Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!amdahl!nsc!voder!apple!rmh
From: rmh@Apple.COM (Rick Holzgrafe)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: spontaneous renaming of Mac files
Message-ID: <14873@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 28 Jul 88 17:46:42 GMT
References: <1173@cod.NOSC.MIL>
Reply-To: rmh@apple.apple.com.UUCP (Rick Holzgrafe)
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 36

In article <1173@cod.NOSC.MIL> rupp@cod.NOSC.MIL (William L. rupp) writes:
>A user here at NOSC is having an interesting problem with her SE.  When
>she launches an application, the name under the application's icon
>changes to a dash (-).  She can see this happen in the split-second
>before the application's window opens.  When she exists the application,
>the name is still a dash.  [...]
>
>A second problem is that when she is using Excel, cells which contain
>data suddenly change, their data being replaced by dashes [...]

A guess: the SE's keyboard is flaky, producing dashes as though someone
were occasionally leaning on the dash key. If this happens when text is
selected, the selected text will of course be replaced by the dash.

When you select an icon in the Finder, its name highlights, and is selected
for editing. (I hear that a lot of people don't know that: it's how you
change a file's name, just click the icon and type.) Your next click, if
you are double-clicking, launches the application. If the keyboard fires a
dash between your clicks, it will rename your file.

Try running a word processor: open an untitled document and take your
hands off the keyboard. If dashes appear "by magic", I think you can
blame the keyboard. Next try your keyboard on someone else's Mac. If the
same problem appears, that clinches it.

There is also a chance that something else on ADB (the mouse, that means),
or the Mac's ADB hardware itself, is at fault. If the keyboard is not
the culprit, take the whole shootin' match to a shop.

Good luck...

==========================================================================
Rick Holzgrafe              |    {sun,voder,nsc,mtxinu,dual}!apple!rmh
Software Engineer           | AppleLink HOLZGRAFE1    rmh@apple.apple.com
Apple Computer, Inc.        |  "All opinions expressed are mine, and do
20525 Mariani Ave. MS: 27-O |    not necessarily represent those of my
Cupertino, CA 95014         |        employer, Apple Computer Inc."