Re: lynx-dev Opinions on importing a file into a TEXTAREA

[Jacob Poon]

On Sat, 13 Feb 1999, Kim DeVaughn wrote:

> When imported, the file can:
> 
>  1. Replace the TEXTAREA in its entirety, with the first line of
>     the file becomming the first line of the TEXTAREA.
> 
>  2. Begin on the TEXTAREA line that the cursor is on when the cmd
>     is invoked, replacing it, and all lines below it, with the
>     file's contents.
> 
>  3. Be inserted in between the TEXTAREA line just above the cursor
>     (if there is one), and the line that the cursor is on, at the
>     time the cmd is invoked.  None of the original TEXTAREA lines
>     are replaced.
> 
>  4. Be appended to the existing TEXTAREA lines, beginning with the
>     first trailing blank line, irrespective of where the cursor is
>     when the cmd is invoked.
> 
>  5. Be prepended to the existing TEXTAREA lines, again, irrespective
>     of the initial cursor location.
> 
>  6. Be positioned in some other fashion ...?

> I personally favor 2), as it seems most logical to me.  3) might
> seem a better choice, but to my mind, if one wants to insert text in
> the middle of some existing TEXTAREA lines, they are better off to
> do so with the aid of an editor (^Ve).  It is also likely in such
> cases, that they will want to insert some additional whitespace above/
> below the imported file, which would then require the use of an editor
> anyway.

I will vote for 2 and 3 (and a little bit of 6).  It sounds strange, but
it is not once you read the following: 

What I really want is, the new TEXTAREA editor to be able to toggle
between insert and overwrite state with another key binding (suggested
key: Ins), so that when insert mode is off, the import function will use
method 2; and when insert mode is on, the import function will use method
3.  The 'Insert' key binding will only work within TEXTAREA (and probably,
in any place where typing is needed), so that the key binding won't be
wasted when it is not needed. 

> For anyone who suggests providing multiple choices, remember that
> each choice would need to be a separate keybinding, since there is
> currently no convenient way to specify a "choice flag" along with a
> command.  

Hasn't the insert bookmark command already done this?

> And I am not about to try and provide any kind of "option
> list" that one could select a method from, since the differences
> really amount to nothing more than "syntactic sugar" (IMHO), given
> that all formats can easily be had with editor usage.

Maybe not in every cut and paste operation, but it is still a viable
feature within lynx.cfg.  However, method 1 is risky.