[whatwg] Menu controls

[Ian Hickson]

On Thu, 10 Jun 2004, Matthew Thomas wrote:
>
> If Web Forms 2.0 is going to be an extension of HTML forms (as opposed
> to XUL or XAML), I think very few apps built on it would be complicated
> enough to benefit from a full-blown menu bar.

Actually several people have shown me "secret" applications internal to
their network that they want to write based on WHATWG stuff that are all
complicated enough to warrant menu bars or their equivalent.

If we don't do menu bars (which I agree we shouldn't, at least not for the
non_WOAB sites), then how do we display that many items to a user in a
consistent way?


> (The HTML editor example above is wanted often enough, e.g. for Webmail,
> that it should be built into the browser anyway. That way people don't
> have to learn a different HTML editing UI for every site that wants to
> use one.)

Agreed. An HTML editor is one of the things I hope to address in Web Forms
3.0 or 2.1 or Web Aps 1.0 or something in the medium term future.


> Menu-wise, I think these *would* be useful additions to HTML forms for
> Web apps:
>
> 1.  A control for single pulldown menus that aren't in a menu bar.

Agreed. Web Apps 1.0.


> 2.  Some method of integration to allow Web apps to respond
>      to the browser's Cut, Copy, Paste, and Select All menu
>      items and keyboard equivalents. These work automatically
>      for text fields in any Web application; it would be
>      great if apps could make them work for stocks, address
>      book cards, message attachments, transactions, photos,
>      and so on too.
>
>      I'd add Undo and Redo to that list, but unfortunately
>      IE6 doesn't have Undo and Redo menu items.

Noted. This would be again Web Apps 1.0 material.

Thanks!


(In case people are wondering, as a general rule, Web Forms is for things
that get submitted, and Web Apps for everything else.)

-- 
Ian Hickson               U+1047E                )\._.,--....,'``.    fL
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