[OS X TeX] praise --- and three humble fine-tuning suggestions

[Joachim Kock]

Thanks a lot, Richard, for a wonderful update(*) to TeXShop --- and thanks
Anton for the toolbar --- really great.

I am very happy that TeXShop now can typeset without showing the source
file in its editor.  But I would like to suggest two things (for the
situation where TeXShop is configured for external editor):

   1: when 'opening' a .tex file, TeXShop should tex it before showing its
   pdf.  This seems logical: if the user chooses to open a tex file and not
   the pdf file next to it, then the intention most probably is to have it
   tex'ed, not to see an outdated pdf version of the document.  (Or worse: a
   blank page.)  This would also be in accordance with the behaviour for
   .dvi and .ps files: they are processed even if there happen to exist an
   old pdf file of the same base name next to it.

   2: When 'opening' a tex file, it would be great if TeXShop would take the
   time to actually open it (in read-only mode) and look at the first line
   of it before sending it to the tex engine --- to see if there is any hint
   concerning format or script.  Just as for files open in the internal
   editor.


Thousands of thanks for the arrow keys in the preview window!  This really
makes previewing easier.  (I hope more shortcuts are to come...)

I am also very fond of the new toolbar --- it's just so elegant and
OSXish.  However, I am also pleased that it can be turned off!  --- this
is important on the small display of an iBook, where you want to have
every pixel working for your document instead of for widgets.  Most of
the time.  With the arrow keys, this is mostly fine.  However, the
function "Go To Page..." resides solely in the toolbar...  I would like
to suggest that

   3.  There should be a menu item (with a key shortcut (e.g. ctrl-G)) for
   "Go To Page..."  (And also perhaps a "Scale..."  menu item).  I think
   this would be in synch with what seems to be OSX standard: that items in
   toolbars are handy aliases you can customise, but that the official home
   for these commands is elsewhere (in the menus).


A final (somewhat unrelated) question: is there any particular reason why
the six typesetting commands are dimmed when the console is the frontmost
window?  Since there is one console for each document, it should be
unambiguous what the command Typeset means...


Once again, thanks a lot for your work.

Joachim.


(*) Sorry, I am a bit slow: I am still talking about 1.16...


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Joachim KOCK
Laboratoire de Mathématiques J.A.Dieudonné    Tél.  +33 04.92.07.62.40
Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis           Fax   +33 04.93.51.79.74
Parc Valrose - 06108 Nice cédex 2 - FRANCE    Mél.  kock at math.unice.fr
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