Membranophonist’s Ramblings

There are a number of ways in which the iWork applications, Pages in particular, could use existing data to save the user time. I’ve already entered names and contact information in my address book; why do I have to type this crap again?

Looking at the Inspector -> Document Inspector -> Info:

• Why isn’t the Author field automatically filled in with the user’s name? Given Spotlight’s ability to index and filter query results based on this sort of meta-data, it makes sense that it be filled in without the user having to do so for every document. Cheap meta-data is good meta-data.
• The Title field could be automatically filled in with whatever text the user inputs into a certain template field on the first page or slide. If the user inputs a title before saving the document, suggest that title for the filename. For the Business Letter, it could be the Subject.

I find both of the above pretty useful in Microsoft’s Office applications.

For many templates (Letters, Envelopes, Resumés, etc.), the following information could be auto-completed or automatically input based on the user’s personal “Me” information and that of their contacts:

1. Names
2. Titles
3. Organization names
4. Addresses
5. Telephone numbers
6. Fax numbers
7. E-mail addresses
8. Web addresses
9. Logos (drawn from the organization’s address book card if present)

The Washington Post’s Rob Pegoraro also makes this point with the postcard templates.

For business documents, the application would default to the user’s Work information and not automatically include anything the user specified as Private. Personal documents would use the Home info.

For resumés, the first item should be filled in with the user’s Job Title and Organization name.

Ideally, Pages would be smart enough to automatically adjust salutations based on the addressee’s prefix. If I was writing a letter to my doctor based on the Business Letter template, the salutation would automatically change to “Dear Dr. Strangelove,” after I’d input the good doctor’s name in the address block. If the recipient is an organization rather than an individual, the salutation could change to “To Whom It May Concern” or the like.

If the user chooses the Personal Letter template and the recipient is set as a friend or relative in the user’s “Me” card, the salutation could be more informal, using just the recipient’s first name or even a nickname. The ability to specify relationships between people creates a lot of interesting possibilities for software.

For both Pages and Keynote, an “AutoFill” preference pane like that found in Safari would be a good place to allow the user to specify what information would be automatically placed or completed in their documents. Some people would prefer not to use such features and they should be accommodated.

Users can input their information and save the customized document as a template, but how many of them are really going to do so?

Miscellaneous Irritations

1. As long as the “For New Documents” setting is set to “Show [Template or Theme] Chooser dialog”, the File -> New command should have ellipses. If it is set to “Use [template or theme name]“, the ellipses should not appear and the command should be labeled “New [template or theme name]“. Holding Option down could switch the “New [template or theme name]” command to “New Blank Document”. I don’t know if this is technically possible, but it is the way it should work.
2. The Inspector and other palettes, according to the Aqua Human Interface Guidelines, should be accessed through the Window menu:
   

   Avoid using the View menu to display utility windows (such as tool palettes); use the Window menu instead.

   My thanks to whoever implemented the new JavaScript HIG sidebar!

3. In the Media Browser, the top level item seems pointless. It would make sense if user’s could browse Bonjourrrrr (I learned French from Groundskeeper Willie)-shared media, but that is not the case. Perhaps in iWork ‘06…