dragon@uw-june (Brian Matthews) (04/07/85)
While we're on the subject of the new finder, I'd like to put in a request for a feature that would be quite useful. I'd like to do a set startup on a document, so the system would open that document when you booted from the disk the document is on. I find that in most cases, I don't start an application, I open a template, modify it, and do a save as, which makes set startup pretty useless. Anyone else have comments on this? Larry? Brian Matthews ...uw-june!dragon
jtyd@ur-univax.UUCP (04/09/85)
I also have found this operation to be useful. I have a "standard" Macpaint document which has my choice of ruler options, header, footer, and font preselected. When I boot from my MacWrite disk, set startup drops me into "untitled" I then close it, open "standard" and "save as" the name for the document I'm creating. From that point operations are as normal. It would save some aggravation if I could set startup on the "standard" document.
dba@cmu-cs-k.ARPA (David Anderson) (04/10/85)
Another feature that I would like would be a display of the total size of all selected files. This would make it much to easier to figure out if a proposed transfer will work, without just trying it and being told that there isn't enough space. -- David.Anderson@cmu-cs-k.ARPA ..!seismo!cmu-cs-k!dba (412) 422-1255
sjc@angband.UUCP (Steve Correll) (04/12/85)
> While we're on the subject of the new finder, I'd like to put in a > request for a feature that would be quite useful. I'd like to do a set > startup on a document, so the system would open that document when you > booted from the disk the document is on. I find that in most cases, I > don't start an application, I open a template, modify it, and do a save > as, which makes set startup pretty useless. > I also have found this operation to be useful. I have a > "standard" Macpaint document which has my choice of ruler > options, header, footer, and font preselected. When I boot > from my MacWrite disk, set startup drops me into "untitled" > I then close it, open "standard" and "save as" the name > for the document I'm creating. From that point operations > are as normal. It would save some aggravation if I could > set startup on the "standard" document. I wish that every application which offers a panoply of user-settable options would arrange to remember the settings from one execution to the next. Allowing "set startup" on a document solves this problem for only one application per disk, which will seem restrictive when disks are large. The resource mechanism could have solved this problem for every application. When the creator of the application defines a radio button, or a check box, or a piece of edittext, s/he could be required to specify the initial state of that button in the resource, instead of burying it in the code of the application. Then a user could employ the resource editor (or a special-purpose subset thereof) to customize the application's initial state to meet his or her preferences. Since it is too late to use the resource mechanism in this fashion, application developers might borrow an idea from other operating systems where applications typically read a text-file (often called a "profile") at startup to determine how the user wants the options set up. -- --Steve Correll sjc@s1-b.ARPA, ...!decvax!decwrl!mordor!sjc, or ...!ucbvax!dual!mordor!sjc
phcalamai@water.UUCP (Paul H. Calamai) (04/12/85)
In article <16500016@ur-univax.UUCP> jtyd@ur-univax.UUCP writes: >I also have found this operation to be useful. I have a >"standard" Macpaint document which has my choice of ruler >options, header, footer, and font preselected. When I boot >from my MacWrite disk, set startup drops me into "untitled" >I then close it, open "standard" and "save as" the name >for the document I'm creating. From that point operations >are as normal. It would save some aggravation if I could >set startup on the "standard" document. I seem to recall that one way to lessen the pain in this situation is to simply name the "standard" document "untitled".
howard@amdahl.UUCP (Howard C. Simonson) (04/15/85)
> > While we're on the subject of the new finder, I'd like to put in a > > request for a feature that would be quite useful. I'd like to do a set > > startup on a document, so the system would open that document when you > > booted from the disk the document is on. I find that in most cases, I > > don't start an application, I open a template, modify it, and do a save > > as, which makes set startup pretty useless... > I wish that every application which offers a panoply of user-settable > options would arrange to remember the settings from one execution to > the next... > > The resource mechanism could have solved this problem for every > application. When the creator of the application defines a radio > button, or a check box, or a piece of edittext, s/he could be required > to specify the initial state of that button in the resource, instead of > burying it in the code of the application. Then a user could employ the > resource editor (or a special-purpose subset thereof) to customize the > application's initial state to meet his or her preferences... > > ...developers might borrow an idea from other operating systems > where applications typically read a text-file (often called a "profile") at > startup to determine how the user wants the options set up. > -- > --Steve Correll Save me from tons of little profiles on my disk, please. Actually, I was giving this idea some thought yesterday and your article brought to mind a reasonable solution. Bury the initial settings in a resource within the application and provide the user Res.Edit. templates to modify that resource. An example which I haven't had a chance to try yet is the latest posting of the Idle DA. Larry posted both the DA and a template for just such a purpose. Rah Rah for Res. Edit.! -- Do not walk in front of me, I may step on your heel. Howard C. Simonson Do not walk behind me, ...{dragon,hplabs,ihnp4,nsc}!amdahl!howard I may stop abruptly. Just walk beside me, and be wary of sharp turns. -- HamuS [ Opinion? What opinion. I think you have the wrong guy... ]
vishniac@wanginst.UUCP (Ephraim Vishniac) (04/17/85)
> > > I'd like to do a set > > > startup on a document, so the system would open that document when you > > > booted from the disk the document is on. > > I wish that every application which offers a panoply of user-settable > > options would arrange to remember the settings from one execution to > > the next... > > ... a user could employ the > > resource editor (or a special-purpose subset thereof) to customize the > > application's initial state to meet his or her preferences... > > ...developers might borrow an idea from other operating systems > > where applications typically read a text-file (often called a "profile") at > > startup to determine how the user wants the options set up. > Save me from tons of little profiles on my disk, please. Actually, the Mac provides an ideal place for saving a default document with each application: the data fork of the application's file. To modify the default values for settings saved per-document, you would just start up the application, edit the untitled document, and select a new method called "save as (prototype, untitled, default...)" from the save as... dialog box. The edited document would be saved (pretty much invisibly) as the data fork of the already-existing application file. Advantages: provides a use for both forks of the file :-) no special purpose utilities no special purpose files -- Ephraim Vishniac [apollo, bbncca, cadmus, decvax, harvard, linus, masscomp]!wanginst!vishniac vishniac%Wang-Inst@Csnet-Relay
jimb@amdcad.UUCP (Jim Budler) (04/17/85)
In article <52@angband.UUCP> sjc@angband.UUCP (Steve Correll) writes: >I wish that every application which offers a panoply of user-settable >options would arrange to remember the settings from one execution to >... >The resource mechanism could have solved this problem for every >application. >... >Since it is too late to use the resource mechanism in this fashion, >application developers might borrow an idea from other operating systems >where applications typically read a text-file (often called a "profile") at >startup to determine how the user wants the options set up. I agree with what you said, except for your conclusion. It is not at all too late for EITHER method to be used by application developers. Red Ryder 4.0 (and probably later) uses the startup file to remember its last state. Many people have pasted the resources from a Macterminal document back into Macterminal to create a new startup condition. The application developer could easily create such an automatic action to give the result you desire. The mechanism to paste a resource into a file, as Rsed does, can be placed in any application. At that point the mechanism to do this doesn't discriminate between an external file and itself, unless the programmer wants it to do so. -- Jim Budler Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (408) 749-5806 UUCPnet: {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra,intelca}!amdcad!jimb Compuserve: 72415,1200