> aren't a project and a folder the same thing? Both are containers for > windows on the screen, aren't they? > > Also: if a workspace is already defined as something that contains > windows, why not expand the definition to say that a workspace is also > *itself* a window that can be full-screen? Then all these extra terms > (project, folder) can be discarded.
This is somewhat related to this discussion, somewhat related to something N.E. said earlier about his own project idea... My question is: How can I edit or view two or more documents at once? Before we try to answer that question, let's make some broad generalizations and assumptions: There are two "filetypes": - Container (could also be seen as a Project, Folder, or Desktop) - Content (could also be seen as a Document or File) Containers can hold Content and other Containers. Both Containers and Content have two states: - Active (could also be seen as Open or Maximized) - Dormant (could also be seen as Closed or Minimized) Active Containers would consume the entire screen -- they would be like a desktop. Dormant Containers would act like icons whose image was a miniature of the actual desktop. Active Content would consume as much of the screen as they needed for editing/viewing. Dormant Content would act just like an icon whose image was a miniature of the actual content -- like a Preview in OS X. An Active Container would be equivalent to N.E.'s "squished" view. Active Content would be equivalent to N.E.'s "scrollable" view. There are three possible methods I can think of for visualizing the transition from Dormant Content to Active Content: - Zooming: Launching Dormant Content simply zooms in on that piece of Content, thus all Content around it would be zoomed in as well and either be partially visible or off the edges of the screen. - Stacking: Launching Dormant Content brings that Content to the front and pushes other content behind: think of how Expose works. - Hiding: Launching dormant content cause any active content to become dormant, thus you can have only one document active at a time. Okay, so now back to the question. If I want to edit multiple documents at once, there are four potential ways to handle it, based on the above transition visualization methods, plus a something totally different: - Zoom Proximity: While in Active Container view, move Content that you want to see at once close together so that when you zoom in on one of them, the other gets larger due to proximity. - Activate on Click: If Content is stacked, treat each Content as a window and drag them around for proper placement: this is your standard windowing system organization. - Single Document: You simply cannot work on multiple documents at once. - Split Screen: You can subdivide your screen into many screens, and work each one independently. Each option has problems: - Zoom Proximity destroys any pre-established proximity relationships created in Active Container view. - Activate on Click makes Content lower in the stack harder to get to. - Single Document is right out because it doesn't meet my criteria of what I want to do. - Split Screen introduces another mode and mental concept into our UI, and greatly diminishes screen real estate. Anyone have any solutions? J.
