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List:       kde-look
Subject:    Re: Redesigning the KDE user interface - Part I
From:       Dave Leigh <dave.leigh () cratchit ! org>
Date:       2000-04-14 1:13:02
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Rob Kaper wrote:

> One of the odd things in Word is the view-only 'Print preview' screen. If
> Office is able to show me how it looks on paper, why not implement it as a
> normal view so I can switch to that view and edit it there? It's nonsense to
> edit, switch to a WYSIWYG view and then have to go back to another view to
> make changes. If you're going to support WYSIWYG then you can just as well
> include the edit superset.

It is puzzling, isn't it?  Especially when there's an editable page view in
Office that's supposed to be WYSIWYG.

> Seperating editing and viewing would not be a good idea, I think. Having a
> global, logical, user-friendly, easy function which allows you to "freeze" a
> document into a final (or semi-final) state so the edit functions are
> temporarily disabled seems like a better idea to me.

I have reservations about that statement.  Take a look at the Amaya browser for
an example of a situation where viewing and editing are improperly
intertwined.  Browsing should be exactly what it is... browsing.  Simply typing
on somebody else's page and editing the content seems a little "oily" to me.
But since, as you say, editing involves viewing, I like the modal HTML
viewer/editor functionality that StarOffice provides.  The edit button, in
effect, toggles the read-only status of the page.  This provides both
separation of function and re-use of the renderer.

--
    mailto:dave.leigh@cratchit.org
    http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh

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