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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: Clipboard
From:       "Friedrich W. H. Kossebau" <Friedrich.W.H () Kossebau ! de>
Date:       2002-08-04 23:32:31
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Uno Engborg wrote:
> 
> Friedrich W. H. Kossebau wrote:
> >1. Both actions "copy" and "cut" have in common the adding of something
> >to the clipboard. Thus they both have an element that shows the adding:
> >the moving paper. The difference is quite obvious shown: copy leaves the
> >original, cut leaves an empty place. Seems more obvious to me than a
> >scissor and the doubled paper (haven't tested for small sizes like
> >16x16, though).
> >
> I would say that the old scissors are better. The new icon is open to
> more interpretations.
> E.g. it could mean that you are rotating a selected object..

Alright... but hopefully the neighbourhood makes it clearer. I don't
have any graphic app around where there is a rotation toolbar entry so I
can't compare. (oh I do: at least xfig shows a bended arrow, so uses the
symbol of the action, not the result. But other apps might differ). Yes,
so my proposal needs a clear separation (spacing) from other toolbar
entries.

> Besides I don't think most users have a notion of a clipboard. They
> copy, cut and past
> thing in their documents without worrying where the copied or cutted
> items reside in between.
> So it is perhaps not such a good idea to base your choise of icons on
> the flow of information
> between clipboard and document.

I have seen some people always rewriting everything as they never
understood the concept of copy and cut and paste... it might be due to a
lack of clear visual feedback... so an emphasize on the idea of a
clipboard might help them to get used to that feature. And as I said, I
myself, while having not an inch of a problem using the keyboard for it,
always need a moment to get the meaning of these specific symbols. Okay,
I don't use the mouse that often, but...

Many people are trained to serve the apps/computer in a way that the
result comes close to what they need. But they never really learned to
use it. The concept of a clipboard would really help them to understand
what is going on, then being able to even use features like klipper. And
giving a real world concept rather than an abstract one leads to a
better understanding IMHO.

> 
> Regards
> Uno Engborg

Friedrich

PS: This reminds me to a slogan I once invented sitting at a silent
place (guess where ;)
use, don't serve --- benutzen statt bedienen!  KDE :)


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