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[brentt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx: [zzdev] Customizing GZigZag & Floating World]



I think this is relevant to the Zigzag general discussion list as well,
so I'm reposting it from the developer list:

----- Forwarded message from Brent Turcotte <brentt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> -----

Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2001 22:51:03
To: zzdev@xxxxxxxxxx
From: Brent Turcotte <brentt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [zzdev] Customizing GZigZag & Floating World

I am having some fun trying to design how a user (namely
me) might customize a full featured GZigZag to their liking.

At the top, bottom and sides of the screen, I would want
extensively customizible toolbars.  A simple toolbar
could be created simply by selecting a list of cells and
having them appear sequentially inside a view that
looks like a toolbar.  (My preferrence is a tool bar that
displays text not icons)

I would want as many toolbars as I please.  Toolbars I
use less often could be selected through a tabbar.
Unlike the usual tab bar, several, not just one, toolbars
from the tabbar can be displayed.  Tabbars, could 
potentially be nested as well.

A right-mouse button context menu should be fully customizible
too.  I imagine, the main use for this context menu would
be for customization of views and placing logic for elements
on the screen.

All operations on tabbars, toolbars, menus etc would be
subject to regular operations such as hop and could execute
any commands.  Two views side by side to rearrange bars
and menus would be very useful as well. 

One interesting command would be a customized weather report.
Click on the word weather on a toolbar, and a small window
appears.  It contains the temperature, dew point, cloud 
conditions etc each on a separate line of text.  You can
move the mouse down inside this popup window and select say 
"Extended Weather Forecast" and it will open up another popup.

To go even further, you could add things like aurora alerts,
and other astronomical alerts.  An aurora warning would only
appear if, one: the geomagnetic conditions are strong enough
at your location, two: if the weather is predicted to be clear
or clear enough at the predicted time.

Another neat category of alerts might be appointment alerts.
If you have a dentist appointment, the dentist jots down
your appointment on his computer.  When the appointment is
coming up, it appears on _your_ computer.

This just scratches the surface, these are just a few ideas,
not all that imaginative, of what GZigZag might be capable
of in the future.

----- End forwarded message -----

Share and enjoy,
		*** Xanni ***
-- 
mailto:xanni@xxxxxxxxxx                         Andrew Pam
http://www.xanadu.com.au/                       Chief Scientist, Xanadu
http://www.glasswings.com.au/                   Technology Manager, Glass Wings
http://www.sericyb.com.au/sc/                   Manager, Serious Cybernetics
P.O. Box 477, Blackburn VIC 3130 Australia	Phone +61 401 258 915