Re: Gnome FAQ:Cut & Paste

[Liss Svanberg <lisss ydab se>]

In a previous message Miguel de Icaza [miguel@nuclecu.unam.mx] wrote:

> > If I've got a clipboard for baboon objects, I am able to, say, paste a
> > picture/meory blob/html script (or why not, a generic ascii text) into 
say,
> > my harddrive as a file/the text in my editor/an opened picture/html 
script
> > ect. ect. ect.
> >
> > With X-windows cut'n paste functionality, I am able to copy ascii text.
>
> The X-Window cut and paste functionality -I am told- does more thatn
> copying ascii text, its just that nobody uses it.
>
> We will be using the existing mechanisms to transfer the Baboon
> information for cut and paste (basically, a CORBA object reference to
> the object being pasted).
>
> The central idea in Baboon an OLE2 is that you actually implement the
> data transfer interface in your object server: this data transfer
> interface is used for cut and paste and for providing the support for
> dragging objects to other containers: It is all very clean.

Ok.
( -> Horray! )



Before I quit, one more thing about cliboards:
(perhaps youve allready has implemented (or discarded) this idea?)

What about the possibility to have several 'baboon-clips' in this clipboard 
at the same time.
I have often found it wery irritating that, when I copy something, the 
previous contents of the clipboard is lost.
Would it be a bad idea to allow for multiple instances in the clipboard?

I know enough of programming to realize that the implementation of a 
clipboard that holds multiple 'clips' simultanously, is no harder to make 
than a clipboard that only allows one 'baboon-clip' at a time. The problem 
would rather be the user interface, I presume...



One user interface solution could perhaps be, if the "cut/paste" menu (the 
one that pops up when I right-click the mouse) offered some more 
possibilitys that just ordinary "Cut | Copy | Paste" ?
(Am I the only one around that likes this idea :)

what if the cut&paste menu offered these choises:
	Clear clipboard & Cut
	Clear clipboard & Copy
	Cut & insert into clipboard
	Copy & insert into clipbard

	Paste [>]				(submenu)

now, the first two choises beginning with 'Clear clipboard' would work like 
normal Cut/Copy operations.
Selecting "Paste" would paste the last Cut or Copied thing, just like 
normal Paste operations.
(does Gtk allow menuitems with submenus to be selected, I havn't checked 
yet?)

However, Paste has got a submenu attached to it, containing a menu looking 
something like this:
	> Clipboard contents <
	BinaryClip #n of Application	[>]	(submenu)
	TextClip #n of Application	[>]	(submenu)
	PictureClip #n of Application	[>]	(submenu)
	...
representing the different objects in the clipboard.
there Application is the name of the application form which the object has 
been cut/copied
(selecting any of these submenu items, would of course result in pasting 
the clip represented by the menuitem)

And finally, each of these submenu items, has got a menu with the following 
contents:
	> Some kind of extra id, perhaps the beginning of a text <
	Move to first position
	Paste (optionally)
	Clear

the first 'extra id' item could either invoke some kind of extra 
information (like showing a picture or someting like that), or do nothing.
the second item changes the 'standard behavour' of the ordinary Paste 
function. The item moved to first position will thereafter be the default 
choise.
the last, 'Clear' removes the object from the clipboard.

...
...
Hmm?
Perhaps it would be better to skip all these submenus, and just provide the 
possibility to store several objects in the clipboard, but only use this 
funtionality, through a special clipboard application. (allowing you to 
stack objects, change the default object, and clearing objects from the 
clipboard, just like the menus I was talking about)


(waiting for reply)

mvh
// Liss <bad things inc.>
liss@ydab.se