Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site k.cs.cmu.edu.ARPA Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!rochester!cmu-cs-pt!k.cs.cmu.edu!tim 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 CompuServe: 74176,1360 audio: shout "Hey, Tim!"