Re: URL error message

In article <1183486632.638410.268210@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Adam
<news@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 3 Jul, 17:35, Alan Calder <alan_cal...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In article <1183467580.594153.151...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,

[Snip]

This doesn't seem like a serious question, but I see no smilie, and
you've asked me specifically, so I'll answer it with a straight
face: Messenger, Thunderbird, NetSurf, Opera, Oregano, Fresco,
Firefox, IE, Word, Excel, all the apps with a "visit website" button
in their info box, etc, etc. In fact, every program I've ever used.
(Apart from Zap apparently - but then it is a text editor so I'm
willing to cut it some slack ;)

Such behaviour in Word [is annoying]

Yes, I agree. One of the first things I do in Word is disable that
feature. The same goes for a text editor. However, I don't think that's
an excuse to use a double-click. Surely from a UI design point of view,
a double click is reserved for the situation where single- clicking
highlights an object (so you can do things to it - alter it's properties
perhaps or group it with another object) and double- clicking opens it.
If highlighting it has no meaning then there's no need for the
double-click. If you argue that "opening" is the same as "launching" and
URL then in that case all web browsers should require a double-click to
follow a link. (Though I'm thinking this is a murky areas and perhaps
web browsers /should/ behave like that!)

But single-clicking on a URL makes editing a pain in any sort of wp/editor,
as you recognise. Since double-clicking to 'launch' an application
directly is the norm, even on Windows, unless from some variety of app
dock, then double-clicking on a URL in an editor seems obvious as by so
doing you are 'launching' an app, the browser, to fetch the URL. Browsers
obviously don't need double-clicks as they are already 'launched'.

I'd suggest that an URL in an editable file just needs a modifier key -
e.g. hold down alt and /single/-click the link to launch it.

Shades of Wordstar! Why reduce the advantages of a GUI?


and Outlook Express is highly annoying in my opinion. Makes editing
all or part of a URL a real pain.

Presumably you mean while editing an email, not viewing it? It seems
very natural to me to click once to open a link in an email you're
reading.

Yes, while editing in some way. Why bother turning it off in Word and not
in your email client?

However since Dave was clearly talking about opening URLs from text
editors

No he wasn't. He wrote: "Boot up the machine, double click a URL, and
whereas previously it would run a browser and display the page, now it
just presents me with an error meassage:"

There's no mention of Zap, Pluto whatever - I suspect the lack of
context was what caused the confusion ;)

True, not in his first (and second and third) message but there was in his
fourth some five hours before your first - but maybe you hadn't seen that
when you posted.

Cheers

Alan

--
Alan Calder, Milton Keynes, UK.

.

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