Re: [Usability] Getting rid of Open and Save entirely?

[Alan Horkan <horkana maths tcd ie>]

On Sat, 10 Jan 2004, Curtis C. Hovey wrote:

> Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2004 20:46:28 -0500
> From: Curtis C. Hovey <sinzui cox net>
> To: Usability <usability gnome org>
> Subject: Re: [Usability] Getting rid of Open and Save entirely?


> I don't think GNOME needs a FO dialog.  I use nautilus to open
> documents, and drag-and-drop to open files in an existing application.
> In the singular case of epiphany (which doesn't permit DnD), I type
> ctrl+o, then drag the file to that dialog.  Gnome apps need only display
> a Nautilus browser window instead of introducing a new set of rules in a
> dialog.

I think Davids mockup fits this description beautifully
http://www.sipsolutions.de/open-save-mockup.png

> File save is a problem, because GNOME has a rich set of information that
> no dialog can contain.  I think nautilus should display the temp file in
> a virtual location.  The user can rename the file, emblem it, set

If the temp file was in real location such as ~/Documents (or an
application/MIME type specific default folder along those lines) and the
temp name was reasonably clever I'd be fairly pleased by that.

Your suggestion presumes that users will want to move and rename, I'd
rather we try our best to avoid making that a necessity.

(I realise that using the home directory for default folders doesn't
appeal to people who are already using their HOME folder as their desktop
but that is still not a habit I understand or like).

> navigating.  Search also permits the user to set additional criteria to
> restrict the list size.  That beats the snot out of any file open
> scenario.

That description if implemented has the potential to be extremely poweful
and innovative.  My only reservation is that I'd rather see the recent
files list improved so that it overflows into document history for the
application and included a search.

Sincerely

Alan Horkan
http://advogato.org/person/AlanHorkan/