Newsgroups: comp.infosystems.gis
Date:         Fri, 24 Jul 1992 23:17:57 EDT
              <GIS-L@UBVM.BITNET>
From:         Vince Angelo <esri!reston!vince@UUNET.UU.NET>
Subject: Re: Help: running arcedit under Sun's OpenLook windows.
X-To:         gis-l-source@uunet.UU.NET

GIS-L'ers --

Forgive me for wading into this mess, y'all (would you believe I actually
grew up in New Yawk?? :-), but I feel obliged to put in my two cents'
worth:

::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kevin Pammett (kevin@jd.b17a.ingr.com) writes:
>conclusion: the user must do *something* to indicate a switch in
>            focus, but there's nothing in X that says that this has
>            to be a mouse click.

    Not an issue.  The original complaint was the difference in focus
methodology between Arc 5.01 under SunView and Arc 6.01 under OpenWindows.
Personally, I LOATHE "click to focus" and will spend my first few moments
on a box so configured changing said configuration.  The "keyboardFocusPolicy"
takes care of that aspect of "X" living:

Mwm*keyboardFocusPolicy: pointer

[Kevin quoting Peter Halls (PJH1@VAXA.YORK.AC.UK),]
>:                                            I do find MOTIF, where you only
>: have to position the cursor on the appropriate window, more convenient than
>: DECwindows where a positive 'click' on the window is required, but ...
>
>The above is also true.  In fact, the underlying mechanism is
>even more flexible.  e.g. With the Motif window manager, `mwm', each
>>user has the ability to set things up to suit their own perferences.

    While it IS possible (and preferable, if you ask me) to use "mwm" on
DEC Unix (Ultrix) machines, I have yet to run across a _VMS_ box running
Motif. Under VMS DECwindows, or Ultrix machines without Motif, "a positive
'click' on the window is required".
                      --
>Here's how I do it:
>
> | jd: /usr3/kevin$ grep auto .Xdefaults
> | Mwm*autoKeyFocus:       True
> | Mwm*clientAutoPlace:    True
> | Mwm*focusAutoRaise:     False
> | Mwm*focusAutoRaise:     True
> | Mwm*iconAutoPlace:      True

I beg to differ on the "clientAutoPlace" parameter.  When running Arc 6.x,
with those _WONDERFUL_ new multiple menu/display options (by the way, I'm
speaking as a happy programmer/user here, not Marketing type) the
"&Position" parameters won't work as expected unless you have:

Mwm*clientAutoPlace:	False

(On Suns running OpenWindows, this is the Default).

Also, I find the "focusAutoRaise" more comfortable in "False" (Otherwise
the graphic display window or command prompt window will keep on jumping
in front of the other.):

Mwm*focusAutoRaise:     False

::::::::::::::::::::::::::

To Peter Halls, who wrote:

>Yes, it is annoying to have to 'select focus' every time - and, although I have
>been using an X display for the best part of 2 years now, I still find myself
>typing to the wrong window from time to time.

Join the club.  Focus is my bane.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::

To sue@byron.u.washington.edu, who started this:
[as quoted by Todd Fitzgibbon (tfitz@tapeats.wr.usgs.gov)]

>>We would like the edit focus to stay on the arcedit window, but allow us to
>>enter the numbers for the edit input from the keyboard WITHOUT having to
>>manually move the cursor back to the cmdtool window.  [edited slightly]

Why don't you try using a form menu for keystroke data input?? Invoking
a menu causes the cursor to move to the first input field.  You can type
in your data field(s) and/or push buttons and slide "slider bars", then
dismiss the form.  The aforementioned "&position" directive could be
used to place the menu dead-center in the graphic page:

&menu get-attr.menu &position &cc &display &cc

Please contact me directly if you'd like some pointers.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Whew!!  Well, maybe it was more like fourteen cents :-)

-- Vince

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 Vince Angelo (vangelo@esri.com | uunet!esri!vangelo)  /  The nice thing
  GIS Ninja/Software Guru/Unix Wizard/Technodweeb     /  about "standards"
_|_| Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) /  is there are so many
_|_| ESRI-Wash,DC :: Reston, VA :: (703) 438 - 8295 /  to choose from.

 #include <std/disclaimer.h>   ("I speak only for myself.")
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