Cocoa mail archive
Re: Adding an icon to the dock
FROM : Dave Camp
DATE : Sat Nov 03 18:10:25 2007
On Nov 3, 2007, at 9:50 AM, Steve Israelson wrote:
> One issue my clients always mention is that most users are not that
> computer savvy.
> They end up running the app from a disk image or cd-rom all the time
> because they see the icon there.
I run apps from disk images all the time. If I decide I'm going to
keep the app I then copy it to /Applications. Applications should not
care where they are launched from. However, I can see how novice users
would then eject the image or CD and then be confused about the app
disappearing.
> They even run an installer, and still run the app from the disk image.
Your image has both an installer and the application on the disk
image? You should sick to one or the other, not both.
> If there was ONLY an installer for them to see, and then it
> installed, put the icon in the dock for them, then they would not
> have to worry.
> It is even suggested that I launch the app, and close the disk image
> and trash it for the user once the install is complete.
Modifying the user's dock is not okay. Besides, the dock is already
chock full of application icons. How do you know where in the dock to
put the new icon? There is no guarantee the user will see it there
either, especially if the dock is hidden.
It sounds like you should ship an internet enabled disk image. An
internet enabled disk image mounts, copies it's contents to the folder
the image is placed in (typically the desktop or the downloads
folder), and then places itself in the trash. If the only thing in the
image is your installer or application there is nothing left to
confuse the user.
> Me, being a savvy user, just cringes, like most of you, when I hear
> this, but the problems these users have are real ones and how to
> make those users lives easier is the problem to solve.
Solving the problem of the novice user at the expense of the savvy
user is the wrong solution. Don't fiddle with the user's dock. If your
problem is with the usage model of standard disk images, you should
use IDME images or switch to zip files.
Dave
DATE : Sat Nov 03 18:10:25 2007
On Nov 3, 2007, at 9:50 AM, Steve Israelson wrote:
> One issue my clients always mention is that most users are not that
> computer savvy.
> They end up running the app from a disk image or cd-rom all the time
> because they see the icon there.
I run apps from disk images all the time. If I decide I'm going to
keep the app I then copy it to /Applications. Applications should not
care where they are launched from. However, I can see how novice users
would then eject the image or CD and then be confused about the app
disappearing.
> They even run an installer, and still run the app from the disk image.
Your image has both an installer and the application on the disk
image? You should sick to one or the other, not both.
> If there was ONLY an installer for them to see, and then it
> installed, put the icon in the dock for them, then they would not
> have to worry.
> It is even suggested that I launch the app, and close the disk image
> and trash it for the user once the install is complete.
Modifying the user's dock is not okay. Besides, the dock is already
chock full of application icons. How do you know where in the dock to
put the new icon? There is no guarantee the user will see it there
either, especially if the dock is hidden.
It sounds like you should ship an internet enabled disk image. An
internet enabled disk image mounts, copies it's contents to the folder
the image is placed in (typically the desktop or the downloads
folder), and then places itself in the trash. If the only thing in the
image is your installer or application there is nothing left to
confuse the user.
> Me, being a savvy user, just cringes, like most of you, when I hear
> this, but the problems these users have are real ones and how to
> make those users lives easier is the problem to solve.
Solving the problem of the novice user at the expense of the savvy
user is the wrong solution. Don't fiddle with the user's dock. If your
problem is with the usage model of standard disk images, you should
use IDME images or switch to zip files.
Dave
