I have a few thoughts to improve the functionality of the macOS version of RM. I am using the trial version. These notes are suggestions to consider for improvements of RM toward consistency with macOS UI guidelines.
- I installed the app by the standard method to drag+drop into the Applications folder. I started the app. I created an .rmtree file with some content. I saved and quit the app. I then tried to open the app by double-clicking on the .rmtree file. The file was not registered with RM as the default app to open the document.
- Continuing above, I did a Get Info on the .rmtree file. I set RM as the default app to launch all .rmtree apps. I then double-clicked on the .rmtree file. The RM app opened, and I got the dialog below to choose the Essentials version. After this, the app did not open the .rmtree file that I selected. Instead, I was presented with the opening window as though using the app for the first time (the second image).
- Consider the dialog boxes such as the ones below that note features required by the paid version. They offer two options to close/cancel the dialog, the standard macOS red corner button and a Close button. The two approaches give two different results. The red button closes and falls back to the main RM window. The Close button cancels/closes and falls back to the current front view window. Also, macOS UI guidelines suggest to have only one method for users to leave a modal dialog panel. Since the dialog has actions (i.e. not just a warning) for the user to choose, the button should instead by titled as Cancel not Close. Some macOS fanatics might argue to remove the red button icon on this modal dialog (keeping the Cancel button). I’d suggest at least to remove the green expand-the-window button on all modal dialog windows. And, if keeping both a standard macOS red-icon button (close window) and a Cancel button (cancel actions and close window), have both cases fall back to the currently active front window.
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Continuing also about how to close windows, the window to edit a person has both a standard macOS red-close button icon as well as a Close button on the bottom right. By macOS standards, these windows should use only the red-button icon without the Close button on the bottom right.
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Finally, macOS conventions put two menu options in the applications menu: About RootsMagic and Check for Updates. Below is the RM approach. Following it is an example for a macOS-only app (Curio) as well as a cross-platform app (Obsidian) (which fails only in hiding its Check for Updates also within its internal app settings).
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JJW