Hello R�mi,
On Thursday, December 6, 2001 at 09:17 GMT +0200, a creature mimicking
R�mi Pach [RP] wrote:
Ok, I'm going to answer this thread. I know, this horse has been
kicked more times than a sane person could count, but I'm doing it
anyway. My goal is not to reignite the debate, just to state some
facts.
RP> The point is, many people do NOT get used to it because that behaviour
RP> is so unusual, so unlike everything we are used to.
Don't a lot of old DOS editors use free caret type interfaces? Hold
on, let me check that handy "edit" program... Well, what do you know,
it does. It's not exactly the same as TB, but it is similar.
RP> It can't even use proportional fonts...
True, but the free caret system requires mono-spaced fonts. I
personally like the font I'm using, so it's not a problem for me.
RP> You don't need a free caret to do simple columns or justifications.
RP> How about the Tab key
Well, some viewers show Tabs as 5 space equivalents, others 8. It's
kind of annoying if the person composes the message with 5 and the
person viewing it sees it with 8.
RP> or the spacebar?
That's tedious.
RP> Besides, since most people have e-mail clients that use
RP> proportional fonts (OE, Eudora, etc.), and won't bother to change
RP> the font to view your fancy creation, these nicely aligned tables
RP> will, in 99% of all cases, look like a big flop to the recipient.
Perhaps, but trying to do a table with proportional fonts will result
in a total mess more times than not.
RP> The creation of tables and fancy text formatting in an e-mail is
RP> futile. When I want to send a document with tables I create it in
RP> Word and attach it.
Ok, but not everyone is willing to open that Word document (don't
forget those Word virii.) Besides, even if you're the trusting sort,
not everyone has Word to open those fancy documents. I suppose you
could use HTML, but so many people appear to get violently ill at the
mere prospect of HTML mail. You might suggest RichText formatted
messages, but that won't work for other OS's. I guess that leaves us
with plain-text formatting. I agree it isn't ideal, but it is the
only one that *everyone* has a chance of seeing correctly.
RP> I understand that the outdated free caret concept has its fans,
<aside>
Have you noticed that even MS "introduced" click-and-type
capabilities in Word 2000? I wonder if this "outdated" concept
doesn't have some merit.
</aside>
RP> but at least TB should give a choice instead of forcing it upon
RP> users who don't want it and don't need it.
Perhaps, but that's a very big task. You might suggest that TB open
the way for external editors to be used instead of this one. That's
an interesting idea, but in Windows, I don't think it is going to
happen any time soon. RITLabs may decide to create a second editor,
some say that's slated for version 2. With so many big changes
planned for version 2, I don't know how high a priority a new editor
is for the developers.
RP> Another very weak point of the editor is its autoformatting feature.
RP> It FORCES you to insert a line between paragraphs, which is ridiculous
RP> and drives one crazy when one types, for instance, an address, or a
RP> list of items that should not be separated ny a blank line.
Toggle it on and off as necessary <ctrl><shift><F>. Unfortunately at
this time, TB does not make the current state of the auto-format
function obvious.
RP> It's a typical example of a useful feature that is badly
RP> implemented.
Well, there is something to be said here. TB's editor shows *exactly*
what
will be sent, including hard returns. That's generally a good thing
since
you don't have to worry about TB re-wrapping your text on sending.
How
often have you seen something where every other line is only one word
long?
It gets a bit tiresome. Fortunately, because TB's editor is
completely
WYSIWYG, that doesn't happen because of TB.
Having said that, some have suggested that TB should have "soft"
returns and "hard" returns. Both would be displayed like normal
"hard" returns, but the auto-format feature would be able to
distinguish, and only combine lines separated by the "soft" returns.
Thus the problem you've outlined would be avoided. On sending TB
would convert these "soft" returns to "hard" returns, thereby
maintaining compatibility with other clients. This is a good idea,
but it is a wish item. Currently, TB only uses "hard" returns. That
means it is impossible to distinguish a list from the poorly wrapped
text above. The only way to distinguish is by keeping a blank line
between paragraphs.
RP> And if one doesn't use that feature, one has to use Alt-L
RP> extensively because the text doesn't reflow naturally. It's as
RP> tedious as it can get.
Alt-L is great. You can select any number of lines and press ALT-L,
and TB will only reflow those lines. It's great when you want to
reflow multi-line list items, or only a small portion of a paragraph.
RP> That editor is a shocker.
It does take some getting used to, but it is very handy. Have you
tried clicking on the word "Stream" in the status bar? It will change
to "Column". Now you can remove a column of text (eg. Quickly remove
the quote prefixes from that joke you're forwarding for the 17th
time.) Of course this wouldn't be possible without the free
caret/monospaced font scheme that TB's editor uses.
RP> I can only hope that future versions of TB (for instance v.2 which
RP> is said to be planned for the third millennium) will have an
RP> optional free caret, proportional fonts and a decent
RP> autoformatting feature that will let the user view and compose
RP> text the way HE wants. Is it too much to ask?
Well, replace "HE" with "R�mi" and now we're talking. TB already does
exactly what I want[1], so it does let the user do what he wants. Of
course we're talking about the most important user of all, me[2].
Maybe your definition is different.
And with regards to version 2, all versions since version 1.42 have
included many of the features "slated" for version 2. The current
beta series has taken that to a completely new level, and may actually
be the beta series for V2. You may not even see a release of version
1.54.
[1] well, almost.
[2] At least in my opinion. [3]
[3] Who would have thought TB could choose such an appropriate tag
line.
--
Thanks for writing,
Januk Aggarwal
I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to worship me.
--
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