Proposed Apple II DeskTop Alias Improvements

[ph0enix-c0der]

Proposed Apple II DeskTop alias improvements over the current situation in Apple II DeskTop 1.5 Alpha 1:

1. Please move the Make Alias command from the Special menu to the File menu and place it immediately below the Duplicate command and immediately above the menu line separator below the Duplicate command, just like on the Mac.
2. Consequentially, please remove the bottom menu line separator from the Special menu.
3. Please give the Make Alias command an Apple-M keyboard shortcut, just like in the Classic Mac OS, and show that keyboard shortcut next to that menu item.
4. Consequentially, please change the keyboard shortcut for activating the move window mode in Apple II DeskTop.
5. Please add a Show Original command to the File menu to show the original file or folder of an alias, just like on the Mac.
6. Please give the Show Original command an Apple-R keyboard shortcut, just like on the Mac, and show that keyboard shortcut next to that menu item.

[ph0enix-c0der]

Additional proposed Apple II DeskTop alias improvements over the current situation in Apple II DeskTop 1.5 Alpha 1:

7. Please add a Make Alias In... command to the File menu and place it immediately below the Copy To... command and immediately above the Delete command. This proposed new command would work just like the existing Copy To... command and make an alias of the selected file, folder or volume icon in a location the user chooses from in a file picker dialog box.
8. Consequentially, please make sure that the proposed new Make Alias In... command can also be selected from a volume icon on the desktop.
9. Not alias related, but please enable the existing Copy To... command to also be selected from a volume icon on the desktop.

[ph0enix-c0der]

Proposed Improvement 9., "Not alias related, but please enable the existing Copy To... command to also be selected from a volume icon on the desktop.", is now issue #830.

[ph0enix-c0der]

10. Dragging item(s) while holding both the Open Apple and Solid Apple keys down at the same time should make an alias or aliases of it or them, just like Mac OS 8.0 and later on the Mac.

[ph0enix-c0der]

Proposed Improvement 10., "Dragging item(s) while holding both the Open Apple and Solid Apple keys down at the same time should make an alias or aliases of it or them, just like Mac OS 8.0 and later on the Mac.", is now issue #838.

[ph0enix-c0der]

Proposed Improvement 1., "Please move the Make Alias command from the Special menu to the File menu and place it immediately below the Duplicate command and immediately above the menu line separator below the Duplicate command, just like on the Mac.", and Proposed Improvement 2., "Consequentially, please remove the bottom menu line separator from the Special menu.", are now issue #844.

[ph0enix-c0der]

Proposed Improvement 3., "Please give the Make Alias command an Apple-M keyboard shortcut, just like in the Classic Mac OS, and show that keyboard shortcut next to that menu item.", and Proposed Improvement 4., "Consequentially, please change the keyboard shortcut for activating the move window mode in Apple II DeskTop.", are now issue #845.

[inexorabletash]

Again, a reminder: please keep your suggestions concise. Using fewer words is kinder to readers. You make some good suggestions, but it is a chore to wade through them to dig out the value. Also, when making suggestions, including every detail (such as separator placement) is

Here is an example of how you could have worded the suggestions for maximum impact:

When I have created an alias, I can't tell what it is an alias for. What do you think about adding a "Show Original" command, like in Mac OS?
Other ideas inspired by Mac OS:

• Move the alias-related commands to the File menu
• Add keyboard shortcuts for Make Alias (Apple+M) and Show Original (Apple+R)
• Create an alias by drag/drop with both Open-Apple and Solid-Apple

This starts by describing the problem, then suggests a solution, citing precedent. It goes on to suggest related improvements, but using minimal wording.

Responding to suggestions:

• Moving Make Alias to the File menu - I'm not going to do this, because this functionality is niche and the File menu is already very crowded. Also not giving it a keyboard shortcut; menus are already keyboard accessible - more so than on vintage Macs.
• Adding Show Original - this is a good idea, and I implemented this in 8878d03. It is placed on the Special menu to be adjacent to Make Alias. An alternative approach would have been to add a Show Original button to the Get Info dialog (like Mac OS 7.5.3), but menus are much less effort to update, and keeping the command adjacent to Make Alias gives context to what Show Original is for.
• Make Alias In... would be excessive UI clutter for an incredibly niche usage; it would enable creation of aliases for volumes without using the drag/drop gesture, but this does not justify the addition of yet another command. The correct solution is to allow files on the desktop, but that's a project for the far future.

[ph0enix-c0der]

Proposed Improvement 6., "Please give the Show Original command an Apple-R keyboard shortcut, just like on the Mac, and show that keyboard shortcut next to that menu item.", is now issue #847.