MC and UB

[Richard Gaskin]

Klaus Major wrote:
> Hi Tariel and all,
> 
>> On Aug 22, 2006, at 12:53 PM, Klaus Major wrote:
>>> Since the ONLY new thing in the IDE will be support for UB on OS X,
>> Any chance  to add small cosmetic change we discussed before?.
>>> On Jun 22, 2006, at 10:43 PM, Tariel Gogoberidze wrote:
>>> Speaking about sizes, I'm always changing the fonts and button sizes 
>>> in  new MC IDE builds to accommodate to OS standards.
>>>  For OS 9 the standard font  is Geneva 10 and button size is w= 95 
>>> and h= 22
>>>  For OS X the standard font is Lucida Grande 11 and button size is w 
>>> = 82 and h= 23
>>>  For Win the standard font is Tahoma 11, don't remember standard 
>>> button sizes
>>> So, may be it makes sense to put a small handler in PreOpenStack  of  
>>> "mctools.mc" and "mchelp.mc" that would set the textfont and textsize 
>>> of this stacks according to OS standards?
>>> This way substacks like "properties" or "control browser" would 
>>> inherit TextFont and TextSise of the main stack and would look much 
>>> better on all platforms.
> 
> OK, but only if all of our friends do agree!
> I personally find 11 point a bit small on OS X, especially for the 
> "Index" and "Help"...
> 
> So here is the next poll :-)
> 
> ############################
> Should I add a handler to "mctools" and "mchelp" to adjust the font- and 
> buttonsizes
> of these stacks "on preopenstack"?
> 
> [  ] YES
> [  ] NO
> ############################
> 
>>> Concerning default object sizes (when you create a new object) Rev 
>>> has it done very nicely in "Preferences / Object sizes"
>>> May be Klaus would consider to add such tab to MC IDE preferences 
>>> stack and make it OPTIONAL ?
>>> That's one of few features I personally like in Rev ID and I'm 
>>> imitating it by setting default sizes in  "on NewButton", "On 
>>> NewField" etc in script of stack Home.
>> note: this way  we still create objects by dragging them on the card, 
>> but after dragging,  the size would "self adjust" to default size. As 
>> for copy / paste the " on NewButton"  / "On NewField"  scripts would 
>> "pass" in this case to preserve the size of copy / pasted object
> 
> OK, let me see, if I understand you right:
> 
> 1. In the new "object sizes" prefs there will be a checkbox "Use my 
> settings" or something.
> 2. Some "on newbutton" "on newfiled" etc. handlers will have to be put 
> into the script of stack "mctools", since this will be "started using" 
> anyway.
> 3. If we create new objects, then they will resize to the settings IF 
> the above mentioned checkbox had been checked.
> If not, nothing will happen and "on newxyz" will be passed.
> 
> Correct?
> 
> OK, sounds reasonable and here is the next poll :-)
> 
> #############################
> I would like to see the above mentioned features in one of the next 
> versions of the MC IDE:
> 
> [  ] YES
> [  ] NO
> ############################

These issues affect not only IDEs, but EVERYTHING made with Rev.

If we implement a workaround in our IDE, it's one less motivating reason 
for Rev to deal with it in the most meaningful place: right in the 
engine, where it arguably belongs.

There is at least one sympathetic ear within the company who appreciates 
the modest joke of selling a cross-platform tool with no way to even 
know what the current system font and size is, let alone assign it to 
buttons so that one font setting gives you a native appearance everywhere.

The Rev IDE uses Profiles, but beyond being an approximation of a 
solution (they require the developer to know system fonts in advance, 
and pray the OS vendors and/or users never change them) they're like 
swatting flies with a Howitzer:  the solution is bigger than the 
problem, and ultimately doesn't really do the small task required very well.

So while I agree with all of the above, I would much rather see any 
energy spent on it go toward a long-term solution which will do the best 
not only for MC IDE users, but for all of Rev's customers, now and in 
the future.

IMNSHO this should be in the engine, and the BZ entries for it should 
get lots of votes, additional comments, perhaps new entries, and a lot 
of attention.

-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Media Corporation
  ___________________________________________________________
  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com       http://www.FourthWorld.com