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Opal Feature Requests

With 1.0b2 just released, and final artwork in progress, Opal is pretty much feature frozen. If you have any ideas that are awesomely compelling -- and easy to implement -- they might still get in the first release. But I don't expect there to be any changes.

However, I'd still love to hear what people would like in future releases.

Please consider making Opal a  LinkBack server [ http://www.linkbackproject.org/ ]. I Have no idea how difficult this might be, but it would be wonderful if I could embed an Opal outline into a Curio, Nisus, or Voodoopad document and edit it in Opal.

A general thing -- try to make everything you can do with the mouse also doable with the keyboard, and vice versa.  Try really hard.  Having to thrash back and forth between keyboard and mouse is not a Good Thing.

I'm sure there may be omissions, but what can you do one way and not the other? I think certain multiple selection and arbitrary dragging may be the only things. (I'm assuming if you're hard core about the keyboard you'll turn on menu bar navigation.)

> what can you do one way and not the other?
expand/collapse all or family.

> (I'm assuming if you're hard core about the
> keyboard you'll turn on menu bar navigation.)
It's not the same. 
Maybe it oughta be called mouseboarding.

You do have most of the bases covered, although I wish you had F1-2-3-4 built in or available as an option for undo, cut, copy, paste.  (One reason the command keys don't quite cut it is the old oslexia problem - I use Pee Cee machines at work, in addition to one of my Macs that I brought in to retain my sanity while doing certain tasks ... and at home I have XP lurking on my Intel Mini so I have a Windoze keyboard, which exacerbates the problem ...

I'll guess that I'm not the only person who has to deal with this sort of confusion.

Keyboard and Mouse equality sounds like a good thing - and can you do it without using any two or three key modifiers?  :-)

I still like the idea of the arrow keys acting to move topics when topics are selected and the cursor when text is selected.  A lot.

Eagerly awaiting the release,

Jim

PS: Here's a bonus suggestion for the next release: a feature to "Cut Topics Containing ..." and "Copy Topics Containing ..." ala BBEdit's comparable feature.  Alternatively, "Select Topics Containing ..." could allow  subsequent cutting or copying.

Why not just filter using the toolbar search field and then Select Visible?

Because it doesn't work?

Does it?

(Sending an email)

Jim

LinkBack server is considerably harder than LinkBack client. Would the latter be of use?