AMI - 'Alternative Menu Initiative' (24 August 2000) ==================================================== [Web reference : http://home.zonnet.nl/p.duijm/ami/] [E-mail : kleinduijmpje@raketnet.nl] FEATURES [version 1.17.01 & 1.17.12] ==================================== File Menu --------- 1) The 'Open' --> 'File' option will open the selected file into the current window. Note: With default Mozilla a new browser window is opened. 2) The 'Open' --> 'Web Location' dialog window does not include the 'Choose File...' option. This option has been removed because this option is already offered by the 'Open File' menuitem within the File Menu (see also #1). 3) AMI offers an 'Open' --> 'Window' option. This option shows a list of windows that are currently open. Note: With default Mozilla this window list is currently shown within the Tasks Menu. 4) The 'Save Frame' option is always present on the menu ('File' --> 'Save' --> 'Frame') and is enabled and disabled as is appropriate. Note: With default Mozilla the 'Save Frame' option is hidden when it is not applicable. View Menu --------- 1) Within the 'View' --> 'Show' menu it is also possible to hide the statusbar. 2) The 'Zoom Text' menu includes a 'Restore Original Size' option. The shortcuts for Increase Size (Ctrl+Shift+I) and Decrease Size (Ctrl+Shift+D) are not the definitive shortcuts. These should be 'Atl+Up Arrow' and 'Alt+Down Arrow' but these 'special keys' are currently not supported by Mozilla. 3) The 'Use Stylesheet' option is enabled. This option implements Tim Hill's patch for alternate style sheet selection. Some pages to try with it are: http://www.webstandards.org/css/winie/#Alternate_stylesheet_UI http://www.webstandards.org/css/winie/altstyledemo.html http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~dbaron/css/ssui/ http://www.bath.ac.uk/%7Epy8ieh/internet/importtest/main/alternate.html http://www.bath.ac.uk/%7Epy8ieh/internet/importtest/main/preferred.html Go Menu ------- 1) The shortcuts for 'Back' (Ctrl+Shift+B) and 'Forward' (Ctrl+Shift+F) are not the definitive shortcuts. These should be 'Alt+Left Arrow' and 'Alt+Right Arrow' but these 'special keys' are currently not supported by Mozilla. 2) The shortcut for 'Home' (Ctrl+Shift+H) is not the definitive shortcut. This should be 'Home' (the 'Home' key) but this 'special key' is currently not supported by Mozilla. 3) The 'Search the Internet' option will take you to 'http://www.yahoo.com'. Tasks Menu ---------- 1) The 'Preferences' option that traditional can be found within the Edit Menu has moved to the Tasks Menu. 'Tasks' --> 'Preferences' contains a number of options: - General Preferences = traditional 'Preferences' - Mail/News Accounts = setting mail & news accounts within Messenger - Message Filters = setting mail filters - Newsgroups = subscribing and unsubscribing to newsgroups - Customize... = customize options (Character Sets, Page Styles, Sidebar and Toolbar) - Theme Switcher... = for skin/theme selection * The 'Mail/News Accounts', 'Message Filters' and 'Newsgroups' options are only enabled when within Messenger. * The 'Theme Switcher' option takes you directly to the 'Themes' panel within the preferences dialog window. 2) 'Tools' --> 'Import' --> 'Address Book' This option is enabled when within Messenger & Address Book. 3) 'Tools' --> 'Import' --> 'Mail' (+ 'Settings'). This option is enabled when within Messenger. 4) 'Tools' --> 'Import' --> 'Bookmarks' This option is enabled when within the Bookmarks Manager. 5) 'Tools' --> 'Export' --> 'Address Book' This option is enabled when within Address Book. 6) 'Tools' --> 'Export' --> 'Bookmarks' This option is enabled when within the Bookmarks Manager. Help Menu --------- 1) With AMI it is possible to turn off the 'tooltips' by selecting ('checking') the 'Show Tooltips' option within the Help Menu. 2) The option 'Help' --> 'FAQs' currently takes you to Mozilla's FAQs (www.mozilla.org/faq.html). This is only a temporary link. What this option should link to is a FAQ site that gives answers to the use of the Mozilla/Netscape application. Netscape's Unofficial Frequently Asked Questions site (www.ufaq.org) currently does not give any direct support for questions with regards to the use of Netscape 6.0. When this is the case the 'FAQs' option in the Help menu should link to this site (or any other site that gives similar user support). 3) When selecting the 'About Mozilla' option, the page is loaded into the current browser window. Note: With default Mozilla a new browser window is opened. OTHER 'FEATURES' WITH AMI 1.17.01: ================================== 1) The 'Search' button has been removed from the Navigation toolbar. OTHER 'FEATURES' WITH AMI 1.17.01 & 1.17.12: ============================================ 1) Within the menus, disabled menuitems (options) are not highlighted on 'mouseover' (this is 'borrowed' Aphrodite behavior). 2) The Mozilla menu (with the options 'Look at Bonsai' and 'Go to Bugzilla') has been removed from the taskbar. CHANGES INTRODUCED WITH VERSION 1.17.12 [24 August 2000] ======================================================== Bug fix ------- 1) The 'Bookmarks' menu on the personal toolbar was not consistent with the 'top level' bookmarks menu. With AMI the 'Manage Bookmarks' option has moved to the 'Tasks' menu and has been replaced by an as yet disabled option called 'Save Current Page As...'. The bookmarks menu on the personal toolbar has been corrected and made consistent with the top level bookmarks menu. New features ------------ 1) The search button has returned on the Navigation toolbar. This button was removed in version 1.17.01 of AMI because of its size and inconsistency in appearance compared to the other toolbar buttons. The search button has been placed back on the toolbar with a 'three-state' icon and its behavior is now consistent with the other buttons (back, forward, reload and stop). 2) The throbber on the Navigation toolbar has been correctly centered (vertically). 3) The 'View' --> 'Show' menu has two new options: * 'View' --> 'Show' --> 'Buttons As' * 'View' --> 'Show' --> 'Selected Buttons' With these options it is now possible to customize the Navigation toolbar. The 'Show Buttons As' option lets you select the appearance of the Navigation buttons (including the throbber). The choices are: - Pictues And Text - Pictures Only - Text Only These are the same options as supported by Communicator 4.x. The 'Show Selected Buttons' option lets you choose which buttons you'd like to have on the Navigation toolbar and which you'd prefer to have hidden. This option supports all the buttons that are 'standard' with Mozilla's M17 milestone. You can choose to show or hide the following buttons: - Back - Forward - Reload - Stop - Search - Throbber ======================================================================== *** Special note *** ======================================================================== The two new options within the 'Show' sub-menu are only visible and enabled when using the 'Classic' skin/theme. For these options to become effective you must follow one of the instructions as described below: A - You are already using the 'Classic' skin -------------------------------------------- 1 - You will first need to use Mozilla's 'Theme switcher' to switch to another skin (for instance 'Modern'). 2 - After you've switched to a different skin go back to the 'Theme switcher' to once again select the 'Classic' skin. 3 - After the 'Classic' skin has been loaded and applied to all the components you'll need to exit/quit Mozilla and restart the browser. 4 - Once the browser has 'fired up' again you will find the two new options within the 'View' --> 'Show' sub-menu. B - You are not using the 'Classic' skin ---------------------------------------- 1 - Go into Mozilla's 'Theme switcher' and select the 'Classic' skin. 2 - After the 'Classic' skin has been loaded and applied to all the components you'll need to exit/quit Mozilla and restart the browser. 3 - Once the browser has 'fired up' again you will find the two new options within the 'View' --> 'Show' sub-menu. C - You no longer wish to use the 'Classic' skin ------------------------------------------------ 1 - Go into Mozilla's 'Theme switcher' and select the skin of your choice. 2 - After your new skin has been loaded and applied to all the components you'll need to exit/quit Mozilla and restart the browser. 3 - Once the browser has 'fired up' again you will discover that the two new options within the 'View' --> 'Show' sub-menu have disappeared. Summary ------- As Mozilla's theme switching is considered to be a 'prototype' feature it is currently always wise and highly recommended that you exit/quit Mozilla after you've selected a new skin/theme and then restart the browser.