Miscellaneous Ramblings
iCab Public Beta Preview 1.7: The Best iCab Yet
Appendix II:
iCab 1.7 anomalies as identified by Daniel Morris
The instance where a URL is truncated still exists (as I described 8/22/1999). Attempting to option-drag <http://www.zip2.com/scripts/map.dll?mad=1-399++HAIGHT+ST&mct=SAN+FRANCISCO&mad=haight&mwt=350&mht=280&mct=san+francicso&mst=CA&YpOp=map&type=gis&method=mapaddr&Search=View+Map&ck=&userid=101477384&userpw=.&uh=101477384%2C0%2C&adrVer=-1&ver=d3.0&ck=&userid=101477384&userpw=.&uh=101477384,0,&adrVer=-1&ver=d3.0 into a new window results in iCab 1.7 attempting to open <http://www.zip2.com/scripts/map.dll?mad=400-1899++HAIGHT instead.
I have found a case in which dragging a link to a second window apparently passes a truncated URL. I am running the 1.6a version of the US preview on a PowerBook G3/233. My PowerBook has 96 MB of RAM, with virtual memory turned on, a 512 KB backside cache, and I'm running MacOS 8.6 on it. Follow these steps to see what I'm talking about:
1. Go to the following URL: <http://www.zip2.com/scripts/map.dll?mad=iowa&mwt=350&mht=280&mct=new+orleans&mst=LA&YpOp=map&type=gis&method=mapaddr&Search=View+Map&ck=&userid=101477384&userpw=.&uh=101477384%2C0%2C&adrVer=-1&ver=d3.0
2. Select "Open Link In New Window" from the contextual menu on any of the links below "Sorry, we cannot find your exact address, pick one of the following" (e.g., "3300 - 3399 IOWA ST, NEW ORLEANS").
3. Go back to the first page, and drag that link, or any of the other links to the new window you opened in step 2.
4. The result is an error from the server ("bad map request type"). Notice that the address in the URL field of the Location tool bar is a truncated version of what you tried to drag into the new window. I also observed that the URL is truncated at the same place that an ellipsis is inserted into the URL in the information bar at the bottom of the iCab window.
[what I tried to drag]
<http://www.zip2.com/scripts/map.dll?mad=3300+-+3399+IOWA+ST&mct=NEW+ORLEANS&mad=iowa&mwt=350&mht=280&mct=new+orleans&mst=LA&YpOp=map&type=gis&method=mapaddr&Search=View+Map&ck=&userid=101477384&userpw=.&uh=101477384%2C0%2C&adrVer=-1&ver=d3.0&ck=&userid=101477384&userpw=.&uh=101477384,0,&adrVer=-1&ver=d3.0
[what appears to have been dragged]
<http://www.zip2.com/scripts/map.dll?mad=3300+-+339
It gets even weirder. Copying the URL from the contextual menu won't work, either.
5. Go to the first page, and copy the URL of any of the links to the clipboard using the contextual menu.
6. Select File-Open URL..., or key command-L. Select Edit-Paste, or key command-V (it doesn't work for me . . . I get the standard error beep). Clearing the URL already displayed in the dialog (by hitting the delete key), and then trying to paste shows that no part of the URL is pasted into the dialog before the error occurs.
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Charles Moore has been a freelance journalist since 1987 and began writing for Mac websites in May 1998. His The Road Warrior column was a regular feature on MacOpinion, and he is a news editor and columnist at Applelinks.com. If you find his articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Recent articles by Charles W. Moore
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