comp.lang.idl-pvwave archive - RDF feed
type: channel
description: Messages from Usenet group comp.lang.idl-pvwave, compiled by Paulo Penteado
items: IDL 7.0 Projects
items: Re: IDL 7.0 Projects

IDL 7.0 Projects
type: item
description: Folks, I've been thinking about IDL projects quite a lot the past couple of days, because I'm trying to write an article that can explain this to someone like me. Obviously, I am having a great deal of difficulty. :-( Here is my latest idea. See what you think of it. First, forget about "projects". (Well, you can't forget about them entirely, since IDL 7 is going to force you to use them.) Of course, I'm talking to the Windows crowd here, but I think the same thing applies to most users. Instead, think about "work". You probably already have your IDL *.pro files organized in some kind of "work" structure. For example, I have a "david" directory, and inside of that I have folders named "coyote", "activecontour", "catalyst", "test", etc. My normal way of working is to work in the "david" directory when I am just fooling around, but if I have a specific task or, heaven forbid, "project", I make a separate folder to contain those programs. What I wanted to do in IDL 7 was duplicate this way of working, but if I create a "david" project, then I can no longer create "coyote" and "catalyst" projects, because these live in the "david" folder, and projects (as far as I can tell) cannot be nested like this. So here is what I've created, that is sort of working for me. I've renamed the Default project "Sandbox" and I let that go into the IDLWorkshop folder. This is now where I do my fooling around. I've renamed my "david" folder "idlwork" and with the exception of moving all the *.pro files out of there and over into my "sandbox" directory, I've left the directory structure alone. So, when I fire the IDL Workspace up, I am looking at the project Sandbox. Now, if someone sends me an e-mail saying that FSC_COLOR is a piece of crap, and here is how you can fix it, I simply create a *new* project named "Coyote" and I create if from the "coyote" directory in "idlwork". I can make changes to coyote programs there. When I am finished with it, I can just delete the Coyote project (tak…
creator: David Fanning
date: 2007-12-05T22:42:18-00:00

Re: IDL 7.0 Projects
type: item
description: On Dec 7, 8:28 am, David Fanning <n...@dfanning.com> wrote: > I like the Fast View functionality, but I have one quibble. > Could the view please remember the last page size, so that > when I call it up again, it is the same size it was the last > time I accessed it? Especially with On-Line Help, it always > comes up in a narrow, skinny window, that I have to resize to > see anything. The Workshop seems to remember the rest of my > mistakes, so it is probably trivial to make it remember something > I really want. :-) How about this David: instead of using Fast View for help, I put Dyanamic Help over on the right side of the Workbench, then Minimize it. When I bring it back up by clicking on the Help icon, not the Restore icon, it expands to a readable size. Of course, this works for other views, too - minimize instead of fast view. It does add a little more clutter around the edges, though.
creator: Vince Hradil
date: 2007-12-07T15:22:51-00:00

Re: IDL 7.0 Projects
type: item
description: On Dec 7, 9:22 am, Vince Hradil <hrad...@yahoo.com> wrote: > On Dec 7, 8:28 am, David Fanning <n...@dfanning.com> wrote: > >> I like the Fast View functionality, but I have one quibble. >> Could the view please remember the last page size, so that >> when I call it up again, it is the same size it was the last >> time I accessed it? Especially with On-Line Help, it always >> comes up in a narrow, skinny window, that I have to resize to >> see anything. The Workshop seems to remember the rest of my >> mistakes, so it is probably trivial to make it remember something >> I really want. :-) > > How about this David: instead of using Fast View for help, I put > Dyanamic Help over on the right side of the Workbench, then Minimize > it. When I bring it back up by clicking on the Help icon, not the > Restore icon, it expands to a readable size. Of course, this works > for other views, too - minimize instead of fast view. It does add a > little more clutter around the edges, though. Oh, and you can also change the orientation to horizontal if that suits you.
creator: Vince Hradil
date: 2007-12-07T15:26:17-00:00

Re: IDL 7.0 Projects
type: item
description: Vince Hradil writes: > How about this David: instead of using Fast View for help, I put > Dyanamic Help over on the right side of the Workbench, then Minimize > it. When I bring it back up by clicking on the Help icon, not the > Restore icon, it expands to a readable size. Of course, this works > for other views, too - minimize instead of fast view. It does add a > little more clutter around the edges, though. Yes, that works pretty good, too. I just lose another half inch of real estate. (Thanks goodness I have plenty here!) How come these minimized windows don't *always* go down to the status bar, where we have so much wasted space just *waiting* to be used for something of value? Cheers, David -- David Fanning, Ph.D. Fanning Software Consulting, Inc. Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http://www.dfanning.com/ Sepore ma de ni thui. ("Perhaps thou speakest truth.")
creator: David Fanning
date: 2007-12-07T15:30:57-00:00

Re: IDL 7.0 Projects
type: item
description: "David Fanning" <news@dfanning.com> wrote in message news:MPG.21c3066046a4602398a155@news.frii.com... ... > So, this is on Windows XP, 4 MByte RAM. (giggles) ... > Someone else mentioned problems with finding WIDGET_CONTROL. > I am happy to say when I typed this into the index of either > the Help or the Dynamic Help I was taken immediately to what > I expected. I cannot account for the reports yesterday. Those reports were for _searching_ for WIDGET_CONTROL, not for looking it up in the index. When one searches for WIDGET_CONTROL, it shows up as the 101st item in the search list. The first item was help on obsolete keywords. Cheers, bob
creator: R.G.Stockwell
date: 2007-12-07T15:58:43-00:00

Re: IDL 7.0 Projects
type: item
description: On Dec 7, 9:30 am, David Fanning <n...@dfanning.com> wrote: > Vince Hradil writes: >> How about this David: instead of using Fast View for help, I put >> Dyanamic Help over on the right side of the Workbench, then Minimize >> it. When I bring it back up by clicking on the Help icon, not the >> Restore icon, it expands to a readable size. Of course, this works >> for other views, too - minimize instead of fast view. It does add a >> little more clutter around the edges, though. > > Yes, that works pretty good, too. I just lose another half > inch of real estate. (Thanks goodness I have plenty here!) > How come these minimized windows don't *always* go down > to the status bar, where we have so much wasted space just > *waiting* to be used for something of value? > > Cheers, > > David > -- > David Fanning, Ph.D. > Fanning Software Consulting, Inc. > Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming:http://www.dfanning.com/ > Sepore ma de ni thui. ("Perhaps thou speakest truth.") Depends on where they are I think. If they are on the right, they minimize to the right, if they are on the bottom...
creator: Vince Hradil
date: 2007-12-07T16:03:39-00:00

Re: IDL 7.0 Projects
type: item
description: On Dec 7, 8:30 am, David Fanning <n...@dfanning.com> wrote: > Yes, that works pretty good, too. I just lose another half > inch of real estate. (Thanks goodness I have plenty here!) > How come these minimized windows don't *always* go down > to the status bar, where we have so much wasted space just > *waiting* to be used for something of value? Just drag it down there to the status bar. It will remember that that is were you like it next time (even after restarting). Mike -- www.michaelgalloy.com Tech-X Corporation Software Developer II
creator: Michael Galloy
date: 2007-12-07T16:11:59-00:00

Re: IDL 7.0 Projects
type: item
description: Mike writes: > Just drag it down there to the status bar. It will remember that that > is were you like it next time (even after restarting). Ah... Lot's to learn here. :-) Cheers, David -- David Fanning, Ph.D. Fanning Software Consulting, Inc. Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http://www.dfanning.com/ Sepore ma de ni thui. ("Perhaps thou speakest truth.")
creator: David Fanning
date: 2007-12-07T16:19:05-00:00

Re: IDL 7.0 Projects
type: item
description: R.G. Stockwell writes: > Those reports were for _searching_ for WIDGET_CONTROL, > not for looking it up in the index. When one searches for > WIDGET_CONTROL, it shows up as the 101st item in the > search list. Ah, I see what you mean. But, still, I don't mind this search. It seems to be quite thorough and perhaps even better than the one in IDL 6.4. I do wish the Help application would start in the Index, though. That's what I want to use 99% of the time. Cheers, David -- David Fanning, Ph.D. Fanning Software Consulting, Inc. Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http://www.dfanning.com/ Sepore ma de ni thui. ("Perhaps thou speakest truth.")
creator: David Fanning
date: 2007-12-07T20:17:17-00:00