On Sep 23, 2006, at 8:41, James Marks wrote:
No difference; I don't like either of them. I don't want to have to
go through an FTP browser window — either in Interarchy or BBEdit
— to simply open a file for editing.
Okay, then, so what's the difference between using a browsing window
of some sort and using a file selection window? The only difference I
can see is that with the latter, you have to open it first.
My typical workflow is something like this:
- Use a bookmark to open an Interarchy window or windows to the
servers I'll be working with.
- Find my initial set of files I want to work with, select them, and
hit cmd-J to open them in BBEdit.
- Start editing.
If I need to open a new file from the server, I can do it via mouse
or keyboard. For the keyboard, I:
- Hit cmd-opt-4 to bring Interarchy to the front. (This is a Keyboard
Maestro shortcut - but you could also use cmd-tab.)
- If necessary (it's not usually), I use some combination of cmd-~,
cmd-{, and cmd-} to activate the right window and tab.
- Type the first letter or two of the filename and/or use the arrows
to select it and hit cmd-J.
- Start editing.
Via the mouse:
- Click the almost-always visible (I have multiple monitors)
Interarchy window tab that I want with the mouse. Interarchy has tabs
set to accept click-through from other apps, so the the program will
come to the front and switch tabs with just one click.
- Click the file. (If the right tab was already visible, you can do
this from another app, too, bypassing the previous step.)
- Select the Edit in BBEdit command.
- Start editing.
Thanks to the click-through setting on tabs and files, and the way OS
X works with window layers instead of app layers, I can effectively
treat my Interarchy windows as though they're BBEdit windows. Having
them remain open means I don't have to wait for a file selection
window to open every time I want to do something.
Of course, you can also mix up the keyboard and mouse operations
depending on how your hands are positioned, and I often do so. And,
because I'm using a full-fledged FTP client, I can also do other
Finder-like operations like create new files and duplicate existing
files (even directly to a different directory or to a whole different
server), all without leaving my normal workflow and without worrying
about the specific access protocols being used.
Obviously, you should use whatever works best for you, and those for
whom BBEdit's built-in functionality works well, that's all they
should use. But once your needs outgrow the basics that BBEdit
offers--as it sounds like may be the case with you--I think it makes
more sense to look for external options that can integrate well into
your workflow than to wait for Bare Bones to add features that they
may or may not be planning to add. Yes, such a change may necessitate
a few adjustments to your workflow for good integration, but I happen
to think that reexamining your workflow now and then to keep it up-to-
date is a Good Thing.
For me, that external option is Interarchy, which has a long history
of being paired with BBEdit. I know you said you had trouble with
Interarchy and didn't like the way it worked; I'll point out that you
also said that was version 4.1, but the current version is 8.2, and
the program has changed *considerably* over the course of all the
intervening major and minor versions. But Interarchy or not, what's
really important is just finding whatever does work for you. That may
be Transmit, a great client that fits many folks, or something else
yet. But if a jump will maximize your productivity, just find
something and make the jump.
As an analogy, I hate regular keyboards. Instead, I use a Kinesis
Contour keyboard, which is superior in so many ways to mainstream
keyboards (and so much more expensive) that comparisons don't even
make sense. However, Apple now ships an overall average keyboard with
their machines, and I can certainly stick to that. Doing so would
save me money up front, and I would be productive with it. But... I
know the Kinesis is out there, and I know the benefits it offers,
which include big savings over the long term partly from greater
productivity, so rather than sticking to the Apple-supplied keyboard,
hoping that the next version will be closer to what I need, I paid my
hard-earned money to get the one that has the features I need *now*.
There is hope for Apple's keyboards. After all, they did once make a
pretty decent adjustable ergonomic keyboard, and they also had a line
of keyboards that used superb switches (and thus, feel), so they
could put those experiences together, apply modern ergonomic theory,
and come up with something as good or better than the Kinesis. Yeah,
it could happen, but it's highly unlikely, and I really would prefer
Apple address some of their other deficiencies (like bringing back
the HIG) before spending money developing a high-end keyboard. Folks
like me who want or need more than the standard offering can easily
get it by merely opening our wallets and handing our Amex cards to
companies that specialize in keyboards.
Similarly, I'd prefer that BB spend their time working on features
more directly relevant to text-editing than adding non-trivial FTP
enhancements, especially given that folks who need those features can
easily get them--and a whole lot more--by merely opening their
wallets or even by simply opening their web browsers. Also, consider
that for features like code hinting, code folding, and syntax
coloring, there's really no (good) way to add or improve them through
external options, which means we *must* wait for BB to get to around
to them. So on one hand, we BBEdit users are stuck with what we're
given, and on the other, we have options - where is it most logical
for BB's priorities to lie?
BTW, I made the decision to switch to a Kinesis keyboard about ten
years ago. In that time, not only has Apple not delivered a truly
great keyboard (ergonomic or not), but they've delivered several
embarrassingly bad keyboards that made the mediocre Apple Design
keyboard I had pre-switch look quite good. Needless to say, I'm glad
I wasn't waiting....
Regards,
Bob
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