[Users] Claws config needs much better documentation

Steve Litt slitt at troubleshooters.com
Mon Jul 30 01:33:27 CEST 2012


On Sun, 29 Jul 2012 19:19:48 +0100, Paul said:
> On Sun, 29 Jul 2012 13:43:19 -0400
> Steve Litt <slitt at troubleshooters.com> wrote: 
> 
> > I think Claws should have a "HOWTO" Wiki, 
> 
> It does have a HOWTO wiki, which we call the FAQ.
> 
> I disabled adding new pages because it kept getting targeted by
> spammers, but if you want to start a new page, (if you think one is
> necessary), then just ask me to add it.

Thanks Paul. Let me see how many of these things I have assembled, and
I'll get back to you.

> 
> > Here's another one. Adding something to the toolbar isn't as direct
> > as one might anticipate.
> > When in Configuration->Preferences->Toolbars->Mainwindow, clicking
> > the Add button produces the following error: "Selected Action
> > already set. Please choose Another Action from list." A bizarre way
> > for an add button to work. So here's the secret, using "Reply to
> > List" as an example...
> > 
> > 1) Configuration->Preferences->Toolbars->Mainwindow
> > 2) Highlight a separator from the list
> > 3) Click the Add button. It appears to do nothing.
> > 4) Scroll to the bottom of the list, and there's now a new separator
> >    item.
> > 5) Highlight the new separator item.
> > 6) Change the item type from separator to Internal Function
> > 7) Change Event executed on click to Reply to mailing list
> > 8) Click the Replace button
> > 9) Click the Up button until the new toolbar item is where you want
> > 10) Click the Apply button
> > 11) Click the OK button
> 
> This is misinform[ed|ation]. 

Hey Paul, don't shoot the messenger. I'm just reporting the behavior of
Claws-Mail 3.7.9 on my Ubuntu 11.10 installation, and what did and
didn't work in adding a new item to the toolbar.


> When you click the Add button and you see
> the dialogue saying "Selected Action already set. Please choose
> Another Action from list." it is because the selected is already set.

Maybe I've led a sheltered life, but the behavior you describe above
(and I describe farther above) is nothing like the average
Add/Change/Delete list, where if you click the Add button you get a
new, blank record to fill in, regardless of which record happens to be
highlighted.

> If you were to use your method and try to replace the separator with
> "Reply to mailing list" a 2nd time you would see that dialogue again.

> You saw it the first time because whatever you had as the 'Event
> executed on click' was already set, but 'Reply to mailing list' was
> not.

After reading and carefully considering your preceding two sentences
three times, I finally understood what you were saying and understood
the conditions under which the error message would occur, and how to
easily avoid it.

Which reinforces the point I was making -- this behavior must be
documented. Common behavior is for Add to create a blank row to be
input. Common behavior is that changing the current data items would
affect the highlighted row, and therefore wouldn't change them on the
current row, because they want to add a row, not change the current one.

Hey, I'm not saying the current way adding new toolbar items works is
bad -- it's fast and easy and it works. I'm just saying it needs to be
documented, because it's unusual, and therefore for many, unexpected.
 
> So it's not so bizarre after all.

OK, so now that I know how it actually works, I'll retract the word
"Bizarre" and insert "Unusual." And here's my new method for adding a
toolbar item, now that I understand how the program works:

1) Configuration->Preferences->Toolbars->Mainwindow
2) Set the item type Internal Function
3) Set "Event executed on click" to "Reply to mailing list"
4) Click the Add button
5) Scroll to the bottom of the list, and there's now a new
   "Reply to mailing list item."
6) Highlight the new Reply to mailing list item.
7) Click the Up button until the new toolbar item is where you want
8) Click the Apply button
9) Click the OK button or add more toolbar items

SteveT

Steve Litt                *  http://www.troubleshooters.com/
                          *  http://twitter.com/stevelitt
Troubleshooting Training  *  Human Performance




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