Scroll bars optional on the Windows platform? Is this the Microsoft position?

Patrick,

I can fully understand that for the purposes of SVG the meaning of 
"scrolling" can be broadened to include "panning". [Your reply is quoted 
below.] That doesn't cause me any great concern at present.

However, the more disturbing implication of what you write (and what Jon 
Ferraiolo wrote in another post) is that the term "scrolling", for SVG 
purposes, while including "panning" can now optionally discard what (at least 
on the Windows platform) would be seen as the normative form of scrolling 
i.e. scroll bars?

So now, it seems according to the SVG WG, we can have "scroll-free" scrolling?

To quote that great philosopher and erstwhile tennis player, John Patrick 
McEnroe, "You _cannot_ be serious". :)

What disturbs me is the possibility that you may actually be serious.

So can you please clarify for me? Is it now the de facto position of 
Microsoft that scroll bars are now an _optional_ form of scrolling on the 
Windows platform?

Have the millions of Windows users worldwide been made aware of that 
(possible) change in user interface?

I would appreciate a clearer understanding of how Microsoft view this issue. 
Are Microsoft in the process of abandoning scroll bars?

Thank you for any clarification you can provide. If you are unable to post 
directly to the SVG-developers list perhaps you could make that clear and I 
can forward your reply to the list. The issue of "scroll-free scrolling" has 
caused significant concern there.

Andrew Watt

In a message dated 13/01/01 09:04:33 GMT Standard Time, 
pschmitz@microsoft.com writes:

> In addition to which, it is common in many hypermedia documents to
>  "automatically" scroll the document when a link is traversed, such that the
>  target (element) is in view. This can provide a reasonable alternative to
>  window scrolling mechanisms.  
>  
>  In further addition, script could easily provide scrolling by supporting
>  "click to recenter" functionality as is common on many mapping
>  applets/widgets.
>  
>  And finally, it may even be possible (ask Jon or others, as my knowledge of
>  SVG is insufficient), to effect scrolling using animation.
>  
>  IMHO, Scrolling events should be a function of the shift in view, and not
>  (necessarily) user actions at the viewer application level.
>  
>  Patrick
>

Received on Sunday, 14 January 2001 08:03:40 UTC