Re: Red cursor

Alan Horkan wrote:
> On Thu, 25 May 2006, Alan G Isaac wrote:
>
>
>> Date: Thu, 25 May 2006 10:54:43 -0400
>> From: Alan G Isaac <aisaac@american.edu>
>> To: abiword-user@abisource.com
>> Subject: Re[2]: Red cursor
>>
>>
>> On Thu, 25 May 2006, (BST) Alan Horkan apparently wrote:
>>
>>> If you mean we should remove Overwrite Mode then I agree.
>>> (The keybinding for switching to Vi/Emacs modes was
>>> disabled long long ago to similarly prevent users getting
>>> accidentally trapped.)
>>>
>> How about allowing these to be set in a program preferences
>> menu?
>>
>
> When it comes to adding options in the preferences we must ask if the
> feature is used often enough to be worth providing an option, or does it
> add too much clutter?
>
> I suppose programs like Mozilla have the advantage of "about:config" which
> does provide easier access to advanced configuration options than edition
> a configuration file but it isn't particularly discoverable either.
> Perhaps an advanced Tab in prefernces could be used to give flat list of
> all avaiable Abiword.Profile options?
>
> On balance I think anyone who wanted to use the Vi or Emacs mode wouldn't
> have a problem with editing a configuration file but the problem is those
> who might want to use the feature are not aware of it. I wouldn't mind
> making it easier for people to discover the Vi and Emacs keybindings mode
> but it is important to avoid trapping beginners in a state they cannot
> easily reverse.
>
>
I believe it's been done (in W) where this mode is set or disabled by
clicking or double-clicking the notification in the corner (which is a
grayed-out OVR or something like that normally, and fully-dark when
overwrite is enabled). We use INS and OVR, but the feature could still
be the same/similar. Then, unbind the keystroke (insert key) from the
mode, and this problem would be reduced. What needs to be evaluated is
how much it is used nowadays. (I suspect in the past it was more useful
because overwrite mode was the default in DOS and early WP's, if I'm not
mistaken.)

Ryan

-- 
Ryan Pavlik
AbiWord Win32 Platform Maintainer
www.abisource.com
"Optimism is the father that leads to achievement." - Helen Keller
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