Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!garfield!john13
From: john13@garfield.MUN.EDU (John Russell)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech
Subject: Re: Talking to Workbench
Keywords: Workbench, snapshot
Message-ID: <5026@garfield.MUN.EDU>
Date: 11 Dec 88 18:47:45 GMT
References: <3039@sugar.uu.net> <6457@netnews.upenn.edu> <6458@netnews.upenn.edu> <5416@cbmvax.UUCP> <4XaVmTy00Vsf4D0Hli@andrew.cmu.edu> <1696@pur-phy> <12270@cup.portal.com> <1606@nmtsun.nmt.edu> <686@myrias.UUCP>
Reply-To: john13@garfield.UUCP (John Russell)
Organization: Memorial University of Newfoundland
Lines: 30

>In article <1606@nmtsun.nmt.edu> wncs302@nmtsun.nmt.edu (William Norris) writes:
>>As long as we're talking about WB facelifting:
>>	*	Keyboard shortcuts for the menus 
>>		What an IDEA!!  And soooo hard to implement.

This is already possible using Add from Fish Disk #73. Curiously, Workbench
is the _only_ thing it has ever seemed to cause problems with (although
I can't be sure, there were just nebulous problems once in a blue moon
when keyboard shortcuts were part of its menus). Maybe it has something to
do with trapping the 5-finger salute?

A super-safe and flexible/interactive version of Add is something that I
might do if I _ever_ get some free time to program. (Geez, when I wrote it
I didn't even know about Forbid()!). Methinks that would make a nice addition
to the 'standard' set of UI tools.

I still see plenty of menu-based programs which have shortcuts for options
I use maybe once a week (or even never use), but none for basic operations
like Open or Save. Does anyone ever do testing to determine which operations
are used the most often and base their shortcut items on that?

One program that addresses the problem well is VT100, where you are able to
specify the keyboard shortcuts in the init file. Early versions of VT100
without this feature were in fact what prompted Add in the first place.

John
-- 
"The sinuous roots meshed together... the sun-dappled leaves... the arching
 branches... and put it all together? Nothing! Icky, icky tree!"
		    -- something like that anyway; from "The Kids in the Hall"