[GEM Development] John's desktop (feature request)

[Michael Bernstein]

Hi,

> I think it's an exceptionally good idea.  Here's why:

If this is done by the filemanager, no. If you look at GEM, the
responsibility for different tasks is diveded to different applications.
The desktop is a filemanager and starts applications, applications are
used to edit a special kind of file type and output will output a gem
file to the various devices. A logigal expansion is a file viewer
which has the task to show only the contents of the file.

> When I use my file manager, and I come across a file I want to look
> inside, it's a pain to have to open another application.  So John's SHOW
> CONTENTS is great.  Click...there we go.  I can see inside.

For text files i used send to output instead. I select the file and
output displays the contents. I had not to start a appklication and load
my file. With the associations for extensions you can have the
functionality you want to have. A click on the file and the desktop
starts a file viewer which shows the content. You only need to expand
the check, if a extension matches by the use of wildcards.
 
> Look at the file types I suggested.  All of these are document-based or
> configuration files that we view constantly in DOS.

Thats the problem. You select some file types the desktop should know.
And if the desktop has knowledge about a few files from type text, the
next user "unknown" will ask for support of file type "xyz". And the
list of supported file types will grow.

Better do it in the Atari way: independant of the extension and file
type ask for every non application and not associated extension, if the
file should send to screen, printer or abort. then it is by the user
to double click only on ascii files.

> You're being prescriptive about how users should use software.

No i dont. You missunderstand me. I dont want to avoid showing a file
content by double click. I only want to avoid doing this by the
desktop. I will only go a different way to reach the goal you want to
have. Double click on a file does not necessary lead to a action with
the file by the desktop. Look at the file associations. You can double
click on a file and the the desktop starts the associated application
with the file as parameter. you can do the same with a file viewer.
Expand the associations by wildcards. A double click on the file will
start the file viewer with your file as paramter and you have what you
want. You see the contents by double click on the file.

Look at the Atari and the desktop thing. Then you can see what i would
like to see. Thing is only a filemanager like desktop. But the file
associations are much more improved. Togehter with applications like
"Zeigs mir" (on englisch "show me") you can double click on many file
types and thing starts the associated applications or the file viewer.
The tasks are clean separated. Thing as a filemanager dont know something
about the contents and the fileviewer only shows the contents.

Regards
Michael