User:Martijn Scheffer/sandbox

Martijn Scheffer is a Belgian software engineer, who worked at Highware on Security Software from 1985 to 2000, where he wrote FileGuard a utility to encrypt and add access rights to disks, folders and files, long before those were part of operating systems.

Then, in April 1989, realizing that, as he could encrypt and decrypt files without applications even noticing, he could do the same with any file format, so he worked on automatic file format translation allowing applications to open files from other applications, seamlessly, and allowing applications to save files in other formats.

This was later called "Macintosh Easy Open"

Later, in September 1989, he added a new feature to his project, using the file format translation software to allow to drop any type of file on any application window.

In June 1990 he added the code that allowed to go the other way, allowing the user to select data in any application window, and drop it on another window, in the same application, or on the desktop, on a folder, or on the icon of another application.

Apple France, who organized the yearly "Trophée Apple" a competition for software developers in french speaking Europe rewarded the software with the prize for best Utility and the "Grand Prix" given when all 12 jurors agreed.

Soon after they invited Martijn to a trip to Cupertino, to help him finish the software, and ensure that it would be compatible with System 7, the soon to be released new version of Mac OS.

Apple soon offered to buy the technology and idea, to integrate it with a future version of Mac OS, "Macintosh Drag and Drop" was released as a part of system 7.5

the term "Drag and Drop" was coined by Mike Stearn who worked for the Human Interface team.

Drag and Drop also included a "Viewer" a tool to view documents directly in the Finder, by tapping the space bar, and a recommendation to software developers to provide their own file format translators, so that, in the end, any application would be able to open any type of document.

early prototypes of what would become drag and drop allowed any application to open any type of document, a graphical application, like Mac Paint, or Photoshop could open any text or spreadsheet, or even a database.

any application that was able to display images, that includes word processors, was able to open any type of image.

Apple had to abandon this part of the project because of pressure from John Warnock, the CEO of Adobe who was going to release PDF and didn't want any competition, they told Apple they would stop developing Photoshop if Apple went thru with it.

16 years later Apple added QuickLook to Mac OS X 10.5