“There’s a time and a place for transparency in the user interface and Mac OS X usually is right on the mark (unlike Windows Vista). However, Sheets, the animated window that holds buttons for some modal dialogs needs work,” David Morgenstern blogs for ZDNet.
“Apple this week released an update to its developer documentation on Mac OS X’s Human Interface guidelines to cover changes in Leopard. Since, I’ve been annoyed about the behavior of the Save/Save As dialog windows (I almost called it a ‘box,’ which is the Classic Mac OS nomenclature), I decided to look at the rulebook,” Morgenstern writes.
“Mac users are familiar with Sheets, even if they don’t know the name for them. It’s the window that drops down from the title bar of the Save dialog window and holds the buttons and other relevant text,” Morgenstern writes.
“Sheets are used always for ‘document-modal’ dialogs, that stop the user from doing anything else within a particular document until the dialog is released. Unlike, application modal dialogs that stop everything in the program, these document-specific dialogs let users click to other documents in the application,” Morgenstern writes.
“My beef with them is that the Sheet covers up the document at the very moment that you might want to refer to it. Depending on the size of the document window and the content in the window, the Sheet can cover up all the content to make a decision about the name,” Morgenstern writes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Print dialog Sheets also never fail to cover up FAX numbers, just when you need to see them.
What a dense crowd. Let me try again.
I don’t want a Dell or a HP or anything other than a MacPro. But, I want it to be something more than just better than all the rest. And I know it can be, it should be and it’s not.
@C1… I would expect you to agree with me. If not, why not?
@Ampar… I don’t go to parties – too much gushing over gadgets, toys, and Steve Jobs. I don’t like to be around that many suckers in person.
*obscene reply expected*
@ Finally Ready,
Just remember, if Apple had not come out with the “gadgets” like iPods and “toys” like iPhones, then we would still be sitting in a 3% market share tub with the best computers, but watching software titles slowly slip down the drain. Because of the halo effect of these products, more and more of the big name, Windows-only companies have to account for Mac users.
Make sheets transparent too.
Holy shee…..nope forget it!
I don’t understand why this is a bad behavior. I would rather have the sheet be large enough to see all the folders and volumes in the sidebar.
Also, how often do you need to see anything at the point you are saving the document? This is the same false logic that made Microsucks put those annoying reveal arrows at the bottom of drop down menus in their software. The logic? So that you can see the document below the drop down menu. Again, how often do you need to do that?
Wow. Possibly my most cogent and relevant post ever!
Perhaps a turning point? No more crude posts and bad jokes?
Nah!!!
No sheet!
I refuse to identify with any specificity what I want or what will please me.
It is Steve’s function to divine my wishes and turn them into reality without my having to communicate them.
If Steve would just devote all of his time to please me and only me Apple’s stock price would go through the roof.
Curse me if you want to. In your heart you know I’m right.
yeah, I’ve been annoyed by this issue for a long time and as an experienced mac user, I don’t want to wait for the sheet to appear with animation. I need to get things done quickly.
Hold down the shift key and minimize the window. The sheet disappears before the window is minimized so you can the contents while the window minimizes in slow motion. When the window is maximized again, the sheet appears. You can also hold down the shift key when maximizing if you need to see more.
Richard
It a shame the only pro graphics card for the Mac Pro is a $3k Quadro 5600. Get rid of the junk consumer graphics cards (that are only good for playing DirectX games on Windows PCs) and add a proper range of OpenGL cards.
I suppose Apple must not be focusing on the Engineering/ CAD market, which is a shame for me 🙁
@Finally Ready,
You’ll have to get in line, dude. Because for the last several years, Steve Jobs has been working frantically to divine my wishes and turn them into gadget and gizmo reality without my having to communicate them.
Try Steve Ballmer. I hear he has lots of spare time.
Dear Richard,
Is it just me, or are you dumb as a post?
Chris Chavez is an I T Dick head
Dan can’t control a toilet, never mind IT dept