Re: State of the X clipboard, and perhaps a solution

[Murray Cumming <murrayc murrayc com>]

On Fri, 2004-04-23 at 21:54, Jeffrey Stedfast wrote:
> On Fri, 2004-04-23 at 15:46, Jan Morén wrote:
> > lör 2004-04-24 klockan 04.23 skrev Jeffrey Stedfast:
> > > On Fri, 2004-04-23 at 20:42 +0200, Murray Cumming wrote: 
> > > > On Fri, 2004-04-23 at 20:13, Jeffrey Stedfast wrote:
> > > > > 
> > > > > I think it's a problem of presenting Cut/Copy/Paste items in an Edit
> > > > > menu when that really doesn't do what it does on the other platforms
> > > > > (namely copying the buffer to some application-independant location).
> > > > > 
> > > > > If we got rid of those menu items and just forced users to use the X
> > > > > clipboard the way it was meant to be used, I think there'd be less
> > > > > confusion about how it works.
> > > > > 
> > > > > users getting upset at the loss of cut/copy/paste menus is a whole
> > > > > separate issue.
> > > > 
> > > > OK, then I don't know what you mean. I guess I came to X much later than
> > > > you. Personally, I like those menus, and I like the functionality. What
> > > > menus would you have instead?
> > > 
> > > I wouldn't have menus at all.
> > 
> > * Thud *
> > 
> > Umm, then what would you have? No menus - ok, so you would present the
> > standard actions of opening, printing, searching and so on how, exactly?
> > I just don't get your argument - especially within the context of the
> > clipboard. Are you advocating a return to using terminal-type interfaces
> > only? Or do you have a radical, great new paradigm to unleash upon us
> > (don't get me wrong, I'd love that!)?
> 
> select region with left mouse button. switch to other app. middle mouse
> click.
> 
> eg. do things the way the X clipboard was meant to work.

Quite apart from the difficult when there's no mouse, and the
non-discoverability, that's an incredibly limited amount of
functionality. People like being able to change the thing after they've
copied it. And people find the concept of passing by reference much more
complicated than passing by value.

-- 
Murray Cumming
www.murrayc.com
murrayc murrayc com