RE: RFP: File chooser user interface

[martyn 2 russell bt com]

> > I won't talk about Open dialogs. I guess most people open 
> files from their
> > filemanager, drag-and-drop to the application, or use cut-and-paste.
> > Having a separate dialog for this seems unnecessary, but 
> could be useful
> > in emergencies as an expert feature, I suppose.
> 
> Speaking only for my own work habits, I've never opened a file using
> drag and drop or cut and paste, and only *very* rarely open from the
> file manager.  In other words, I almost exclusively use Open 
> dialogs.  
> 
> Do I think this is common?  No.  Do I think this is uncommon?  No. 
> Honestly, I have no idea either way.  :)  Are there any 
> studies on this,
> because it seems unsafe to make assumptions on the matter.

I think DND is used a great deal more by people that realise that it
actually exists.  It is not obvious to first time users.  

I use DND a lot more than I used to, and the most typical case, is when I
load an application, then drag the file into it.  This is far quicker than
selecting file, open, My Documents, ..., ..., etc.

As for using DND with the File chooser interface, the only time I really use
this is when I have a file on my desktop and it is quicker to drag it into
the window than find it from where I am currently located in the file
chooser window.  

Regards,
Martyn