Re: New file type handling

[Ryan McDougall <NQG24419 nifty com>]

On Fri, 2004-30-07 at 09:57 -0700, Gabriel Bauman wrote:
> Hi, Seth, thanks for your detailed response.
> 
> > > The new system allows you to set the system-wide handler for a file type
> > > from any file property box. Why on earth would setting a handler for
> > > "file1.png" set the default PNG handler for the entire system? That
> > > property box is the FILE's property box. Global config actions don't
> > > belong there, even if they're clearly labeled as such. 
> > 
> > Its not an ontology. Its a common design mistake to obsess too much over
> > categorization. Its much more important to orient interfaces toward the
> > most common tasks than to have clean categorization (esp. for relatively
> > infrequently used things like the file property box for which most
> > people are unlikely to develop a strong conceptual model).
> 
> I understand the argument you are making, and I'm not one of those
> 'purity of concept over real-world utility' people - still, I am not
> convinced. 
> 

In an effort to merely make the concept tighter, I suggest a checkbox
under the "AppChooser" widget that says "Make this the default for all
<TYPE>s", that is checked by default.

IMO it makes it conceptually clear that the property is only for the
specific file, but hey we have this handy feature that lets you do it
for all files of that type.

Good balance?

Cheers,
Ryan