default directories

[Clark Jones]

Robert Graham Merkel wrote:
> 
> Clark Jones writes:
>  > Dave Peticolas wrote:
>  > >
>  > > Someone recently posted a request for having a user-configurable
>  > > default directory which the file opener would show by default.
>  > >
>  > > I've been thinking about this and it seems to me that it might be
>  > > better and more convenient just to have GnuCash use the directory
>  > > of the last opened file. Thus, the user would not need to explicitly
>  > > set a default directory.
>  > >
>  > > Any preferences there?
>  > >
>  > > dave
>  >
>  > How about having an environment variable to define it?  That way if
>  > someone has to "look" in other directories from time to time, but has
>  > correctly set the environment variable in their .login or .cshrc or
>  > whatever, they'll still be popped back to their "base" directory.
>  >
>  > Although nothing like gnucash, the stuff that I work on in my "day"
>  > job makes heavy use of environment variables to set various things and
>  > allow the [ab]user to set them as [s]he sees fit -- although it takes
>  > a bit of "explaining" to the new user, we get lots of kudos from folks
>  > who've used it a while.  (The one downside for this is that it won't
>  > work under M$ software that masquerades as operating systems, as far
>  > as I know.)
> 
> We've largely gone down the route of making things configurable from
> the GUI.  The items that aren't configurable from the UI are mostly
> things that only GnuCash would use.
> 
> While I know that many of us would prefer to have things configurable
> from the command line or from config files, we've gone down the
> GUI-configurable route for the benefit of our less computer-savvy
> users and there's no reason not to be consistent, IMHO.
> 
> So, if you do decide to make it configurable, make it configurable
> from the GUI.
> 
> My 4 Pacific Pesetas worth :)

I agree that there's good reason to be consistant, however, this is one
of those rare cases in which you could "have your cake and eat it too":
The configuration that the user has selected via the GUI has to be stored
somewhere, somehow on disk, so that it is "persistant" across sessions.
It seems to me that making said storage be "human readable/modifiable"
would then allow the "more advanced user" to alter it at will.

I could say something about following the M$ lead, but you might take it
as a flame.  :-)

That's my 20 mills worth!  :-)

						Clark
-- 
Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed herein are mine and not necessarily
those of anyone else.  (As if anyone else would want them!)

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