On Wed, 8 Dec 1999, Jacqueline Landman Gay wrote:
> > Probably true, if they've learned HyperCard first. But as has been
> > pointed out many times by many different people, learning HyperCard is
> > no picnic either, what with all its non-standard behaviors (the
> > separate tools and the fact that you can't even do something as simple
> > as draw a button with the button tool being the most glaring examples
> > of this).
>
> Just to set the record straight, you can. You can draw both buttons and
> fields with their respective tools. You need to hold down the command
> key while doing it though.
Right, I knew that, but how many new users would?
> The default button is transparent with
> showName set to false; the default field is transparent, Geneva 12. This
> is the standard way I create buttons and fields.
Which are bizarre defaults, if you ask me. The default button style
(and showName setting) is probably used for less than 1% of buttons,
and the default field style for about that percentage of fields.
Where are all the people complaining about this user-hostile feature?
> Choosing a different tool for each object doesn't seem any different to
> me than choosing a different painting tool for each activity in a paint
> program. The standards here are less clear, but to be fair, different
> tools for different activities were the norm when HC was first written.
Ah, but we're not being "fair" here, we're "objectively" comparing the
learnability and usability of the tools (at least that's what I
thought we were doing). As for different tools being the norm, I
think the distinction to be made here is with drawing tools, not
painting tools. To select and change the properties of a rectangle,
you don't have to select the "rectangle" tool in any drawing program
I've ever seen (including any of them released before HyperCard, and
there were many).
Regards,
Scott
> --
> Jacqueline Landman Gay | [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> HyperActive Software | [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Custom hypermedia solutions | http://www.hyperactivesw.com
> 612.724.1596 | 612.724.1562 - fax
>
********************************************************
Scott Raney [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.metacard.com
MetaCard: You know, there's an easier way to do that...
