Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!apple!wrs
From: wrs@Apple.COM (Walter Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Strange Behavior (Bug??) in PopUpMenuSelect
Keywords: PopUpMenuSelect
Message-ID: <342@internal.Apple.COM>
Date: 19 Dec 88 22:58:56 GMT
References: <8008@ut-emx.UUCP> <21657@apple.Apple.COM> <763@husc6.harvard.edu> <22465@apple.Apple.COM>
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 27

In various articles, Ed Tecot and Rich Siegel have been flaming each other
about pop-up menus.

Well, it's always seemed to me that a menu in a nasty situation like the
ones popup menus always seem to be in should just *change its size* as it's
scrolling around.  Apparently someone else had this opinion, too, as we see
from the following comment in the menu defproc source code:

; Historical Note:
; It would be desireable to have popups change vertical size as they scrolled, 
; instead of having all that white space when the scrolling menu is first 
; displayed.  The reason for this is due to the design of the MBDF.  
; The MBDF saves the bits behind and draws the drop shadow at the same
; time.  If there were two messages instead, one to save the bits behind
; and one to draw the drop shadow, the we could save all of the bits behind
; the menurect, from the top of the screen to the bottom, and then change
; the menu's vertical height without worrying about saving more bits each
; time it got bigger.  But we can't, so...

In the narrow sense, I'm afraid Ed's right, but if you look at the Big
Picture I'm afraid you're both wrong...

- Walt
--
Walter Smith				wrs@apple.com, apple!wrs
Apple Computer, Inc.			(408) 974-5892
My corporation disavows any knowledge of my activities on the network.