From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: "Drew Adams" Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: RE: [drew.adams@oracle.com: Should be able to select text in splashscreen] Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 08:37:22 -0700 Message-ID: References: <878xlgu889.fsf@furball.mit.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1156261090 12574 80.91.229.2 (22 Aug 2006 15:38:10 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 15:38:10 +0000 (UTC) Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Tue Aug 22 17:38:05 2006 Return-path: Envelope-to: ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by ciao.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1GFYJz-00060I-W5 for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Tue, 22 Aug 2006 17:37:45 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1GFYJz-000170-EP for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Tue, 22 Aug 2006 11:37:43 -0400 Original-Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1GFYJn-00016v-Av for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 22 Aug 2006 11:37:31 -0400 Original-Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1GFYJk-00016j-Nx for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 22 Aug 2006 11:37:29 -0400 Original-Received: from [199.232.76.173] (helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1GFYJk-00016g-J0 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 22 Aug 2006 11:37:28 -0400 Original-Received: from [148.87.113.118] (helo=rgminet01.oracle.com) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtps (TLS-1.0:DHE_RSA_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA:24) (Exim 4.52) id 1GFYRN-0005MR-UH for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 22 Aug 2006 11:45:22 -0400 Original-Received: from rgmgw3.us.oracle.com (rgmgw3.us.oracle.com [138.1.186.112]) by rgminet01.oracle.com (Switch-3.1.6/Switch-3.1.6) with ESMTP id k7MFbQbY014850 for ; Tue, 22 Aug 2006 09:37:26 -0600 Original-Received: from dradamslap (dhcp-amer-csvpn-gw2-141-144-72-180.vpn.oracle.com [141.144.72.180]) by rgmgw3.us.oracle.com (Switch-3.1.7/Switch-3.1.7) with SMTP id k7MFbP1f018139 for ; Tue, 22 Aug 2006 09:37:25 -0600 Original-To: X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.6604 (9.0.2911.0) In-reply-to: <878xlgu889.fsf@furball.mit.edu> X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1807 Importance: Normal X-Brightmail-Tracker: AAAAAQAAAAI= X-Brightmail-Tracker: AAAAAQAAAAI= X-Whitelist: TRUE X-Whitelist: TRUE X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:58720 Archived-At: > Users should be able to select text in the splash screen displayed > using Help > About Emacs. Lots of graphical programs display splash screens containing text that cannot be selected. New users *won't* expect to be able to interact with the text. New users will also know that they can find out version numbers from a menu item called "About Emacs", and indeed we have such a menu item. Besides, it would be extremely annoying if the splash screen doesn't go away when you press any key. Please read what I wrote: "the splash screen displayed __using Help > About Emacs*__. The initial splash screen is not the problem I wrote about. The problem is what is displayed by Help > About Emacs. In *that* display, especially, users should be able to select text. And this has nothing in particular to do with new users, BTW. It is true that some MS Windows applications also suffer from the defect of not letting you select the text displayed by "About...". I find that quite annoying when it happens, and I appreciate an app that lets me select the version number and other info, to paste it into an email to tech support, for instance. I know of no app, in any case, that makes the "About..." display disappear when you click the mouse in it or hit a key. That's plain brain-dead. Again, I'm talking about the "About Emacs" display, not the initial splash screen - use anything you want for that, including animation for all I care. The point is that users should be able to easily copy version and other information, to paste it elsewhere. If they know about `M-x emacs-version' then they can do that (because trying to select the echo-area message with the mouse will now show it in *Messages*, where it is selectable), but many users will try to get this info via About Emacs, where they cannot copy it. The one change I would make to the splash screen is to add some text saying something like "Press any key to continue". Many graphical programs take a long time to start up, and display splash screens while they are starting up; a particularly confused user might think he has to wait for the splash screen to disappear by itself before editing can commence. Useless, IMO. How long does it take a user to try hitting a key or clicking the mouse? But harmless, if like it. ("Press any key" has of course become risible in many quarters, because of the reports of users asking which key the "any" key is.)