', on the Control Panel.  Unfortunately, it wouldn't be
backwards compatible.

But on many programs nowadays, there is just this sort of thing available internally,
usually in a Preferences menu item.

Probably where it belongs -- as an application issue.




Clive