Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!ll-xn!ames!amdahl!nsc!voder!apple!goldman
From: goldman@Apple.COM (Phil Goldman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: MultiFinder switch bug with custom WDEFs
Message-ID: <9332@apple.Apple.Com>
Date: 5 May 88 20:01:51 GMT
References: <242@uvabick.UUCP> <8700@apple.Apple.Com> <2887@midas.TEK.COM>
Reply-To: goldman@apple.UUCP (Phil Goldman)
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 40
Keywords: MultiFinder doesn't allow switching when it thinks it sees a dBoxProc

In article <2887@midas.TEK.COM> herbw@midas.UUCP (Herb Weiner) writes:
>--------
>
>Perhaps someone could explain the rationale for PROHIBITING a context switch
>when a modal dialog box is in front...

The rationale is one of user interface.  A modal dialog should be used when the user must interact with it before the (visible) task can continue.  If this is not its purpose, then the dialog should be modeless.

>Perhaps what I'm really suggesting is that modal dialogs are only modal
>with respect to that application that displays them, but that they should
>be MODELESS with respect to OTHER applications running under MultiFinder.
>

There might be some use for dialogs that are modal within their layer.
This can already be accomplished by the applications themselves.  Hopefully
these will not too often be used.

There has been some thought given to allowing the power user to override modal
dialogs, possibly by holding down the command key, or some equivalent, while
switching.

>If the real problem is that Apple depends upon non-reentrant code (such
>as Standard File) which uses modal dialogs, perhaps we should all be asking
>when Apple will make this code reentrant.
>

And modeless too, right?  Why shouldn't other application windows be allowed
to be put in front of the StdFile dialog, as well as other layers?  What's
the distinction (besides a change to the app interface)?

Anyway...
Do you really want multiple instances of StdFile?  I'd think that it would
be nicer to *never* have to use it.  In MultiFinder 6.0 (due real real soon
now) it is possible to double-click on documents in the Finder and have an
running application open them anyway, thus eliminating the need for StdFile
(unless the latter is a preferred form of navigation), especially if it is
desirable to look at the file info beforehand.

-Phil Goldman
Apple Computer