Re: Document-based applications

["Guillermo S. Romero / Familia Romero" <famrom idecnet com>]

murrayc usa net (2001-04-12 at 1645.45 +0100):
>   * Overwriting:
>   Ask the user to confirm before replacing an existing file.
>   e.g. 'Do you want to overwrite the existing file?' [Yes] [No]
>   If [No], ask for another filename. Only stop when the user clicks cancel in
> the file selection.

Argh... how many times will that appear? It must be [Overwrite] [New
Name] [Cancel]. Never [Yes] [No] [Cancel] if right verbs exist.

> * File|Close
>   Ask user whether they want to save changes to modified documents:
>   e.g. 'This document has unsaved changes. Would you like to save it?
> Document: /home/murrayc/something.blah' [Save] [Discard] [Cancel]

Here you got it right. :]

> * File|Exit
>   Should show the 'File | Close' functionality for each document in turn,
> bringing the document's instance to the foreground before doing so.
>   There should *not* be a 'Do you really want to close this application?'
> dialog.

Or maybe it should if the apps is a viewer. There is nothing more fun
than seeing an app close all cos you hit the wrong key (ie Netscape).
Or at least a config option "Always confirm before exiting?". Viewers
do not save anything, but reloading lots of things, specially non
local, is not fun.

> Session Management:
>   If the user logs off while an application is open, it should:
>   - Warn the user about unsaved changes, like File | Exit.
>   - Restart when the user logs back on.
>   - Reopen the same documents when the user logs back on.

If user does not choose Save or Discard, save a temp copy and in next
start up, remember there is a copy. Like most "old school" editors do,
which is great when you lose the connection (or nuke X if speaking
about GNOME ;] ).

As extension, periodic backup saving would be pretty nice too, if you
are going to save a backup at the end, why not each X min or X chars
too? Of course, previous version could also be kept, just in case the
user want to forget all changes done in the working session.

> * Misc:
>   The document's filename (not the whole path) should be shown in the
> application's title bar. See also * 'Modified' indicator.
>   If it has never been saved, then the title bar should show 'Untitled'.
>   Maybe the untitled documents should be numbered.
>   'Read-only' status should be indicated somehow as well.

Apple has a nice list of info about this. IIRC is was "untitled" with
lower case, and the numbering was "untitled", "untitled2", "untitled3"
and so on, never using a number for the first. So the name is plain
and "descriptive", and never changes (never adding 1 to the first).

> * Other possible re-usable dialogs:
>   - 'This document can not be opened, because it was saved by a later version
> of the application.'
>   - 'This document could not be opened'

Why? IOW, why the first says "because" and the second does not? Wrong
format? No permissions? Too few memory? Empty? Damaged? Something like
that, except "Error D357: Status 832A", is good.

Wait a sec, why "could"? In which cases would be that used?

Great idea, fine tune it a bit. ;]

GSR