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From: tim@k.cs.cmu.edu.ARPA (Tim Maroney)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Multiple File Selection in SFGetFile
Message-ID: <546@k.cs.cmu.edu.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 18-Sep-85 23:45:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: k.546
Posted: Wed Sep 18 23:45:38 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Sep-85 10:37:06 EDT
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, Networking
Lines: 33

Again my thanks to everyone who responded to my query about selecting
multiple files in the Standard File Package.  My final decision was to
extend the "SFSAMPLE.TEXT" example program in the "Examples 2" disk of the
latest Software Supplement.  This work is proceeding rapidly and well, and I
will post the sources (Lisa Pascal, unfortunately, but it should be easy to
translate) when I finish, which should surely be by Friday.

While this dialog will specifically deal with files, it should be easy to
modify it to deal with resource names and whatever other lists of strings
are desired.  Considerably more of the code will be in place than in the
"SFSAMPLE.TEXT" example program.

There is one question, however, concerning the user interface.
Shift-clicking is the standard way of implementing "extend selection".
However, in this case I don't think that's right, for two reasons.  First, I
don't think this is user-friendly; it is not self-explanatory and is
probably not known to most naive users of the Macintosh.  Second, if
shift-clicking extends the selection, then a plain click would set a new
selection; this creates the possibility of inconvenient errors.  For
instance, imagine that you've just gone through the list and selected five
files by shift-clicking, then forget to hold down the shift key (or let
your finger slip by accident) for the sixth.  Your five existing selections
go away, wasting your time and perhaps inducing you to defenestrate your
Macintosh.

Because of this, I intend to just make a click mean "extend selection".  To
deselect a file name, you will have to click again on it.  This is the most
user-friendly and error-proof way of doing it, as far as I can see, but I
would welcome comments on this evaluation.
-=-
Tim Maroney, Carnegie-Mellon University, Networking
ARPA:	Tim.Maroney@CMU-CS-K	uucp:	seismo!cmu-cs-k!tim
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