[drew.adams@oracle.com: Should be able to select text in splash screen]

[drew.adams@oracle.com: Should be able to select text in splash screen]

[Richard Stallman]

Would someone like to implement this?

------- Start of forwarded message -------
From: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>
To: "Emacs-Pretest-Bug" <emacs-pretest-bug@gnu.org>
Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 08:34:56 -0700
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Subject: Should be able to select text in splash screen
X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=failed 
	version=3.0.4

Users should be able to select text in the splash screen displayed
using Help > About Emacs. This is one way that people are used to
getting the version info in many apps. They will look here first for
that info, and try to copy and paste it.

Currently, as soon as you press a mouse button (for example) in the
splash buffer, it disappears. This is disconcerting, especially if it
happens just after Emacs started up and you haven't yet learned how to
redisplay this screen. The screen should also mention that you can
redisplay it at any time using Help > About Emacs.


In GNU Emacs 22.0.50.1 (i386-msvc-nt5.1.2600)
 of 2006-07-19 on BOS-CTHEWLAP2
X server distributor `Microsoft Corp.', version 5.1.2600
configured using `configure --with-msvc (12.00)'

Important settings:
  value of $LC_ALL: nil
  value of $LC_COLLATE: nil
  value of $LC_CTYPE: nil
  value of $LC_MESSAGES: nil
  value of $LC_MONETARY: nil
  value of $LC_NUMERIC: nil
  value of $LC_TIME: nil
  value of $LANG: ENU
  locale-coding-system: cp1252
  default-enable-multibyte-characters: t

Major mode: Dired by name

Minor modes in effect:
  encoded-kbd-mode: t
  tooltip-mode: t
  tool-bar-mode: t
  mouse-wheel-mode: t
  menu-bar-mode: t
  file-name-shadow-mode: t
  global-font-lock-mode: t
  font-lock-mode: t
  blink-cursor-mode: t
  unify-8859-on-encoding-mode: t
  utf-translate-cjk-mode: t
  auto-compression-mode: t
  line-number-mode: t

Recent input:
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> M-x
f l a s h <tab> <backspace> <backspace> <backspace>
<backspace> <backspace> s <backspace> s t a r t u p
<tab> <backspace> <backspace> <tab> C-g C-g <help-echo>
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo>
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <menu-bar>
<help-menu> <report-emacs-bug>

Recent messages:
(C:\Emacs-22-2006-07-19-Fran\bin\emacs.exe -q --no-site-file --debug-init
C:\drews-lisp-20)
Loading encoded-kb...done
For information about the GNU Project and its goals, type C-h C-p.
Loading dired...
Loading regexp-opt...done
Loading dired...done
Quit [2 times]
Loading emacsbug...done



_______________________________________________
emacs-pretest-bug mailing list
emacs-pretest-bug@gnu.org
http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/emacs-pretest-bug
------- End of forwarded message -------

Re: [drew.adams@oracle.com: Should be able to select text in splash screen]

[Chong Yidong]

Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> writes:

> From: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>
> Subject: Should be able to select text in splash screen
>
> 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.

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.

*** emacs/lisp/startup.el.~1.410.~	2006-07-24 00:18:47.000000000 -0400
--- emacs/lisp/startup.el	2006-08-22 10:54:21.000000000 -0400
***************
*** 1115,1121 ****
  (defvar fancy-splash-text
    '((:face variable-pitch
  	   "You can do basic editing with the menu bar and scroll bar \
! using the mouse.\n\n"
  	   :face (variable-pitch :weight bold)
  	   "Important Help menu items:\n"
  	   :face variable-pitch
--- 1115,1121 ----
  (defvar fancy-splash-text
    '((:face variable-pitch
  	   "You can do basic editing with the menu bar and scroll bar \
! using the mouse.\nPress any key to begin editing.\n\n"
  	   :face (variable-pitch :weight bold)
  	   "Important Help menu items:\n"
  	   :face variable-pitch
***************
*** 1151,1157 ****
  More Manuals / Ordering Manuals       Buying printed manuals from the FSF\n")
    (:face variable-pitch
  	   "You can do basic editing with the menu bar and scroll bar \
! using the mouse.\n\n"
  	   :face (variable-pitch :weight bold)
  	   "Useful File menu items:\n"
  	   :face variable-pitch "\
--- 1151,1157 ----
  More Manuals / Ordering Manuals       Buying printed manuals from the FSF\n")
    (:face variable-pitch
  	   "You can do basic editing with the menu bar and scroll bar \
! using the mouse.\nPress any key to begin editing.\n\n"
  	   :face (variable-pitch :weight bold)
  	   "Useful File menu items:\n"
  	   :face variable-pitch "\
***************
*** 1443,1448 ****
--- 1443,1449 ----
                (progn
                  (insert "\
  You can do basic editing with the menu bar and scroll bar using the mouse.
+ Press any key to begin editing.
  
  Useful File menu items:
  Exit Emacs		(or type Control-x followed by Control-c)

RE: [drew.adams@oracle.com: Should be able to select text in splashscreen]

[Drew Adams]

    > 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.)

Re: [drew.adams@oracle.com: Should be able to select text in splash screen]

[Richard Stallman]

    The one change I would make to the splash screen is to add some text
    saying something like "Press any key to continue".

Please install your patch; it will be an improvement.  But it is true
that Drew was concerned with a different issue: displaying the same
screen explicitly thru the menu.

Re: [drew.adams@oracle.com: Should be able to select text in splash screen]

[Chong Yidong]

Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> writes:

>     The one change I would make to the splash screen is to add some text
>     saying something like "Press any key to continue".
>
> Please install your patch; it will be an improvement.  But it is true
> that Drew was concerned with a different issue: displaying the same
> screen explicitly thru the menu.

Both tasks are done.  M-x display-splash-screen and About->Emacs
should now produce a buffer that sticks around.

RE: [drew.adams@oracle.com: Should be able to select text in splashscreen]

[Drew Adams]

    >     The one change I would make to the splash screen is to 
    >     add some text
    >     saying something like "Press any key to continue".
    >
    > Please install your patch; it will be an improvement.  But it is true
    > that Drew was concerned with a different issue: displaying the same
    > screen explicitly thru the menu.
    
    Both tasks are done.  M-x display-splash-screen and About->Emacs
    should now produce a buffer that sticks around.
    
Thx.

Re: [drew.adams@oracle.com: Should be able to select text in splash screen]

[Romain Francoise]

Chong Yidong <cyd@stupidchicken.com> writes:

> Both tasks are done.  M-x display-splash-screen and About->Emacs
> should now produce a buffer that sticks around.

This buffer should probably be made read-only.

-- 
Romain Francoise <romain@orebokech.com> | The sea! the sea! the open
it's a miracle -- http://orebokech.com/ | sea! The blue, the fresh, the
                                        | ever free! --Bryan W. Procter

Re: [drew.adams@oracle.com: Should be able to select text in splash screen]

[Richard Stallman]

    Both tasks are done.  M-x display-splash-screen and About->Emacs
    should now produce a buffer that sticks around.

Thanks.