RE: Re: Dynamic referencing AND hyperlinking for numbered equations
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg34155] RE: [mg34029] Re: Dynamic referencing AND hyperlinking for numbered equations
- From: Paul Abbott <paul at physics.uwa.edu.au>
- Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 03:53:49 -0400 (EDT)
- References: <000301c1f2e1$d12634f0$03f5b4d0@HolyCow>
- Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com
On 3/5/02, Bobby Treat wrote: >Exactly. It's a palette. A palette obviously has things on it that we >expect to click on. Actually, there _is_ another (standard) behaviour change that indicates it is a hyperlink -- you'll notice that the mouse pointer changes from the instertion bar to a pointer, similar to what happens with hyperlinks in web pages. And this is also standard and consistent within Mathematica -- the mouse pointer changes shape as you move from cells of one kind to another. Also, you can make a palette or a hyperlink look any way that you want by changing its style. Surely you've been to quality web pages where hyperlinks are not just text underlined in blue? In fact, too many "standard" hyperlinks can be very distracting. >A single digit in a Mathematica notebook is not like that at all, >and that's all I see when I add that dynamic reference. What would >make us hover over it and notice anything in the status bar? I'm >obviously still missing something here, which you can see in front >of you but I can't. (I think.) To me, and to the designers of the Front End, it _is_ obvious that you would _want_ an equation number to be a link to that equation. Isn't this _obvious_ (and desirable) behaviour? Why is it better to have completely inert behaviour? >If I slowly pass my mouse over it, look for a cell tag, and see it --- >as you've described --- yes, THEN I could expect it. I simply can't >(won't) do that with every number in every text or input cell in a >Mathematica notebook, and I can't believe you do either. And of course I don't ;-] >We don't expect invisible hyperlinks in the middle of text on Web pages But you get hyperlinks in web pages all the time that are not indicated by underlined blue text but by changes in mouse cursor behaviour or by popups, etc. >and we don't expect them in Mathematica notebooks either. If they >WERE there in general, it would be exceedingly annoying, if not >dangerous. On a Web page --- or in a notebook --- we want to know >BEFORE we click on it that it's a hyperlink, and we don't want to >find it hit-or-miss by hovering over everything on the screen. What you want is behaviour that is consistent with a user's expectation. I would like and expect that clicking on an equation number would be a hyperlink to the equation. >The real question --- the original question from Alexandre Costa --- is: >how can we make a hyperlink corresponding to that dynamic reference? If you want, you can make this link look like a standard hyperlink -- see my message to Alexandre Costa. >Even if it wasn't spelled out in so many words, that means a USEFUL >hyperlink. Not just a VISIBLE hyperlink, but a mnemonic one that >announces and explains itself to a casual observer, just like the >hyperlinks in Web pages. That's what a hyperlink is... not just a way >to get there, but a way to know you CAN get there, as well. The first >is annoying at best, without the second. Well, this is clearly a matter of difference of opinion ... Cheers, Paul