Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!think.com!news
From: ejb@think (Erik Bailey)
Subject: Standards for Balloon Help?
Message-ID: <1991Jun12.155432.13822@Think.COM>
Sender: news@Think.COM
Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 91 15:54:32 GMT
Lines: 27


I have a question.  Short of turning balloon help on and whizzing the mouse
around the screen to look for balloons, is there any way to determine if
balloon help is supported by an application?  Every time I get a new CDEV
(I *refuse* to call them Extensions or Control Panels! :-)) that's designed
for System 7, I always check if it supports balloon help.  3/4 don't (how
un-System-7-like!).  There's gotta be an easier way to do this.

I thought of possibly an init that would check to see if the front
application supports balloon help (can that be done?) and if it doesn't,
grays out the "Show Balloons" menu item.  This isn't a good solution,
though, because "Show Balloons" still needs to be selectable -- the user
may want help for an application on the screen, but in the background.

I really don't know if this is a solvable problem.  I don't really like the
"try it, and if nothing happens, it doesn't have balloon help" approach,
but it's all that seems available.

Comments?

--Erik

--
      Erik Bailey       | 7 Oak Knoll         | Thinking Machines Corp.
      ejb@think.com     | Arlington, MA 02174 | 245 First St.
      harvard!think!ejb | (617) 643-0732      | Cambridge, MA  02142
          /earth is 98% full. Please remove any excess inhabitants.
