[net.micro.mac] Bug in Switch Desk Accessory?

cordy@qucis.UUCP (Jim Cordy) (11/15/85)

Some weeks ago a nice desk accessory called 'Switch' that allows
applications other than the finder to be invoked when leaving an
application was posted to the net.  Since I have a Davong hard disk,
and Switcher 4.4 won't work with it, I was looking forward to at last
being able to switch more efficiently using this desk accessory, and
I was more than delighted when it worked fine with several different
applications.  

I had every intention of continuing to use it ... until I discovered that
for some reason it doesn't work with MacDraw (which I normally want
to switch with MacWrite frequently).  The symptom is that after the 
Switch desk accessory is invoked from inside MacDraw, all menu headers
are blanked out except File and Edit.  In particular, the Switch menu 
is not there.  This means you can't get out of MacDraw without rebooting
(assuming that you 'Switch'ed into it). 

It's not clear to me whether this is a problem with Switch or with 
MacDraw, or just my version of MacDraw (it's old I know).  Has anyone
else noticed this problem?  Is ther something I can do about it?

Jim Cordy
Dept. Computing & Information Science
Queen's University at Kingston

rubin@mtuxn.UUCP (Mike Rubin) (11/26/85)

The Extras D.A. (I have version 1.2) exhibits a similar bug with MacDraw.
When you call Extras, it appends its own "Extras" title to the menu bar;
if you use any of the "Show xxx" functions from the Extras menu, the whole
menu bar goes away except for File and Edit, with not much under them.
I seem to remember that choosing "Quit" from the File menu would bring you
back, but am not sure (I'm just not using Extras with MacDraw now).

My guess is that MacDraw has too full a menu bar for its own good, and
adding any more titles causes something to overflow.  It goes undetected
until the DA tries to change its menu (when you use a "Show xxx" function, the
menu item changes to "Hide xxx").  The Menu Manager then notices the corruption
and puts up a default menu instead.  Hmm, the Extras menu title is so far to
the right that it would overlap Switcher's arrows if I were using Switcher...
I wonder who'd win?

maclab@reed.UUCP (Mac DLab) (11/27/85)

> My guess is that MacDraw has too full a menu bar for its own good, and
> adding any more titles causes something to overflow.  It goes undetected
> until the DA tries to change its menu (when you use a "Show xxx" function, the
> menu item changes to "Hide xxx").  

My guess is that whenever MacDraw sees an activate event for a system window,
it says "Oh, time to put my menus away."  The problem for Switch, in particular,
is that it puts its menu up right away, before MacDraw sees the activate event,
and therefore the menu gets creamed when MacDraw tries to be clever.

BTW -- I have a version of Switch that works correctly with MacDraw (it
waits until it gets its first update event before putting up the menu).  
If anyone wants a copy of .hqx or .src, send me a message via mail, and
I will send you the stuff.

Scott Gillespie
Reed College

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 mit-ems, psu-cs, uoregon, orstcs, ihnp4, uf-cgrl, ssc-vax}!tektronix 
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lsr@apple.UUCP (Larry Rosenstein) (11/28/85)

In article <125@qucis.UUCP> cordy@qucis.UUCP (Jim Cordy) writes:
>Some weeks ago a nice desk accessory called 'Switch' that allows
...
>
>I had every intention of continuing to use it ... until I discovered that
>for some reason it doesn't work with MacDraw (which I normally want
>to switch with MacWrite frequently).  The symptom is that after the 
>Switch desk accessory is invoked from inside MacDraw, all menu headers
>are blanked out except File and Edit.  In particular, the Switch menu 
>is not there.

I think the problem is that Switch should be inserting/deleting its
menu when it gets an activate/deactivate event.  This is documented
in the Desk Manager chapter of Inside Macintosh.

MacDraw is unusual in that it deletes most of the menus (including
Switch's) when a desk accessory comes up; in most applications the
menu would be put up once and stay up.

I can think of any workaround, other than changing Switch.




-- 
Larry Rosenstein
Apple Computer

UUCP:  {voder, nsc, ios, mtxinu, dual}!apple!lsr
CSNET: lsr@Apple.CSNET

spector@acf4.UUCP (David HM Spector) (11/28/85)

I have come to the conclusion that although MacDraw is probably one the sexiest
graphics programs around, it is decidedly anti-social when it comes to
desk ornamnets.  It seems that it will force any and all das to close when it
(MacDraw) becomes active...(i.e., open a da from inside MacDraw, then make a 
MacDraw window active.).

			Any chance that this will be fixed in Macdraw 1.8? ;-)

				David Spector
				NYU/acf Systems Staff
SPECTOR@NYU
...!{allegra,seismo,ihnp4,rocky}!cmcl2!spector
                                    ^--That's and L not a one.