2002-09-05
							Emil Brink


		gentoo: Frequently Asked Questions

0. INTRODUCTION
This file contains some frequently asked questions, and their
answers, about the X11/GTK+ file manager "gentoo". None of
these questions are actual, verbatim, questions asked by users.
They've all been constructed by me, around questions and wishes
sent to me by gentoo's users.


Q1. Does gentoo support drag-and-drop ("DnD") ?
A1: No, it currently does not. This is definitely the #1 most
    asked for feature. However, there are some issues with it
    that makes me hesitate in implementing it:
    1.	Should DnD be between gentoo and other applications
	(e.g. xmms), and/or in gentoo internally? What should
	gentoo do if you drag a file from a desktop's file
	manager and drop it in one of gentoo's panes?
	  Supporting DnD internally would require a pretty
	pretty hefty amount of internal rewriting. :(
    2.	Getting the GtkCList widget (which is what the panes
	in gentoo are implemented with) to support DnD without
	losing the possibility to drag to select multiple items
	seems difficult. I am not willing to sacrifice the
	multi-selection.


Q2: How can I make the font used in file listings bigger?
A2: By creating and editing the .gentoogtkrc file. See the
    README.gtkrc for further instructions.


Q3: Compiling gentoo fails because <errno.h> doesn't exist or has
    problems, what's up?
A3: You have an incorrectly or incompletely installed C compiler.
    On some Linux varieties, you need to "make dep" in the Linux
    kernel sources, since <errno.h> relies on kernel headers.


Q4: What about a port to GTK+ 2.0? It's out, you know...
A4: Yeah, I know. And no, I don't expect a port to be out any time
    soon. For the following reasons:
    1. GTK+ 2 is slow. It's unhurrying, slow-going, slow-paced,
       leaden, sluggish, and generally unhasty. This has two direct
       consequences: it makes me not want to work with it, since
       it's simply less fun, and it makes me worry about ruining
       gentoo's reputation of being a quick file manager. Perhaps
       it's all my fault, for running it on such a slow machine,
       but I have problems understanding the 10X slowdown compared
       to 1.2.x. I just don't want to. I love the speed of 1.2.x!
    2. Differences. GTK+ 2 is largely reworked compared to the 1.2
       series, many of the main widgets gentoo rely on (such as the
       GtkCLists used for the panes) are deprecated. Porting gentoo
       to native, current, GTK+ 2 widgets could be a lot of work.
    3. Spiral effect. If I get started redoing core parts of the
       application, that could be contagious and I might end up re-
       designing major parts of it. Which would be fun and good, but
       could take up a lot of time. Especially considering all the
       time I'd have to spend waiting for GUI redraws. Did I mention
       there's a performance problem with GTK+ 2?


Q5. I get a weird warning about case sensitivity and ASCII?!
A5. Yes. This indicates that you have successfully built gentoo in
    a localizable manner. It also indicates that gentoo has performed
    tests on your host's strcoll(3) string comparison function, and is
    letting you know of any limitations found.


Q6. The selection mouse handling is all weird, why can't it just behave
    like the rest of the world does it?
A6. It behaves in the way it does since that's how DirOpus on the Amiga
    did it, and the author happens to like being able to click and drag
    and always add to the selection without having to touch the keyboard.
    If you disagree, change the "Modify 'Control' Key State" dirpane
    setting to "System Default".


Q7. Any further questions?
A7. No, it doesn't seem so. If you disagree, get in touch.