65019 - add "Edit | Properties..." and make it launch the folder properties dialog

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(SeaMonkey :: MailNews: Message Display, defect)

Description

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

nhotta, I'll do this one.

Comment 1

[Håkan Waara]

Attachment: [Patch] Bug fix

Comment 2

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

isn't "O" reserved for "File | Open Messages"?

Comment 3

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

in 4.x, on linux, we had "Edit | Properties", the "s" was underlined.

not sure about mac or win32.

Comment 4

[Håkan Waara]

Well, although it's marked as "old", these specs:
http://www.mozilla.org/mailnews/specs/threepane/MailMenusM.html#Menus clearly
states that the 'o' should be the accelerator.

Comment 5

[timeless]

windows explorer has:
re_name
p_roperties

would that work?

Comment 6

[laurel]

Will this also apply for newsgroups? (Not sure what all we're planning for
properties dialog(s) in the next release, but am comparing to 4.x.)

Comment 7

[[e-mail] (gone - use [e-mail] instead)]

Laurel - Simon P Lucy has said he'll implement all the functionality described
in bug 46315, so hopefully it'll be completed ;-).

Comment 8

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

in the properties dialog (for newsgroups) we'll have (at the minumum) charset
selection ui.

nhotta is working on moving that UI from a stand alone to the the properties
dialog.

Comment 9

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

"o" for the access key should be fine, since "O" for open is under the file
menu.

I was mistakenly thinking of "Ctrl+O"

I'll test out the patch, and then work on getting a sr for it.

accepting.

Comment 10

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

how in the world did you make that patch? 

I'll attach a new patch.

Comment 11

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

Attachment: patch

Comment 12

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

that patch (based on hwaara's patch) r=sspitzer

bienvenu, can you sr=?

we'll need a new bug once this lands.  Either the menu item should be
"Properties" (so it applies for news and mail) or when reading news, the menu
item should be "Newsgroup Properties".

I vote we change it to "Properties" and be done with it.

Comment 13

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

fix checked in.  note, it is "Edit | Properties" and not "Edit | Folder
Properties" since that is correct for both mail and news.

thanks for the fix, Hwaara!

Comment 14

[Håkan Waara]

Attachment: [Patch] Properties menuitem should have a trailing ellipsis (because it opens a new window), let's fix this to avoid further bugreports.

Comment 15

[Håkan Waara]

Seth, can you r= and do the checkin?

Comment 16

[timeless]

properties is special it never gets ...

Comment 17

[Håkan Waara]

bah! then what about the '...' in the mailnews contextmenus?

The ellipsis is, according to Apple's UI Guidelines and a slew of other UI
guides, showing that a command needs further information in order to execute.

In this case you need to "Edit" the folder in order to get it edited, right?
It's not like "Cut" where it cuts w/o needing any other information.

Even though I am aware that in Windows, of some reason, the contextmenu lacks
the trailing ellipsis I think we should use it for consistency in the UI. It
makes sense, we should use it.

Comment 18

[jglick]

Since we are using context sensitive menu items in the other menus, it would be 
nice if this one was also.  Especially since when a message has focus, the Edit 
"Properties" item refers to the folder/server in the left pane instead of the 
message that is selected.

"Folder, Mail Server, News Server or Newsgroup> Properties".

Comment 19

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

jglick, can you decide if it should be "Edit | Properties" or "Edit |
Properties..." and add it to the spec?

http://www.mozilla.org/mailnews/specs/threepane/MailMenus.html

If you want that menu item to be context specific, please add that to the spec
and log a new bug on me about that?

hwaara and jglick, please don't overload an existing fixed bug with new
requirements.  log new bugs.

Comment 20

[jglick]

Sorry. New bug filed: 65995.

"Properties" is currently shown in the spec without elipses. I am basing this on 
the Window Interface Guidelines. "Not every command that produces a dialog box 
or other secondary window should include an ellipsis. For example, do not 
inlcude an ellipsis with the Properties command because carrying out the 
Properties command displays a properties window. After completing the command, 
no further parameters or actions are REQUIRED to fulfill the intent of the 
command."

So although the Properties dialog sometimes allows input, it is not required to 
complete the menu command.  "For example, the Save As command includes an 
ellipsis because the command "Save As" is not complete until the user supplies 
or confirms a filename." 

Comment 21

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

thanks for the clarification on the "..." and thanks for logging a new bug.

Comment 22

[Matthew T (active 1999-2002)]

In Windows, `Properties' is shorthand for `View Properties' -- you usually can't 
edit any of the properties, and if you can that's just a bonus. And it doesn't 
have an ellipsis because you don't need to do anything else (besides open the 
window) in order to view the properties.

But if it's in the *Edit* menu, then the action is *edit*ing the properties, not 
viewing them. You can't edit the properties just by opening the window; you have 
to do other stuff in the window as well.

So either `Folder Properties ...' should have an ellipsis, or it shouldn't be in 
the `Edit' menu.

Comment 23

[Håkan Waara]

That was *exactly* the reason I made that last patch (with ellipsis)!

Comment 24

[jglick]

Ellipses are fine with me if you guys feel they are necessary.

Comment 25

[Håkan Waara]

I do. Seth or David: can you get this new patch checked in then?

Reopening, resolve again when the patch is checked in.

Comment 26

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

accepting.  I'll check in the patch today.

Comment 27

[timeless]

> In Windows, `Properties' is shorthand for `View Properties'
I should have spoken sooner. it's shorthand for File Properties, because that's 
where the item appears. Acting on files is natural.

I still object to the addition of the ellipsis.

However, the main problem is that our menu spec needs to be rearranged.

we should not have both Edit>Preferences and Edit>Properties near the bottom of 
the menu.

Comment 28

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

timeless, those sound like new bugs.  please log them instead of adding them
onto this one.

this one covers "Edit | Properties..." only.

Comment 29

[Håkan Waara]

Timeless, this is subject to change. When bug 65995 ("Edit | Properties should
be context specific") is fixed we'll have, "Folder Properties...", "Newsgroup
Properties..." (and so on).  

So this will be much more clear when that bug is fixed.

I still think we should add an ellipsis, because in order to *edit* the
*properties* you need to specify more information. The same as for "Edit
Preferences..." which also makes sense.

Comment 30

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

fixed, it is now "Edit | Properties..."

open new bugs on new issues.  this bug is dead.

Comment 31

[Håkan Waara]

VERIFIED FIXED: build 2001012304, Windows 98.