yee@osf.org (Michael K. Yee) (05/22/91)
I was told by a person at Apple that Suitcases in System 7.0 are to be thought of as containers (i.e. like folder) in the Finder. If this is true then I think that there is, at least, a small defect in the metaphor here. Read on... I think it's weird that if you drag a Suitcase into the System File that the Suitcase disappears. If in System 7.0 Suitcases should behave similar to a folder, when I drag a folder into the desktop, I expect the folder to placed on the desktop, and NOT for the folder to 'spill its guts' on to the desktop (i.e. the folder disappears and the contents are not in the 'container' anymore). I know that this is a nit, but Suitcases open up into what looks like a Finder window, except it has this strange behavior when dragged into the System File. Another thing that you CANNOT do with items in a Suitcase (e.g. DA's and Fonts) is make aliases of them. One more inconsistency. If Suitcase windows behave differently than other Finder windows (i.e. folders), then it should look different. Otherwise make them behave the same. Remember, similar controls (or containers) should behave similarly. Be "user friendly", =Mike -- == Michael K. Yee <yee@osf.org> -+- OSF/Motif Team == Open Software Foundation - 11 Cambridge Center - Cambridge, MA 02142 == "Live simply, so that others may simply live."
yee@osf.org (Michael K. Yee) (05/23/91)
I just realized that one solution could be to ONLY ALLOW DRAGGING THE ITEMS IN THE SUITCASE (i.e. DAs and Fonts) INTO THE SYSTEM FILE. Dragging the Suitcase into the System File should issue a warning stating that the Suitcase should be opened and contents dragged instead. This will prevent users from losing the organization they had with their Suitcases. Note, this problem is especially bad when dragging multiple Suitcase with multiple items in each Suitcase into the System File. All Suitcases will be opened and all organizational information will be lost forever!! The user would have to manually rebuild the Suitcases if he wanted them back. Apple, are you listening? System-7.0-atically Yours, =Mike -- == Michael K. Yee <yee@osf.org> -+- OSF/Motif Team == Open Software Foundation - 11 Cambridge Center - Cambridge, MA 02142 == "Live simply, so that others may simply live."
gandalf@apple.com (Martin Gannholm) (05/24/91)
Path: apple.com!gandalf From: gandalf@apple.com (Martin Gannholm) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc Distribution: comp Subject: Re: Mixed metaphors in System 7.0 (Suitcases) References: <YEE.91May22121911@pmin27.osf.org> Organization: Apple Computer, Inc. Path: apple.com!gandalf From: gandalf@apple.com (Martin Gannholm) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.misc Distribution: comp Subject: Re: Mixed metaphors in System 7.0 (Suitcases) References: <YEE.91May22121911@pmin27.osf.org> Organization: Apple Computer, Inc. In article <YEE.91May22121911@pmin27.osf.org> yee@osf.org (Michael K. Yee) writes: > I think it's weird that if you drag a Suitcase into the System File > that the Suitcase disappears. If in System 7.0 Suitcases should > behave similar to a folder, when I drag a folder into the desktop, I > expect the folder to placed on the desktop, and NOT for the folder > to 'spill its guts' on to the desktop (i.e. the folder disappears > and the contents are not in the 'container' anymore). Note that this is a special feature that to my knowledge only happens when you drop something onto the System Folder. Try this: Place some INITs (extensions in 7.0-speak) and cdevs into a folder on your disk. Now drag the folder to the System Folder. You will be told that the items need to go in special places inside the system folder. Click OK. The items are moved to their special places and the folder is gone! If all the items in the folder or suitcase are not moved into the system or one of the special folders, the folder is left intact with the remaining item(s) inside the System folder where you expect it. At least it is consistent for folders and suitcases. Martin Gannholm Apple Computer Exclaimer!!! I never said it...Nobody heard me say it...You can't prove anything!
yee@osf.org (Michael K. Yee) (05/29/91)
In article <13630@goofy.Apple.COM> gandalf@apple.com (Martin Gannholm) writes: : In article <YEE.91May22121911@pmin27.osf.org> yee@osf.org (Michael K. Yee) : writes: : > I think it's weird that if you drag a Suitcase into the System File : > that the Suitcase disappears. If in System 7.0 Suitcases should : > behave similar to a folder, when I drag a folder into the desktop, I : > expect the folder to placed on the desktop, and NOT for the folder : > to 'spill its guts' on to the desktop (i.e. the folder disappears : > and the contents are not in the 'container' anymore). : : Note that this is a special feature that to my knowledge only happens when : you drop something onto the System Folder. : Try this: : Place some INITs (extensions in 7.0-speak) and cdevs into a folder on your : disk. Now drag the folder to the System Folder. You will be told that the : items need to go in special places inside the system folder. Click OK. The : items are moved to their special places and the folder is gone! : If all the items in the folder or suitcase are not moved into the : system or one of the special folders, the folder is left intact with the : remaining item(s) inside the System folder where you expect it. : : At least it is consistent for folders and suitcases. Great example! So, since the system posts a warning dialog when the users drags a folders with system extensions into the System Folder before 'unpacking' it, then I would expect the same warning for Suitcases and the System File. If I remember correctly, the warning dialog, posted when you drag a system extension into the System Folder, gives you the chance to Cancel the operation. Therefore, shouldn't a similar dialog be posted when an user drags a Suitcase into the System File? =Mike -- == Michael K. Yee <yee@osf.org> -+- OSF/Motif Team == Open Software Foundation - 11 Cambridge Center - Cambridge, MA 02142 == "Live simply, so that others may simply live."