fozzard@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Richard Fozzard) (05/03/90)
In article <10678@sun.udel.edu>, salamon@sun.udel.edu (Andrew Salamon) writes: > > I always thought it would be usefull to have something in the finder that worked > like a folder (i.e. opened fast, copy, move etc.) except that it contained text > instead of icons. Something like a post-it note. It wouldn't need any more Superb idea! I have wanted this for a long time. If we are dreaming, perhaps I might suggest a grander scheme: Allow us to attach a post-it note to anything in the Finder (folder, file, etc) and indicate it with a micro-icon such as an '*' in the upper left or right corner of the actual icon. A command-click on an icon would open its own post-it note (new or existing). This would be like the README files in older operating systems, only better. We would also want standalone post-its as Andrew Salamon suggested. And how about a simple DA to word-search and time-of-creation/modification search these post-its, give us list of the first lines of post-its that matched the search, from which we could view or edit a post-it of interest. We could then setup folders of related post-its ("phone messages", "things to do", "meeting notes", etc.) And we could attach post-its to applications and folders that explain (more thoroughly than just the filename could) what they are for, known problems ("doesn't work under MultiFinder"). If this were simple enough and fast enough, could it be the ultimate "personal info system" that finally gets even us regular computer users away from still-present-despite-those-old-predictions scraps of paper and notebooks cluttering up our desks? ======================================================================== Richard Fozzard "Serendipity empowers" Univ of Colorado/CIRES/NOAA R/E/FS 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80303 fozzard@boulder.colorado.edu (303)497-6011 or 444-3168
francis@giza.cis.ohio-state.edu (RD Francis) (05/03/90)
In article <20551@boulder.Colorado.EDU> fozzard@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Richard Fozzard) writes: >In article <10678@sun.udel.edu>, salamon@sun.udel.edu (Andrew Salamon) writes: >> I always thought it would be usefull to have something in the finder >>that worked >> like a folder (i.e. opened fast, copy, move etc.) except that it >>contained text >> instead of icons. Something like a post-it note. It wouldn't need any more This Post-its idea would be great. I could use it right now; I'd love to post a "note" in a folder on one of our servers, to instruct people (in a sentence or two) on how the software can be used. Right now, I may have to force our computer operators to hand out these files, in order to make sure that people know how they can use them. -- R David Francis francis@cis.ohio-state.edu
philip@pescadero.Stanford.EDU (Philip Machanick) (05/03/90)
In article <20551@boulder.Colorado.EDU>, fozzard@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Richard Fozzard) writes: > And how about a simple DA to word-search and time-of-creation/modification > search these post-its, give us list of the first lines of post-its that > matched the search, from which we could view or edit a post-it of interest. > > We could then setup folders of related post-its ("phone messages", > "things to do", "meeting notes", etc.) And we could attach post-its to > applications and folders that explain (more thoroughly than just the > filename could) what they are for, known problems ("doesn't work under > MultiFinder"). For some time, I've felt a real deficiency of the Mac is the need to open a document to see what's in it. My solution would be to extent the standard open to include a pane showing the first page (or whatever, depending on document type) of the currently selected document. For a folder, the pane would show the list of items inside (if you've seen Smalltalk, maybe this will sound a bit familar). The problem with all this is it would require patching all existing applications before it became reasonably useful. However, imagine this: making posted notes visible when a document is selected in Open. Maybe a simple prototype could be done, which patched SFgetfile, and displayed the finder Info ("Get Info") in a pane below the file list. Anyone keen to do this? Philip Machanick philip@pescadero.stanford.edu
jmm@lsuc.on.ca (John Macdonald|John Macdonald|Toronto) (05/06/90)
In article <20551@boulder.Colorado.EDU> fozzard@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Richard Fozzard) writes: |Allow us to attach a post-it note to anything in the Finder (folder, file, |etc) and indicate it with a micro-icon such as an '*' in the upper left |or right corner of the actual icon. A command-click on an icon would open |its own post-it note (new or existing). This would be like the README |files in older operating systems, only better. We would also want |standalone post-its as Andrew Salamon suggested. Its already there! Just do a "Get Info" and edit the comment field... And, just like a Real Post-it, the message falls off within a short time when the glue dries (oops, I mean when you rebuild the desktop :-). Actually, making the comment reliable, and adding the clickable indicator would be a great enhancement.