Open Selected Files With

[admin]

How do you like the topic? Strange unusual English? Not enough caffeine?

You know that you can drag-drop files onto catalog items that are applications (EXE files) to have those dropped files opened with that application. Very nice function!

Now I want to add the same functionality to the catalog item's context menu. Here comes the problem: how to call this command? "Open Selected Files With"

BTW, there will be a mouse trick (or MS - Mouse Shortcut) for the command: Ctrl+Shift+Click (onto the catalog item). Works great already here in my sandbox...

[j_c_hallgren]

Am I missing something obvious, or isn't this similar to WE's "Open With" menu option? If so, since that works for WE and is well known, then I'd just use that...

[admin]

Am I missing something obvious, or isn't this similar to WE's "Open With" menu option? If so, since that works for WE and is well known, then I'd just use that...

Well, yeah! Works for me. I think *I* missed the obvious!

EDIT:... almost. The problematic point is that the roles are reversed. The right-clicked item is not opened with, but is opening (some other files).

[j_c_hallgren]

But in that case, your original "Open Selected Files With" is thus also, in theory, incorrect...

The Catalog entry is the EXE (or pointer to), right? So the selected files are being "opened with" that entry? Thus it's a slight variant to WE, but IMO, easily understood...

[admin]

But in that case, your original "Open Selected Files With" is thus also, in theory, incorrect...

The Catalog entry is the EXE (or pointer to), right? So the selected files are being "opened with" that entry? Thus it's a slight variant to WE, but IMO, easily understood...

Yes, if you know what it means. But common usage of "Open with" is that the owner of the context menu is opened, not opening... It's expected to be the patient, not the agent of the action. That's why I suggested to make the patient explicit by saying "Open Selected Items With"... but it sounds strange to me (but I'm non-English, so maybe it is not so strange...).

[RalphM]

Just my two cents: Why don't you use "Use (this) to open selected files"

[jacky]

Yes, if you know what it means. But common usage of "Open with" is that the owner of the context menu is opened, not opening... It's expected to be the patient, not the agent of the action. That's why I suggested to make the patient explicit by saying "Open Selected Items With"... but it sounds strange to me (but I'm non-English, so maybe it is not so strange...).

I think I agree with jc, but Don is right too

I think your original wording is good, but the confusing part is that, like the Explorer's "Open With..." you let it "opened".

In other words, IMO, it probably should be "Open Selected Items With..." (<pita>btw it should be item not file </pita>) but something more like "Open Selected Items With This Item" -- although one might say it doesn't sound so cool...

Or maybe drop the "open" and go with something like "Start/Launch And Open Selected Items" ?

[jacky]

BTW nice idea here, Don.
And while I'm there, let me mention again I would also love to see the "Scroll here" command added on Catalog Items' context menu

[mwb1100]

Just my two cents: Why don't you use "Use (this) to open selected files"

I like this wording as well (with out the 'this').

[j_c_hallgren]

Or maybe drop the "open" and go with something like "Start/Launch And Open Selected Items" ?

This definitely has potential! Since it makes it real clear, I think, that this catalog item will be executed and then the selected items will be opened via it...

It also reads cleanly, and isn't that lengthy...

[admin]

Or maybe drop the "open" and go with something like "Start/Launch And Open Selected Items" ?

This definitely has potential! Since it makes it real clear, I think, that this catalog item will be executed and then the selected items will be opened via it...

It also reads cleanly, and isn't that lengthy...

Yes, this is good. Only I'm not sure about Launch or Start. I think "Run" would be more common and also it would implicitly make clear that this command is only available for EXE files (you can launch a TXT file, but you cannot run a TXT file, right?). So I would suggest:
"Run And Open Selected Items"
OR:
"Run to Open Selected Items" ?

[j_c_hallgren]

Of those two, I'd prefer maybe a variant "Run, and Open selected items" but I also (in the meantime) thought of "Open selected items using this program" (or similar), which differs in the "using" compared to "with"...downside is the length of this.

[admin]

Of those two, I'd prefer maybe a variant "Run, and Open selected items" but I also (in the meantime) thought of "Open selected items using this program" (or similar), which differs in the "using" compared to "with"...downside is the length of this.

After I built in it, looked at it, tried it, ... I found that "selected items" is already ambiguous/misleading because you automatically think of selected catalog items (even if it is nonsense) when you see this in the catalog context menu!

So I went yet another way:
"Open Selected List Item(s)"
This makes it 100% clear which items are going to be opened, and leaves open what app will be opening them. But the latter should be totally clear to you because you just clicked on this app.

It also works nicely when you see the two top commands of the menu:

Open
Open Selected List Item(s)

The first just opens the app and nothing else, the second opens it and loads the selected items. Works for me.

[jacky]

Code: Select all

      (2) Ctrl+Shift+Click an application item. 
          Note: The application will open minimized or in the 
          background. This is not a feature but apparently a side-effect 
          of something -- I was surprised by this but can't do anything 
          about it.

Yeah, Windows "feature" I think: this is because when holding Shift and starting an app it will be on the background. Just like if you hold Shift while dbl-clicking on an EXE it will start in the background too.

I believe if you switched to something else, like maybe Ctrl+Alt+Click instead, there wouldn't be the problem.

[admin]

Code: Select all

      (2) Ctrl+Shift+Click an application item. 
          Note: The application will open minimized or in the 
          background. This is not a feature but apparently a side-effect 
          of something -- I was surprised by this but can't do anything 
          about it.

Yeah, Windows "feature" I think: this is because when holding Shift and starting an app it will be on the background. Just like if you hold Shift while dbl-clicking on an EXE it will start in the background too.

I believe if you switched to something else, like maybe Ctrl+Alt+Click instead, there wouldn't be the problem.

No, surprisingly it happens with any key pressed + mouse click. When you start the happing by Ctrl+Shift+Enter there is no problem. So it is not "holding Shift and starting an app"...