Mailinglist Archive: opensuse-edu (303 mails)
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Re: [suse-linux-uk-schools] Open Source National curriculum
- From: Thomas Adam <thomas_adam16@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2003 15:40:56 +0000 (UTC)
- Message-id: <20031202154053.98741.qmail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
--- David Bowles <dbowles@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > Would
that it were so simple. The problem is that you know what you
> want
> > to do, the difficulty is finding out what the application calls it.
>
> Yes and no. To begin with it's not that difficult to make an informed
> guess as to the top-level menu item below which the function you are
> after is likely to reside. For example:
>
> 'File' menu child functions are usually concerned with
> operations that work on the document 'as a whole'
> ...such as 'New', 'Save', 'Save-As', 'Import', etc...
Is it a necessity that one should *standardise* menus in this way? I find
it really limiting to think that. One of the reasons I switched to using
the CLI is that the CLI allows me to work the way *I* want to, rather than
being restricted in this way.
> OK, so this tends to get less logical and more application specific as
> one progresses across the top-level menu items. But it only takes a
> few seconds to scan the cursor across the full-range of the top-level
> menu, and with practice you'll find the functions you are looking tend
> to 'jumps out' at you. Why? Because your mind soon learns to
> automatically ignore the unwanted functions that are already familiar
> to you, allowing you to quickly target the one you are after.
So-called "point and click" junkies.
> Furthermore once you have mastered a few applications using this
> standard method of accessing their functions through the drop-down
> menu system, then when you start to work an a new application you'll
> quickly discover you already know how to access perhaps 80% or even in
> excess of 90% of it's basic functionality.
Which is the sad thing, because hidden behind all of that are some
powerful tools to be had.
-- Thomas Adam
=====
"The Linux Weekend Mechanic" -- http://linuxgazette.net
"TAG Editor" -- http://linuxgazette.net
________________________________________________________________________
Download Yahoo! Messenger now for a chance to win Live At Knebworth DVDs
http://www.yahoo.co.uk/robbiewilliams
that it were so simple. The problem is that you know what you
> want
> > to do, the difficulty is finding out what the application calls it.
>
> Yes and no. To begin with it's not that difficult to make an informed
> guess as to the top-level menu item below which the function you are
> after is likely to reside. For example:
>
> 'File' menu child functions are usually concerned with
> operations that work on the document 'as a whole'
> ...such as 'New', 'Save', 'Save-As', 'Import', etc...
Is it a necessity that one should *standardise* menus in this way? I find
it really limiting to think that. One of the reasons I switched to using
the CLI is that the CLI allows me to work the way *I* want to, rather than
being restricted in this way.
> OK, so this tends to get less logical and more application specific as
> one progresses across the top-level menu items. But it only takes a
> few seconds to scan the cursor across the full-range of the top-level
> menu, and with practice you'll find the functions you are looking tend
> to 'jumps out' at you. Why? Because your mind soon learns to
> automatically ignore the unwanted functions that are already familiar
> to you, allowing you to quickly target the one you are after.
So-called "point and click" junkies.
> Furthermore once you have mastered a few applications using this
> standard method of accessing their functions through the drop-down
> menu system, then when you start to work an a new application you'll
> quickly discover you already know how to access perhaps 80% or even in
> excess of 90% of it's basic functionality.
Which is the sad thing, because hidden behind all of that are some
powerful tools to be had.
-- Thomas Adam
=====
"The Linux Weekend Mechanic" -- http://linuxgazette.net
"TAG Editor" -- http://linuxgazette.net
________________________________________________________________________
Download Yahoo! Messenger now for a chance to win Live At Knebworth DVDs
http://www.yahoo.co.uk/robbiewilliams
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