On Wednesday, March 13, 2002, at 01:43 AM, Richard A. O'Keefe wrote:

> Yeah, right.  Blame the user.  Everyone knows that users *KNOW* all
> the things they can't actually see, and only fail at tasks because
> of stupidity or perversity.

Nope, but test-pilots should beware. :-)

> If someone wants to print what the see in a window,
> the very first thing they think of is Option-mouse,
> which brings up a two-part menu, the second part of which
> ends with
>     save contents to file...
>     send contents to printer
>     printer setup
>     special menu...
>     more...

Ahh, I've never seen those before.  Has anyone used these in the last 
couple of years?  Anyway, the menu in question is dealing with selected 
text, not morphs.

> This looks just exactly like the answer they are seeking.
> Now be fair, if someone is trying to print something, tries the
> obvious menu, and sees an item "send contents to printer",
> don't you think they could be forgiven for thinking that this IS
> the printing feature they are looking for?

Sure.  However, when I started talking about a printing facility for 
*Morphs*, it might have dawned on you, that the TextPrinter might be 
something different.

> Don't you think that someone who has found what looks like a printing
> feature, and then discovered it doesn't work, is _justified_ in saying
> "not encouraging"?

Sure!  You are entitled to say that the TextPrinter feature accessed is 
not very encouraging.  However, I was talking about the Morph-printing 
feature.

>  Do you think it reasonable to expect someone to
> just keep on searching, while muttering "they must have hidden it
> SOMEWHERE", until they stumble on Ctrl-mouse?

Hmm, you *did* search much more deeply than I ever have to stumble upon 
the fairly well hidden TextPrinter, which I, for example, have never 
seen in the last n years of doing Squeak (n>=3).  The morphic printing 
facility is plainly accessible from the morph-menu (for example, via the 
Halo).

Anyway, I would just repeat my request that you not slam something when 
you don't actually know what it is you are slamming.

Thanks,

Marcel

--
Marcel Weiher				Metaobject Software Technologies
marcel at metaobject.com		www.metaobject.com
Metaprogramming for the Graphic Arts.   HOM, IDEAs, MetaAd etc.