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Re: Newbie question: forcing data format during saveDocumentTo:

On Wednesday, September 3, 2003, at 05:36 pm, email@hidden wrote:

I am definitely Exporting; when saving as rtf I am only saving a subset of the data. It is not a file that can be used to continue working in my app. I don't want the user to have the slightest indication that after exporting he can delete the original file.

You're missing the point Scott was trying to make. You shouldn't have an Export option in your menu, because it doesn't mean anything to a user... they will not know why they should Export rather than choosing Save As. What you should do instead is make your Save As box detect the file type they have chosen, and warn them if it doesn't support all of the data that you need to save.

In general, when designing a user-interface, you should imagine a user who:

* Isn't an expert at using a computer.

* Is more interested in what they are doing than in how they are doing it.

* Is likely to become confused if presented with many options at once, especially if they have very little guidance available as to which one they want.

* Won't see distinctions based upon *how* the task they wish to achieve is implemented (Export vs. Save As, or Save As vs. Save a Copy, for example).

The distinction between Export and Save As is an artefact of the fact that you know how they are implemented; if you did not, the distinction would not be clear, so our hypothetical user will not know which one to choose if they want to e.g. save a file as RTF.

Kind regards,

Alastair.
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