Bo Peng wrote:
an executive summary (without rhetorics) would be helpful for bystanders
to also chime in...
And just to clarify---I'm not pushing any particular view here; I'm just
trying to imagine how users (including this potential user) will
react---let me just add a few comments. I'll snip out a lot, so please
read the original message.
The problem seems easy, we simply help users pack and unpack files,
but the devil is in the details. More specifically, which files should
we embed, are we going to unpack the files automatically, and where
should we unpack the files?
The simple solution, which is essentially Richard's proposal, is that:
1. we only pack files in or under the document directory.
2. we automatically unpack these files to where they are (document
directory) when a .lyx file is opened.
I say this is simple because packing and unpacking only happen when a
.lyx file is opened or saved. After the file is opened, all embedded
objects are external so NO modification to the current inset code is
needed.
And here's my view: Because this is so simple, because working with an
embedded file and working with an ordinary LyX file would, to the user,
be almost identical, and because it would keep us from having to mess
with the inset code, etc, I think it is absolutely obviously the best
solution, IF the problems Bo mentions can be solved. And I'm not at all
convinced they can't be. What I do know is that, unless I apply various
workarounds I know only because I understand the limitations of the
current implementation, I couldn't use embedding with my co-author.
Richard
