kdmoen@watcgl.UUCP (08/05/87)
chow@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Christopher Chow) writes: >Well, one thing which I always wanted to see in the Finder was a way to >display text files and MacPaint type files. The Mac is the only computer >which I know of that dosen't have a fairly accessible "display this file" >type command. What you *want* is to be able to double click on a document, and have a window pop up that shows you its contents, regardless of the type of the document. The finder almost does this now; the problems are that it is very slow, and that opening a document kicks you out of the finder; you can't flip between the open document and a folder window the same way you can flip between two windows. The speed problem is going away with faster hardware and better software. The pre-emption problem is supposedly going to be dealt with by Servant and Juggler. I'd rather have a working Juggler than a big, fat finder with a built in text editor, and built-in MacPaint. >Does anyone still remember Keeper by Hertzfield? Although it >didn't work with switcher it allowed you to return to quit to the desktop in >about 1-2 seconds. I still use Keeper. It works fine even with System 4.0/Finder 5.4 on a Mac+. There is still a compatibility problem with Switcher, though. -- Doug Moen University of Waterloo Computer Graphics Lab UUCP: {ihnp4,watmath}!watcgl!kdmoen INTERNET: kdmoen@cgl.waterloo.edu
barmar@think.COM (Barry Margolin) (08/07/87)
In article <1554@watcgl.waterloo.edu> kdmoen@watcgl.waterloo.edu (Doug Moen) writes: >chow@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Christopher Chow) writes: >>Well, one thing which I always wanted to see in the Finder was a way to >>display text files and MacPaint type files. The Mac is the only computer >>which I know of that dosen't have a fairly accessible "display this file" >>type command. > I'd rather have a working Juggler than a big, fat finder >with a built in text editor, and built-in MacPaint. I don't think he is asking for that. There is a big difference between an EDITOR and a DISPLAYER (although on the Mac a simple text editor is pretty simple, because TextEdit does most of the work). I would also like to see a standard way to simply display a text file. I usually use MockWrite for this, but its 32K limitation often forces me to use QED. I would never use MacWrite, as it takes forever to convert a TEXT file to its format. A MacPaint displayer would also be nice, but since MacPaint is unbundled, it would be somewhat strange to include this as part of the standard Finder. Perhaps MacPaint should come with a desk accessory that does this. In fact, this would probably be a good idea for many programs: include a limited version of the program as a DA; for example, a Rolodex application might include a Rolo Lookup DA. --- Barry Margolin Thinking Machines Corp. barmar@think.com seismo!think!barmar
fry@huma1.HARVARD.EDU (David Fry) (08/08/87)
In article <7346@think.UUCP> barmar@godot.think.com.UUCP (Barry Margolin) writes: >In article <1554@watcgl.waterloo.edu> kdmoen@watcgl.waterloo.edu (Doug Moen) writes: >>chow@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Christopher Chow) writes: >>>Well, one thing which I always wanted to see in the Finder was a way to >>>display text files and MacPaint type files. The Mac is the only computer >>>which I know of that dosen't have a fairly accessible "display this file" >>>type command. Six months ago I started writing an FKEY to simply display a TEXT file chosen from the Standard File Package. After one evening I had it to the point where it worked (usually) from every application except the Finder, which is where it would be most useful. After a week of unsuccessful debugging I moved on to other projects. Surely someone with greater skills than me must have thought of this before. Why isn't there an FKEY to do this already? Perhaps we could encourage Andy Hertzfeld to write one while he was eating dinner or watching David Letterman :-)? I beg someone to do this since I'm too busy to pick up the debugging again. David Fry fry@huma1.harvard.EDU Department of Mathematics fry@harvma1.bitnet Harvard University ...!harvard!huma1!fry Cambridge, MA 02138
howard@amdahl.amdahl.com (The Toolmaster) (08/09/87)
In article <7346@think.UUCP> barmar@godot.think.com.UUCP (Barry Margolin) writes: >In article <1554@watcgl.waterloo.edu> kdmoen@watcgl.waterloo.edu (Doug Moen) writes: >>chow@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Christopher Chow) writes: >>>Well, one thing which I always wanted to see in the Finder was a way to >>>display text files and MacPaint type files. The Mac is the only computer >>>which I know of that dosen't have a fairly accessible "display this file" >>>type command. > >> I'd rather have a working Juggler than a big, fat finder >>with a built in text editor, and built-in MacPaint. > >I don't think he is asking for that. There is a big difference >between an EDITOR and a DISPLAYER (although on the Mac a simple text >editor is pretty simple, because TextEdit does most of the work). I >would also like to see a standard way to simply display a text file. >I usually use MockWrite for this, but its 32K limitation often forces >me to use QED. I would never use MacWrite, as it takes forever to >convert a TEXT file to its format. > >A MacPaint displayer would also be nice, but since MacPaint is >unbundled, it would be somewhat strange to include this as part of the >standard Finder. Perhaps MacPaint should come with a desk accessory >that does this. In fact, this would probably be a good idea for many >programs: include a limited version of the program as a DA; for >example, a Rolodex application might include a Rolo Lookup DA. Now this is interesting. A similiar discussion started a few months back but for some reason I held *my* thoughts and didn't post. This time, what the hell... The DA idea is on track but the wrong train of thought. What *would* be nice is if each application came with a DRIVER that was used for displaying the contents of a type(s) of file with possibly support for rudimentary selection. Problem: what does double clicking actually do, display or launch. I leave that question to the masses. But think of it, if the drivers were public, you could send a document(s) to someone without worrying if they have the right program or can convert the file. Just send the driver with the document. I mean, do we really want to degenerate to ascii text when we want to transport data, or what? Oh gee, now that gives me an idea, how about a MacRN - readnews/postnews mac style. If you're using MacRN to post an article you can use Mac features in your posting like styles, fonts, maybe even pictures. And the reader using MacRN could see what you created as you posted it. On the other hand, regular RN could be patched to pass over the excess data. Sounds fun and interesting, any takers? -- "The value of knowledge lies not in its accumulation, Howard C. Simonson but in its utilization." E. Green amdahl!howard [ The disclaimer for this message may be found in a previous article ]