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List:       koffice
Subject:    RE: kword doc not saved
From:       "David Stidolph" <dstidolph () broadjump ! com>
Date:       2001-05-28 21:47:18
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Please understand, I like making things simple - AND I like choices.  If
you make a dialog come up if you open a read only, it interrupts work
and forces a response from the user (bad).  However, if the user has no
way to know that the file is read only and proceeds with editing it when
he tries to save his work he will be blocked (bad).

There are circumstances where you would open a read only file.

1.  Just need info (like the header file example).
2.  Didn't know it was read-only (file copied from cd-rom or under
source code control).
3.  In use by another user that uses file-locking.

Choice is important.  If there is no choice YOU are making the choice
for the user.  Note that it can get a little overwelming to a user to be
presented with too many choices, but better to err on the side of
flexibility than forcing a user to a set of behavior they may not like.

Also remember that simply putting the read only status on a
out-of-the-way place in the UI might not alert the user enough (I
remember help staff at Microsoft calling the status line at the bottom
of the UI the million dollar line - they could offer a million dollars
to someone that read it and it would go uncollected, eventually they
developed tool-tips because people wouldn't shift their view to the
bottom).

My normal preference is to load without dialog, make the document
unedible and pop up a document if they try to modify telling them the
document is read only and offering choices to handle it - make it
writeable, change the name or simply block changes.

Thanks,

David Stidolph

-----Original Message-----
From: David Faure [mailto:david@mandrakesoft.com]
Sent: Monday, May 28, 2001 3:39 PM
To: koffice@max.tat.physik.uni-tuebingen.de
Subject: Re: kword doc not saved


On Monday 28 May 2001 21:11, David Stidolph wrote:
> When you handle a read-only file I see several possiblities (let the
> user set options as to what default action should be):
> 
> [ ] Warn user with dialog on open (or just something in a status area
> and/or the title).
> [ ] Do not allow editing the file
> [ ] Have method to switch read-only state
> [ ] Allow to save to another filename (suggest same name with (2)
added
> to it).

Well, yes, those are basically all the possibilities, but I don't think
it makes
sense to make it configurable. As a user, I don't _plan_ to open a
readonly document
later. It just happens, and has to be handled gracefully, so IMHO we
simply need
to choose a reasonable behaviour. A dialog box seems ok (and easy) to me
:)

-- 
David FAURE, david@mandrakesoft.com, faure@kde.org
http://perso.mandrakesoft.com/~david/, http://www.konqueror.org/
KDE, Making The Future of Computing Available Today

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