Hi,
Well generally I consider myself a lurker in this list, more for the
purpose of learning and judging when I should make the jump from 1.24r to
2.x.
But when I read the message that started this thread (by Scot? I believe;
anyway) I must admit I reacted just as strongly against the idea or
explicit focus.
Now on to my point...
>
> >Perhaps it was a bit strong, but we've been pointing out the inherent
> >and insurmountable problems of using pointer focus with real GUI
> >applications (as opposed to xterms) for years now,
Admittedly I do use mostly xterm based windows. This is probably the
reason I insist on pointer focus.
>
> And there are problems with click-to-focus, too. I personally find
> explicit focus annoying. A "real" gui application should be able to
> handle both focus paradigms because not all users like the explicit
> paradigm. If your application doesn't work very well with pointer focus,
> maybe you should rethink its design.
Yes it would be nice if application developers made sure their software was
compatible with both paradigms but I'm not sure if you can consider the
application "broken" if it does not.
>
> >It's also confusing because pointer focus really only has advantages
> >when you're dealing primarily with xterm-type windows (as I invariably
> >discover is the standard tool of pointer focus afficianados). When
> >When your rarely or never use them, pointer focus is just a pain in the ass
> >because you're constantly having to move the mouse before you can type
> >in dialogs and such.
>
> I'm missing something. Please explain the situation where explicit focus
> helps you travel around an application's windows better than
> pointer-focus. Focus is on a per-window basis, not a per-application
> basis, right? So with explicit focus, you _always_ have to move the
> pointer and click it on another window of the application, right?
>
Well for my two cents worth (know understand I admit to not understanding
the inner workings of a window manager) I find pointer focus very useful
for most of my applications. In my situation I am running two 3x3 desktops
with 12 to 30 windows on each. Switching windows quickly, cuting and
pasting are two of my major window manager activities. Having explicit
focus (and god forbid, extra keystrokes/button presses to cut and paste)
would greatly reduce my efficiency and increase my annoyance!
On the other hand, when I am using "real GUI application" pointer focus can
be a pain. There are a few perks with explicit focus that really improves
the usability of GUI apps.
Finally if I had it my way I would be able to configure either focus
paradigms (which is the default does not matter) not only in an exclusive
manner (chose one or the other) but, even better, on a per
window/application basis also.
In my perfect wm world Mega-card (and such) would use explicit focus and
my xterm based windows would use pointer focus. GUI apps would gain focus
when I click on their window(s) and lose focus when I either move over a
pointer focus window or click on another explicit focus window.
IMHO....Merlin.
--
| Develcon Electronics | E-mail : merlin.hansen_at_develcon.com |
| 856-51 St. E, Saskatoon,| Web Site : http://www.develcon.com |
| Saskatchewan, Canada. | DISCLAIMER : These are my opinions & views, |
| S7K 5C7 | NOT necessarily those of my employers. |
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Received on Wed Oct 23 1996 - 14:54:50 BST