From: bbm@po.CWRU.Edu (Brian B. Mathewson)
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.misc
Subject: Some suggestions for OS/2
Date: 2 Sep 1992 05:32:41 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: bbm@po.CWRU.Edu (Brian B. Mathewson)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc12.ins.cwru.edu


Here are some suggestions for additional useful features that I think 
OS/2 should have which I haven't seen posted to the net before.  If 
someone wants to relay them to IBM, please do so.


Things that really should be in OS/2:

Systemwide compliance with drag-and-drop of fonts, colors, files, etc.
(e.g. the more significant applets should support this.)  By 'files' I
mean that you should be able to drop a text-file icon into a running
E.EXE or EPM window, and have it insert the text where you dropped it.
You should also be able to drag fonts and colors to open, running windows
hand have them change.  I hope new applications take advantage of this.

Support Ctrl-C, Ctrl-X, and Ctrl-V for Cut, Copy, Paste.

Systemwide uniformity of the window which prompts the user for specific
files.  The same code should also be available (without duplication) for
reuse in other applications.  (Or, people could subsitute their own.)

Systemwide uniformity of cut and paste, DDE, OLE or something even better.
Also, support drag-and-drop of text (just like the objects in the WPS) 
between windows, and make it easiser to mark and copy text from OS/2 or 
DOS windows.  I dislike the extra steps needed.  If when you click on the 
window and it marks a little bit of text, so what?  Let it continue 
processing, and if you want it to pause, use the menus instead.

Have a help section on general features of OS/2, e.g. an overview of 
how and *why* to use templates, color schemes, work areas, the third
page of the File tab in Open -> Settings of a folder, etc.  Show people
how to take advantage of all OS/2's features.  This would probably be
best in booklet form.

Also have a maintenance/backup section.


Things I'd like to see in OS/2:

Have mini pop-up menus in the applets like EPM, so you don't have to pull
down menus, just click on MB2 somewhere in the window, then walk through
the menus.

I still haven't figured out how to get the pop-up boxes that prompt the
user for a file name (letting you change directories too) to keep the
last directory you looked into, or, even better, allow the user to select
one of the last several directories that were accessed, just like 
selecting a different disk.

You should also have the ability to change the length of the file-list
window, so there is less movement with the mouse and slider.

Have the option of using scalable ATM fonts in DOS and OS/2 text windows
similar to DV/X.  Or, be able to use any font for the windows, not just
the fonts installed in the display driver.

Include a 32-bit equivalent of debug.

When given the Trap message, allow a PrintScrn and at least show a dump 
near where the instruction came from instead of just a large memory dump 
file.

Have the installation program install COM3/COM4 for people, or at least
document this in the README file.

OS/2 must eventually have a multi-threaded GUI system.  No one program
should be able to hang up the rest (even though Ctrl-Esc works well.)

Like Alt-Tab and Shf-Alt-Tab, why not have Shf-Alt-Esc?


Wild ideas:

Instead of having just up/down arrows to change a parameter (like 
choosing the numerical value of a color in Edit Colors), have a 
little wheel that you just click on, and you can spin around.
This would let you make fine and coarse adjustments easily, because
you just move away from the buttons while holding the mouse button
down, making it easy to circle 360 degrees (e.g. the entire range.)
This is better than holding a little button down for a long time.

Is IBM planning to implement the little icons in the title bar which
show up in the CUA demo?  It would be nice to put a "Save" or "Save as..."
or "Load" button up on the title bar.  It really is wasted space, and
it's easier to click on a little button with the mouse than to use a
pull-down menu.  Perhaps a speedbar type of menu-selection-button template
could be used.  Drag a new button to the title bar, and it asks you to
make the menu selection that you want it to represent, and remembers it.
Have a small library of simple mini-icon images which represent standard 
tasks, and let you choose one, or create a new one and add it to the list.  
Finally, always make these buttons optional for people who don't want the 
"clutter".

Have "bookmarks" on sliders so it's easier to jump back and forth between
two (or more) different points.  For example, holding Ctrl and tapping
MB1 adds a marker, Ctrl-MB2 deletes a marker, Alt-MB1 moves the slider to
the previous marker, Alt-MB2 moves to the next marker, etc.  The markers
should probably be visible in the slider area. 

A wild idea which already has been implemented:  Did anyone notice that 
in the OS/2 System --> System Setup -> Color Palette you could drag 
colors to the Edit Color and Help buttons, and the colors of the buttons
will change?  Holding Ctrl while dragging, of course, changes the text
color.  This also works for a number of other buttons (e.g. in Scheme
Palette.)


I'd also like to echo support for basic multimedia services included
with every copy of OS/2 (with the option of not installing them) so 
that you need not buy any extensions just to run a multimedia program.


-- 

Brian Mathewson   bbm@r2d2.eeap.cwru.edu
                  bbm at Cleveland Freenet
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.misc