[TextMate] Re: Preferences window (was ProFont)

Lucas K. Mathis macromates.com at lkmc.ch
Thu Oct 7 07:16:26 UTC 2004


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On 6.10.2004, space aliens observed Sune Foldager saying:
>Good, argumentative reasons for it, please! :-).

For me, it went something like this:

"OK, now I want to change the background color of this window. That must
be in Preferences. Uhm. No preferences in the app menu. Must be burried
somewhere. Probably in Edit. Nope. Maybe in Window? Nah. Okay, so I'll
go through each menu. Oh, Color Settings. Okay, but that only works with
syntax highlighting disabled. That must mean that there are more
settings somewhere else. I guess I just missed the Preferences. They
*must* be in the app menu. Argh. Okay, "TextMate Help". What, you mean I
can't change this?"

Had all settings been inside a Preferences dialog, it would have been
clear what the user can change and what he can't right from the
beginning.

Having preferences inside the menu has additional problems. It clutters
the menu with things you use seldomly, which makes things you use more
often (like actual commands) harder to find. And it makes it harder to
find preferences, because it's often not clear where a given preference
should go, and if you can't find it, you can't be sure whether you just
missed it or whether it simply doesn't exist at all. A preferences
window also gives you room for additional information about settings.

BTW, what the heck is "Freehanded edit"?

lucas

- -- 
"Afer all, who needs courage when you have a gun?"
  -- Prof Hubert Farnsworth

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