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From: kinner@wsucshp.UUCP (Bill Kinnersley )
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Managing daemons and iconification
Message-ID: <160013@wsucshp.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 16-Jul-87 10:54:47 EDT
Article-I.D.: wsucshp.160013
Posted: Thu Jul 16 10:54:47 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 22-Jul-87 06:41:03 EDT
References: <351@sugar.UUCP>
Organization: WSU Computer Science
Lines: 44


 
In Message <351@sugar.UUCP> peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter DaSilva) writes:

> [suggestions for Workbench improvements]

Having recently written and posted HackBench, a Workbench clone, I have
some comments.

> Even better... picking up a file and dropping it on ANYTHING should do
> something useful. 

As long as it's simple and consistent.  I think we don't appreciate how
complex the Workbench interface is already.  Few beginners read the manual,
and even the manual ("Introduction to Amiga") doesn't cover all the little
if's and's and but's of using Workbench.  Just because it's done with icons
doesn't guarantee it's going to be simple.

> Dropping it on a program should start that program with
> the file name in its WBargs (a-la Xerox). 

Nothing startles a beginner more than having the drives suddenly spring to
life.  What did I just do?  And how can I get out of it?  The Xerox system
you mention may make a clear visual distinction between Tools and Projects.
Workbench doesn't.

> Dropping it in a window that has the appropriate IDCMP flag set should 
> pass the directory lock and file name to the program in an IntuiMessage. 
> This way Deluxe Whatever could leave an "input" window open in the 
> Workbench screen and let you do the file selection yourself.

This sounds like a good one.  Just a caution: don't expect the icon to
actually appear in the window.  Workbench needs to keep track of its icons,
and can't let them go to live in somebody else's window.  If the window was
covered, resized, or closed, things might start to disappear.

---
"Nesting is for the birds"
                --Bill Kinnersley
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