Re: lynx-dev pre3 (patch) startfile failure now more user

[Philip Webb]

990516 Leonid Pauzner wrote: 
> 15-May-99 21:53 Philip Webb wrote:
>> it's best to provide a user-friendly exit message:
>> did you consider an information screen instead of exiting?
> IMHO, we need the same level of information as we have
> for wrong 'g'oto links in interactive session
> (do you means an information screen for failed 'g'oto links also?).
> How about batch mode, e.g. dump, traversal, etc.?

the problem about `can't find startfile' is unique.
currently, Lynx exits with a message which isn't very informative;
rather, Lynx should not exit, but present a simple information screen,
giving the user a choice of further actions (see example below).

as i said previously: 
> IIRC there was no objection to such a screen, it simply needed programming.
 
the screen (with startfile address to be filled in at run-time) was:

                       Start File Inaccessible

   Lynx is unable to access your start file <a>...</a>:
   you can try your start file again by pressing Enter
   or you can go on with your Lynx session with any Lynx command
   -- e.g. `g'oto , `h'elp or `v'iew bookmarks --
   or you can quit Lynx with `q' or `Q' (unconditional).

   If you have difficulty using ordinary Lynx commands at this point,
   there may be more serious problems with your system or network.
   If you have compiled and installed Lynx yourself,
   check carefully in the INSTALLATION and PROBLEMS files
   and make sure userdefs.h and lynx.cfg have appropriate choices.
   If you are using a shared version of Lynx, consult your sysadmin.

-- end of info screen --
   
This should help the ordinary user who can't reach l.b.o. (e.g.),
while alerting users in other cases where there may be deeper problems
with their system or networking software.
   
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