Re: [Nautilus-list] Directory Descriptions (Was: I am goingtoimplement cut, copy,paste forfiles)

[Joe Sadusk <jsadusk amazingmedia com>]

On 22 Mar 2001 09:32:26 -0800, Darin Adler wrote:
> on 3/22/01 9:04 AM, Joe Sadusk at jsadusk amazingmedia com wrote:
> 
> > Well, instead of making yet another file type and yet another thing to
> > clutter the interface, at the same time as requiring the installation of
> > files all over the file system, why not use the existing "notes"
> > interface in the sidebar?  That way the directory descriptions could be
> > put into the user's metadata when nautilus first initializes.  It would
> > also give the user a chance to see the notes feature in action and give
> > newbies a little bit more of a hint on how they work.  The only problem
> > you run into is when the user doesn't have the notes tab up, they'd
> > never know it was there.  *But* it seems to me like automatically
> > popping up the notes tab if you're on a file that has a note would
> > probably be a good feature.
> 
> In fact there's a second "notes" feature intended for just this sort of
> thing. This second type of notes appears under the icon in the main sidebar
> display and not in a tab.
> 
> We didn't end up taking advantage of the feature for Nautilus 1.0, but the
> code for it is still there. Confusingly, the feature is called
> "annotations", which sounds like the same thing as "notes". The only
> difference is that there's no UI for editing these annotations, and they are
> displayed by the sidebar itself, not a sidebar panel.
> 
>     -- Darin


Still, it seems like the traditional user-editable notes could have
something to make them more useable, mostly because if you use the notes
infrequently there's no way to be notified whether a file has them or
not.  Maybe if a tooltip with the notes (either annotations or the old
notes or both) popped up when you hover over an icon?  Some way to know
_when_ a file has a note, and even better a way to browse notes without
opening the file.  The sidebar panel would even still be usefull for
editing those notes.

Joe Sadusk