Reorganizing History Data

[admin]

You might have noted a small decrease in startup speed in the last weeks. This is because of the new large history (512 items in INI file). Therefore I thought about moving the whole history data to a separate file, say history.dat. But since we have tabwise-history now, the history data must not be separated from the tab data! So, the tab data would have to go to history.dat as well. Thinking about that I came to the conclusion that this might even be good (not only because of the increased startup speed), but because of new possibilities to organize configuration data: You could have several INIs with different settings, that share the same tabs and history! Makes a lot of sense to me. User settings / preferences / configuration (or whatever you call it) is of a completely different nature than history data (and tab data are kind of history data as well I'd say). It's like the difference between HOW and WHERE.

So would you agree that it's okay to move history and tab data out of XYplorer.ini to a separate new file called "history.dat"?

PS: The saved MiniTree, of course, what also be in that file. Its size could then be unlimited. Also the history could easily be enlarged to an even larger size without notable performance hits.

[ugus]

You might have noted a small decrease in startup speed in the last weeks. This is because of the new large history (512 items in INI file). Therefore I thought about moving the whole history data to a separate file, say history.dat. But since we have tabwise-history now, the history data must not be separated from the tab data! So, the tab data would have to go to history.dat as well. Thinking about that I came to the conclusion that this might even be good (not only because of the increased startup speed), but because of new possibilities to organize configuration data: You could have several INIs with different settings, that share the same tabs and history! Makes a lot of sense to me. User settings / preferences / configuration (or whatever you call it) is of a completely different nature than history data (and tab data are kind of history data as well I'd say). It's like the difference between HOW and WHERE.

So would you agree that it's okay to move history and tab data out of XYplorer.ini to a separate new file called "history.dat"?

PS: The saved MiniTree, of course, what also be in that file. Its size could then be unlimited. Also the history could easily be enlarged to an even larger size without notable performance hits.

Agree :-)

/Ulrik

[avsfan]

Well, I generally have two open XY windows, each with its own set of tabs (and therefore history). I would really like to be able to keep the history separate between the two windows...

If you're going to have a separate history file, perhaps there could be an option or tweak to have different history-file names, with the default being history.dat and an option of having the history file tied to the ini-file name. For example, if I have an ini called mypictures.ini, its default history file could be mypictures-history.dat (or something like that). This would continue to provide the great flexibility that I love in XY, but would also allow for tab/history sharing (if desired).

Although, your suggestion makes me wonder: with the proposed arrangement, would I be able to replace the contents of one tab with another "stored" tab with its location and history? This could be extremely powerful if this were possible...

I'd love to be able to load a set of tab data i.e. location with specific history -- the way I usually use my tabs, I will have several tabs in each window, generally with each one having its own set of paths that I like to use within it. In fact, it seems to me that if I could lock a tab to allow access only to a specific set of paths, that could be perfect for my workflow. However, this may not work for others (though I imagine that the power of a "tab data set" with initial location and desired paths would soon be one of those features people couldn't live without once they discovered it...)

Just my $.03.... (I hope it's not too disjointed -- I just got carried away thinking about the possibilities!)

thanks!

andy

[RalphM]

If the new data organisation leads the way to an easier way to set up different users with partially the same settings, catalog, tabs and all that, but also allow for the other parts being individual, than it's definitely a go from me.
I would still love to set up XY as the standard information and file management tool in my team at work, but therefore I think a crucial prerequisite would be, to be able to load workgroup settings and user settings and merge them together, something like the template setup in Word.
I think I dreamt (and posted) about the same idea some time ago, but couldn't find that thread right now.

[admin]

Alright, thanks for the comments!

Alas, I still have a problem with the "tabwise find settings" stored in folder FindTemplates. Exporting history can only work seemlessly if those settings are part of it. But this would need a bigger internal restructuring... hmm.

[Stefan]

So would you agree that it's okay to move history and tab data out of XYplorer.ini to a separate new file called "history.dat"?

I find it nifty to have history in an different file, so i can drop them at easy (to get rid of history from other PC f.ex.)

But i suggest to use for extension of the history file 'ini' as well
and prefix them with 'XY' like "XYHISTOR.ini"
to keep them both together and make backup easier (copy XY*.ini .)


And BTW, wouldn't an new command line option like '/hist=%tmp%\xyh.ini' make sense?
I think about starting XY from r/o media like CD-Rom,...
XYplorer.ini could be leaved r/o,
but %tmp%\XYHist.ini could be still used.

[admin]

So would you agree that it's okay to move history and tab data out of XYplorer.ini to a separate new file called "history.dat"?

I find it nifty to have history in an different file, so i can drop them at easy (to get rid of history from other PC f.ex.)

But i suggest to use for extension of the history file 'ini' as well
and prefix them with 'XY' like "XYHISTOR.ini"
to keep them both together and make backup easier (copy XY*.ini .)


And BTW, wouldn't an new command line option like '/hist=%tmp%\xyh.ini' make sense?
I think about starting XY from r/o media like CD-Rom,...
XYplorer.ini could be leaved r/o,
but %tmp%\XYHist.ini could be still used.

The *.ini extension stands for a certain file format, but my plans for history.dat are a different format, namely a proprietary binary format, hence *.dat.

/hist=... yes, might be a good idea. Thinking about it...

[admin]

If the new data organisation leads the way to an easier way to set up different users with partially the same settings, catalog, tabs and all that, but also allow for the other parts being individual, than it's definitely a go from me.
I would still love to set up XY as the standard information and file management tool in my team at work, but therefore I think a crucial prerequisite would be, to be able to load workgroup settings and user settings and merge them together, something like the template setup in Word.
I think I dreamt (and posted) about the same idea some time ago, but couldn't find that thread right now.

Maybe you could explain this a bit more detailed via email. Sounds interesting...

[RalphM]

Maybe you could explain this a bit more detailed via email. Sounds interesting...

I contacted Don by email and he liked the idea and wanted to further discuss it, so here's the idea:

Catalog merging behaviour aka MS templates

Let's say we have three catalog.dat files in different locations with the following meanings/restrictions:
1. X:\someserver\company\catalog1.dat - for entries on company level - r/o for regular users, r/w company admin
2. X:\someserver\company\departmentX\catalog2.dat - for entries on department level - r/o for regular users, r/w department admin
3. C:\<XYappdata>\catalog3.dat - for user specific entries - r/w for the users


Example contents of the three catalog files:

Code: Select all

Catalog1.dat

Scripts
	company-script_1
	company-script_2
	company-script_3
Programs
	company-pgm_1
	company-pgm_2
Company-Info
	company-info_1
	company-info_2
aso

Code: Select all

Catalog2.dat

Scripts
	dept-script_1
	dept-script_2
	dept-script_3
Programs
	dept-pgm_1
	dept-pgm_2
DepartmentX-Info
	dept-info_1
	dept-info_2
aso

Code: Select all

Catalog3.dat

Scripts
	user-script_1
	user-script_2
	user-script_3
Programs
	user-pgm_1
	user-pgm_2
User-Info
	user-info_1
	user-info_2
Links
	user-link_1
	user-link_2
aso

Then for the user, after merging the three catalog files, the catalog would present itself like that:

Code: Select all

User catalog
Scripts
	company-script_1
	company-script_2
	company-script_3
	dept-script_1
	dept-script_2
	dept-script_3
	user-script_1
	user-script_2
	user-script_3
Programs
	company-pgm_1
	company-pgm_2
	dept-pgm_1
	dept-pgm_2
	user-pgm_1
	user-pgm_2
Company-Info
	company-info_1
	company-info_2
DepartmentX-Info
	dept-info_1
	dept-info_2
User-Info
	user-info_1
	user-info_2
Links
	user-link_1
	user-link_2

It would be nice to have some automatic color coding to identify the source of the entries and maybe a way to manage the sort order by LM.

Though the idea of switching catalogs on-the-fly could be a solution as well, as long as we are able, to place the different catalog files in different folders to prevent regular users from changing them.

Similar separations of user editable vs restricted settings could be applied to the tab list, mini trees aso. as well.
These changes would allow to distribute XY within a company more easily.

[RalphM]

Either this thread went unnoticed or nobody but me is interested in this.

Came across MS Visio today again and saw a nice way to implement switching catalogs on the fly, just as another idea: (sorry, German localisation)

hc_022.jpg

LMB click on one of the title bars opens the respective template sheet in Visio, which could be adapted for different catalogs.
To save vertical space, I could also imagine a single row of toolbar buttons doing the same thing.

[j_c_hallgren]

Either this thread went unnoticed or nobody but me is interested in this.

No, I saw it and even though I don't have company setup, I can see value of it.

LMB click on one of the title bars opens the respective template sheet in Visio, which could be adapted for different catalogs.
To save vertical space, I could also imagine a single row of toolbar buttons doing the same thing.

Actually, I could see a sort of a set of mini-tabs at top of Catalog frame with ability to icon them.

[admin]

Please continue dropping ideas. I'm collecting them...

[j_c_hallgren]

Anyway, regarding original thread topic: The only disadvantage I see by moving stuff into history.dat is possible inability to view details of curr setup...I've used the tab data to verify that my two home tabs have the same setup.

[RalphM]

Please continue dropping ideas. I'm collecting them...

*Bump*

Do you need more ideas for this to switch to meditation state over it?

[admin]

Please continue dropping ideas. I'm collecting them...

*Bump*

Do you need more ideas for this to switch to meditation state over it?

No, just more time. After adding the obscenely popular Undo I will reevaluate the next best steps...