Subject: From: Date:

RE: [ECS] dos base continued Ingo Pakleppa Tue, 26 Jan 1999 21:37:56 -0800

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Excellent point! In fact, nowadays, most programs have context-sensitive
help, and you'll often find a ? icon next to the minimize and maximize
buttons that switches into a context-sensitive mode. Similarly,
right-clicking on any control would bring up a popup window with help for
that particular control.

Ingo

At 09:40 PM 1/26/99 -0500, Kevin Keast wrote:
>How about help menus that are like all other help menus for windows.  That
>is a biggie.
>
>Also, as mentioned toolbars, allowing more ways to do the same thing.
>
>Kevin
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Dan Carrington [mailto:dc_grafx@microworks.net]
>> Sent: Monday, January 25, 1999 4:52 PM
>> To: ecs-list@netbloc.com
>> Subject: Re: [ECS] dos base continued
>>
>>
>> I really don't know what to tell you Mark, as ECS is a very simple
>> program to navigate, but computer users that are not really computer
>> literate like things to look and work like they are used to.  In many
>> ways, the File/Edit/View/Etc are redundant ways to find the commands
>> that are many times found with the right mouse button, screen buttons,
>> or hot keys/Function keys.  Also, extra commands that would be clutter
>> or rarely use for screen buttons.  Things under file would be Save,
>> Print current event, print all events, print cfg, and exit.  Things I
>> could see in edit would the undo, cut, copy, paste, delete, select all,
>> find, find next, replace and such.  You could have direct buttons for
>> showing which events and groups an item is in and what other items are
>> the same type.  The info that used to be found by hitting "?" five times
>> at the item's name in the item menu.  I still don't know how to find
>> that info under windows.  How about debugging commands?  The commands to
>> visually watch ECS go through the event lines and process events.  The
>> commands to record and save the program level processing that we send
>> you for debugging.  Commands to watch a serial port to capture commands
>> from something.  One more nice thing to have on the menu, is the help
>> selection with the info option under it to find out what version of ECS
>> you are on.  You could put your address, e-mail, phone, etc under the
>> info if you wanted.  You could put registration info if you are running
>> the light version and want to buy the full version.
>>
>> Dan Carrington
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Mark Gilmore wrote:
>> >
>> > This is just my humble opinion, but I THINK that
>> > if I were a PC novice, that the current ECS menu
>> > is much more intuitive than "FILE/EDIT/VIEW/etc".
>> > I don't even know what "EDIT" & "VIEW" menus
>> > would relate to in this context.
>> >
>> > I guess I could make a "FILE/MESSAGES/ITEMS/EVENTS/HELP"
>> > menu though. The reason I didn't do this in the 1st place
>> > was to save on screen space.
>> > --
>> > Mark Gilmore
>> > Omnipotence (ECS Home Automation Software)
>> > omnip@usit.net
>> > http://www.usit.com/omnip
>>
>
>

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