---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:07:51 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jamal Mazrui <[log in to unmask]
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]
Subject: [guispeak] Seeking beta feedback on McTwit (a Twitter
client)
http://EmpowermentZone.com/mtsetup.exe
I have now developed a GUI version of McTwit. The initial,
command line
version is still included in the distribution. I am seeking
feedback on
this public beta. To help you decide whether to try it, pasted
below are
sections of the documentation.
Jamal
McTwit
Beta 0.9
April 22, 2009
Copyright 2009 by Jamal Mazrui
GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)
Contents
Description
Installation
Overview
Getting Messages
Sending Messages
Managing Users
Navigating Items
Miscellaneous Commands
Summary of Commands
Development Notes
MT Client
twyt Twyt - A Twitter client for the easily distracted
twyt - Command line twitter client
Usage: mctwit COMMAND [options] [args]
Bits of the twitter API that have been implemented and bits that
need
implementing in twitter.py
How to install twyt
How to use the twyt Python module
Help on module twyt.twitter in twyt:
Blog of Andrew Price
Twyt Licence
- ----------
Description
McTwit is a Windows client for the social networking site called
Twitter.com. It is designed for productivity by keyboard users.
Additionally, if the JAWS, System Access, or Window-Eyes screen
reader is
active, select information is conveyed through direct speech
messages.
Such messages are also displayed on the status line for visual
users.
- ----------
Installation
The installer for McTwit is called mtsetup.exe. The default
location for
the program is
C:\Program Files\McTwit
The installer also creates a desktop shortcut and a program group
within
the Windows Start Menu, with options to launch the program, read
documentation, or uninstall. The default shortcutkey is
Alt+Control+M.
- ----------
Overview
The McTwit program is a single dialog with a listbox, multi-line
edit box,
and many buttons. The listbox shows multiple message or user
items from
Twitter. The edit box -- also called the viewing area -- shows
additional
information about the current item in the list, e.g., the time of
a
message and full name of a user who posted it.
Each button performs an action, often to fill the list with a
particular
type of item. All controls in the dialog may be accessed with a
unique,
mnemonic keystroke. For example, Alt+I focuses on items in the
list,
Alt+V focuses on the viewing area, and Alt+N invokes the New
button, which
filles the list with new messages by those you are following.
This button
is also the default, so it can be invoked by pressing Enter
unless another
button has focus. Buttons after New are in an alphabetical
sequence until
the Help and Close buttons at the end. A description of each
control is
available on the status line when the control has focus. A
screen reader
has a hotkey to read the status line.
Several commands operate relative to a particular user, which
McTwit calls
the base user. If no items are in the list, the base user is
yourself.
Otherwise, it is obtained from the current item in the list. If
the type
of item is a message, the base user is the sender of the message.
To
re-establish yourself as the base user, press Alt+0 for the
0Items
command, which clears the list. To specify a base user by typing
a scree
name rather than pointing to a list item, press Alt+1 for the
1Other
command, which prompts you for the other user to be referenced by
subsequent commands.
- ----------
Getting Messages
The New command, Alt+N, gets tweets by you or your "leaders" --
the McTwit
term for users whom you are following. The Replies command,
Alt+R, gets
tweets that reference your screen name preceded by the @ sign --
a Twitter
convention for replying publicly to someone. The Direct command,
Alt+D,
gets direct messages sent privately to you. The Public command,
Alt+P,
gets messages from the "public timeline" -- recent tweets posted
by
anyone.
The Messages command, Alt+M, gets tweets by the base user. The
Sent
command, Alt+S, gets direct messages that you have sent.
- ----------
Sending Messages
The Tweet command, Alt+T, posts a public message by you, which is
also
called a "tweet" or "updating your status." The 2Tweet command,
Alt+2,
posts a public reply to the base user. The Write command, Alt+W,
sends a
direct message to the base user.
- ----------
Managing Users
The Leaders command, Alt+L, gets users that the base user is
following.
The followers command, Alt+F, gets users who are following the
base user.
The Join command, Alt+J, sets the base user as one of your
leaders.
The Zap command, Alt+Z, removes something according to the type
of item.
The command deletes a tweet or direct message by you. The
command also
drops someone as your leader, or blocks someone as your follower.
The
Unblock command, Alt+U, unblocks someone, so you may be followed
again.
The Extra command, Alt+X, gets more information about the base
user, which
is displayed in the viewing area.
- ----------
Navigating Items
The list of items supports navigation by arrow keys or the
initial letter
of an item. The Keywords command, Alt+K, searches for an item,
starting
at the top, based on text it contains. A match does not depend
on
capitalization. The Again command, Alt+A, searches for the next
match, if
any.
The Order command, Alt+O, sorts the list items in alphabetical,
reverse,
or original order. Since messages are initially displayed with
the most
recent first, you can display them chronologically instead by
choosing
reverse order.
The Query command, Alt+Q, prompts for a "regular expression" for
filtering
the list. The syntax of regular expressions is an advanced topic
that is
beyond the scope of this documentation (many tutorials are
available on
the web). If no punctuation symbols are used, the regular
expression acts
like the keywords search, except that it searches all text of
each message
or user item, not just the part displayed in the list. Various
punctuation symbols have special meaning in a regular expression,
and they
may be used to specify almost any condition or combination of
conditions
for text to be considered a match.
- ----------
Miscellaneous Commands
The Bound command(Alt+B), sets a limit on the number of pages to
be
retrieved from Twitter. The default is 0, meaning no upper
bound. Since
Twitter limits the amount of resources consumed by each user per
minute,
you may wish to use this command if you are running into resource
limits.
An indication of this problem is when no items are retrieved by
McTwit,
even though you are fairly sure that updates are available on
Twitter.com.
The Export command, Alt+E, saves text of the current item -- text
from
both the list and viewing area. The text is appended to a file
called
Export.txt. This file is automatically opened in your default
text
editor after closing McTwit. You can then use the text in other
ways.
Delete the file if you want McTwit to start a new file in the
next
session.
The Yield command, Alt+Y, is a convenience for screen reader
users. It
says the number of items in the list and then reads their text.
The Configure command, Alt+C, lets you change settings such as
your screen
name and password, which are needed for authorization by Twitter.
If this
information is not found when McTwit is loading, you are prompted
for it.
The Help command, Alt+H, presents this documentation in your web
browser.
In addition, a summary of commands is displayed in the viewing
area. This
summary is in the following section.
- ----------
Summary of Commands
McTwit = Alt+ControlM, Launch or activate the McTwit program
Items = Alt+I, Focus on list of messages or users
View = Alt+V, Focus on Additional information about current list
item
New = Alt+N, Display new messages from leaders (friends whom you
follow)
Again = Alt+A, Find the next keywords match in the list
Bound = Alt+B, Set an upper limit on the number of pages returned
(0 means
no limit)
Configure = Alt+C, Change McTwit settings, e.g., user name and
password
Direct = Alt+D, Display direct messages that were sent privately
to you
Export = Alt+E, Save text of the current list item and view to
the file
Export.txt, which is opened after closing McTwit
Followers = Alt+F, Display users who are following you
Go = Alt+G, Open a referenced URL in your web browser
Join = Alt+J, Start following a user
Keywords = Alt+K, Find a list item based on text it contains
Leaders = Alt+L, Display users whom you are following
Messages = Alt+M, Display messages posted publicly by a user
Order = Alt+O, Change the order of list items, e.g., alphabetize
or
reverse them
Public = Alt+P, Display messages in the public timeline
Query = Alt+Q, Filter list items based on a regular expression
Replies = Alt+R, Display public, reply messages to you
Sent = Alt+S, Display direct messages you sent privately to
others
Tweet = Alt+T, Update your status by posting a public message
2Tweet = Alt+2, Tweet with a public reply to another user
Unblock = Alt+U, Unblock a user, so you may be followed
Write = Alt+W, Write a private, direct message to another user
E&Xtra = Alt+X, Display extra information about a user
Yield = Alt+Y, Say the number of list items and read their text
Zap = Alt+Z, Depending on the type of list item, delete a public
tweet or
direct message by you, block a user from following you, or Stop
following
a user
0Items = Alt+0, Clear the list, so queries are based on yourself
1Other = Alt+1, Set or clear the screen name of another user,
which will
be referenced instead of pointing to a list item
Help = Alt+H, Display a summary of commands, hotkeys, and
descriptions
Close = Escape or Alt+F4, Close the McTwit program
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