On Mon, 22 Sep 2003, Paul A. Rubin wrote: > Angus Leeming <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in > > That those of us using Windows (not all voluntarily, I might add) do have > to make accommodations (such as renaming directories, or adding symbolic > links) to use LyX (and, for that matter, most any software ported from > Unix-like systems). The generalization of the prior post that "file and > directory names should NEVER contain spaces" is a bit draconian in the > Windows world, if not inapt. After all, the operating system is geared > toward having all programs installed in "\Program Files" and most of your > documents in "My Documents".
Which I suppose was really my point: The universe in which I think most Lyx users spend most of their time is one in which simple, sensible software is a desirable goal. The rule about filenames not containing spaces is there for a reason (just as for instance there are rules about which side of the road you drive on), and it was a rule in all operating systems I know of for a long time before there ever was a Windows. If Microsoft chooses to break the rule, why should we in the rest of the world be expected to do a lot of work to compensate for their arrogance? A simple error message is IMHO quite sufficient :-) For that matter, even in Windows the real filenames don't contain spaces. Rather, each file has a name which follows the 8.3 rule, and a text label that can be used instead. That label may contain spaces (and be quite long), but the filename doesn't. Thus for instance the "Program Files" directory is really named "PROGRA~1", and people forced to follow Windows conventions can easily use that instead. James
