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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Presentation quick with grid and pasted

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg100835] Re: [mg100823] Re: [mg100794] Re: [mg100765] Re: [mg100724] Re: [mg100678] Presentation quick with grid and pasted
  • From: Murray Eisenberg <murray at math.umass.edu>
  • Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 05:38:36 -0400 (EDT)
  • Organization: Mathematics & Statistics, Univ. of Mass./Amherst
  • References: <200906150122.VAA11612@smc.vnet.net>
  • Reply-to: murray at math.umass.edu

I understand the larger point here. But there's just one part of the 
rationale I don't understand: Shouldn't File->Save save the currently 
selected notebook, even if it's a palette?

John Fultz wrote:
> If menu commands worked on palettes, then there would constant confusion
> when you're using the palette.  Which menu commands work on palettes and
> which don't?  What if typing went to one notebook but the File->Save menu
> command worked on a completely different notebooK?  Should File->Print be
> allowed to print palettes...if so, how much frustration and wasted paper
> would it cause, and if not, why should it be different from File->Save?
> Or what if you could get yourself into a mode where typing and many
> menu commands didn't work at all (i.e. because palettes aren't generally
> editable)?
> 
> The current system isn't the most convenient for developers of
> palettes. But it greatly reduces confusion for users of palettes, and
> there are many more palette users than palette developers.
> 
> For palette users, the current system is very consistent.  The only
> menu commands which work directly on palettes are geared directly toward
> palettes...for example, Generate Notebook from Palette.
> 
> When I develop palettes, incidentally, I never use Generate Palette
> from Selection.  CreatePalette[] returns a notebook expression which I
> can operate with directly.  Since I create palettes that I might want to
> be able to alter slightly in the future, it's much more reproducible to
> create an entire program which, from start to finish, creates the palette
> and deploys it (saving it in the process when I so wish).  This makes
> it very easy to reliably make small changes without accidental fumbling
> producing spoiled palettes which need to be redone.
> 
> Sincerely,
>  
> John Fultz
> jfultz at wolfram.com
> User Interface Group
> Wolfram Research, Inc.
> 
> 
> On Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:39:43 -0400 (EDT), Murray Eisenberg wrote:
>> Of course!  When I selected Install Palette, the pop-up dialog asked for
>> a source, and I forgot that the source file could be an open notebook
>> and not necessarily a notebook previously saved.
>>
>> The issue remains, however, about saving a palette once you create it
>> with Generate Palette from Selection. It just seems to me that one
>> should not have to go through all the fuss of seeing the list of values
>> of Notebooks[], picking the relevant one nb, and finally using
>> NotebookSave[nb].
>>
>> What is the rationale for the design decision not to allow, by default,
>> using File->Save or File->Save As directly upon such a created palette?
>>
>> John Fultz wrote:
>>> There is no missing step.  Palettes->Install Palette..., which I
>>> mention below,
>>> installs a copy of the palette into the right location so that it will
>>> be found
>>> in the Palettes menu.  It does so by saving a copy of the palette in
>>> the right
>>> directory with the name you specify, and then immediately regenerating
>>> the menus
>>> so that you don't have to quit/restart to see the results.
>>>
>>>
>>> Sincerely,
>>>
>>> John Fultz
>>> jfultz at wolfram.com
>>> User Interface Group
>>> Wolfram Research, Inc.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, 13 Jun 2009 06:03:48 -0400 (EDT), Murray Eisenberg wrote:
>>>> There's a step missing below: how to save the palette after using
>>>> Palettes->Generate Palette from Selection !
>>>>
>>>> This issue has arisen before in MathGroup. I know there's an answer,
>>>> and
>>>> I could probably again reconstruct it or find it by a search, but the
>>>> difficulty indicates that there's a design gap in Mathematica in such
>>>> situations.  It just should not be that non-obvious.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> John Fultz wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> ... evaluate this code to make a button, click on a
>>>>> cell insertion point, and click the button:
>>>>>
>>>>> Button["Insert Text+Math Grid",
>>>>> NotebookWrite[InputNotebook[],
>>>>> Cell[BoxData[
>>>>> FormBox[GridBox[{{Cell["text"], "\[Placeholder]"}}],
>>>>> TraditionalForm]], "Text"]]]
>>>>>
>>>>> You could turn this button into a palette (Palettes->Generate
>>>>> Palette
>>>>> from Selection) and install it (Palettes->Install Palette...) and
>>>>> use
>>>>> it later (Palettes-><whatever you named your palette>) as well.
> 
> 
> 
> 

-- 
Murray Eisenberg                     murray at math.umass.edu
Mathematics & Statistics Dept.
Lederle Graduate Research Tower      phone 413 549-1020 (H)
University of Massachusetts                413 545-2859 (W)
710 North Pleasant Street            fax   413 545-1801
Amherst, MA 01003-9305


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