X-Mailer: ELM [version 06.03.01.00 (2.3 PL11)]
Organization: Intergraph -- Mapping Data Management (madman) Group
Country: USA
Phone: (205)-730-1517
Operating-System: CLIX 3.1 r.6.3.2 6240
Newsgroups: comp.infosystems.gis
Date:         Wed, 22 Jul 1992 08:54:37 CDT
Reply-To:     kevin@jd.b17a.ingr.com
              <GIS-L@UBVM.BITNET>
From:         Kevin Pammett <kevin@JD.B17A.INGR.COM>
Subject: Re: Help: running arcedit under Sun's OpenLook windows.
X-To:         GIS-L discussion list postings <gis-l@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu>

Although I'm not an Xpert, either, I do have a few comments to make
wrt this issue:

| Date:         Tue, 21 Jul 1992 23:11:18 PDT
| From: Todd Fitzgibbon <tfitz@TAPEATS.WR.USGS.GOV>
| Subject:      Re:  Help: running arcedit under Sun's OpenLook windows.
|...
| sue@byron.u.washington.edu writes:
| [stuff deleted]
| >Problem:
|...
| >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]
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
you should NOT have to do this

| [stuff deleted]
|
| Sue,
|
| This appears to be a 'feature' of X-Windows and ARC/INFO.  In pre-rev 6.0
| ARC/INFO running under Sunview on Sun workstations, the cursor could be in
| either the ARCEDIT commands window or the graphics window, and keyboard input
| would be directed properly to the commands window.  Now with ARC/INFO 6.0
| and X, the cursor must be moved between the two windows as the input source
| shifts from the mouse to keyboard and back; decidedly inconvenient.
|
| ESRI imformed me that this is characteristic of X-Windows and not something
                        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| they could rectify in ARC/INFO.  This statement was made over a year ago at
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
this is *not* intrinsically a problem within X (see below)

| the time of the 6.0 beta release and perhaps things have changed.
|
| Any further thoughts from folks at ESRI, or from X experts on the net?  This
| ...
| Todd Fitzgibbon			345 Middlefield Rd. MS-975


Peter is decidedly right that "fixing it" is NOT a solution:

: Subject:      Re:  Help: running arcedit under Sun's OpenLook windows.
: Date:         Wed, 22 Jul 1992 10:13:00 GMT
: From: Peter Halls <PJH1@UBVM.cc.buffalo.edu>
: Subject:      Re ARCEDIT, or anything, under X Windows
: ...
: Whilst not claiming X expertise, I have written a couple of X proggies to try
: to enable myself to uderstand better what is going on.  Perhaps the following
: reflections may be of help.
:
: ARCEDIT has, effectively, 2 windows - the graphic display and the text area.
:...
: X display.  Herein lies the problem.  If I type on my keyboard, how is X to
: know which window I want to be associated with my keyboard at this moment in
: time?
:...                                                                   it
: **MUST** BE BEFT TO ME, THE USER, TO INSTRUCT X AS TO WHICH WINDOW I AM
: ADDRESSING.  Nothing else can be acceptable.
:

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.
: ...
: Todd commented "This problem isn't fatal, but it would be nice to correct it."
: Humbly, I think you are wrong, Todd.  I, for one, do not wish it to be

I totally agree!

: 'corrected' because it would break all the advantages of X.
: ...
: Peter Halls
: University of York
: PJH1@UK.AC.YORK ... or t'other way about
:

:                                            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.

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

For me, simply moving the cursor into a window implies that that window
has keyboard focus; no click is necessary.  In fact, if I click, the
application gets that click and does what it would normally do with a
click, such as the thing I'm pointing to is selected.

If anyone *wants* the "you-must-click" policy, they simply set the
above resources appropriately and, as they say, "voila!".   I don't
know if Arc/Info uses X resources, but IMHO if it doesn't, it's not
a real X application.

Anyways, the point is that if Mwm cnd do this, running under X, then I
know of no excuse why ESRI software (or anything else), properly
integrated into X, cannot do the same.
--
   fyi
--     Kevin "X lets you have your cake and eat it too" Pammett
 |------------------------------------------------------------------|
 | The reasonable man tries to adapt himself to the world around,   |
 | while the unreasonable man tries to adapt the world to himself.  |
 | Therefore, all progress depends upon the unreasonable man.       |
 |---------------------------------------+                          |
 |  Intergraph (205) 730-1517 m/s IW17A2 |  --George Bernard Shaw --|
--  rsvp: kevin@jd.b17a.ingr.com         |                          |
 |------------------------------------------------------------------|