Filter Combo Box (Filter as you type)

[phatmankerr]

Having defected to DOpus (Directory Opus) about a year ago , I am now back using XYplorer (mainly due to Dons superb implementation of Tags and Comments - Kudos again on that ).

I do find that I really miss 2 features from DOpus.

1. Flatview - I think this was discussed in another thread - but you can replicate this in XY with a simple search anyway.

2. Filter combo box with Filter as you type.

Again I realise you can replicate this in XY in the Location Bar (or Ctrl-M for the Selection Filter) but it is just so much slicker having a seperate combo box on the toolbar just for filters and filter as you type gives you immediate results which is nice.

Anyway just thought I would throw this out there as a wish. Not sure if anybody else agrees (any other secret DOpus users out there ).

Also just thought I would mention that DOpus has a huge number of features but is quite fat (read bloated) - the UI is also extremely customisable (but again it gets tired after a while trying to set it up to look like a proffesional application - XY Already does !). And development on DOpus is pretty slow (you get new releases about every 6 months but they rarely include killer new features - XY wins again - sometimes we get several new features in the space of a couple of weeks - and they are invariably worth having).

[admin]

Are you aware of the "Spot" feature? It might go somewhere in the way of a filter as you type thing... (see http://www.xyplorer.com/release_7.90.htm#0050)

[phatmankerr]

Yep i noticed the spot feature which I started to use, but being a painful user (I work in Software support and often ask why !! users need particular features - but there is usually no rhyme or reason other than their personal preference !) I was put off by not being able to specify the highlight colours.

Plus I really miss the filter as you type functionality (know it is only a small thing, but in use it seems to make a massive difference just not having to hit the enter key every time I change a filter - don't ask why - am slightly obsessed with reducing key strokes - guess thats what happens when you work with data entry software and deal with millions of records !)

Cheers

[admin]

Yep i noticed the spot feature which I started to use, but being a painful user (I work in Software support and often ask why !! users need particular features - but there is usually no rhyme or reason other than their personal preference !) I was put off by not being able to specify the highlight colours.

Plus I really miss the filter as you type functionality (know it is only a small thing, but in use it seems to make a massive difference just not having to hit the enter key every time I change a filter - don't ask why - am slightly obsessed with reducing key strokes - guess thats what happens when you work with data entry software and deal with millions of records !)

Cheers

- specify the highlight colours: I could add that
- spot as you type: I could add that (possibly, I did not think very hard about it)
- filter as you type: I could add that too, but it would mean to fundamentally rewrite my Visual Filter, something I don't want to do right now

[phatmankerr]

Any / all of those options would be excellent.Quite like the idea of Spot while you type I can see that working quite well.

Probably pushing it , but how about a seperate filter combo box without find as you type. Sorry I just like the idea of keeping filters seperate (with a seperate history) as I used to use them quite a lot in DOpus but rarely use them in XY.

Consideration for any of your suggestions would be much appreciated .

Many thanks

[j_c_hallgren]

Are you aware of the "Spot" feature?

From the sidelines...I'm aware of this feature and have tried it and it seems to be a neat thing...however, with the current toolbar/addrbar layout that I have, my AB is SO small (like about 1 inch wide) that it somewhat makes using it more difficult for longer strings...so in order for me to make better use of Spot, I'd love to see a way to expand my AB without reducing the nbr of TB icons I have (which I use often).

I realize that's a separate issue but is related in that having a way to either specify the filter string w/o AB or expand AB by maybe making two rows of TB or whatever would be helpful to this issue also.

[phatmankerr]

AB,

I see your point, I'm actually at the other end of the scale - only have 2 toolbar icons showing so my AB takes up most of the row (hence why a seperate Combo box for filters is a more efficient use of space for me).

Not to dis my own idea, but in your case wouldn't an extra combo box make it worse for you ?
Although I agree that an option to have an additional working area (toolbar row) would be useful.

[j_c_hallgren]

Not to dis my own idea, but in your case wouldn't an extra combo box make it worse for you ?

I was thinking more along the lines of visual filter where via TB>context>dialog, one can specify the desired entry...not maybe the ideal, but workable and could even be a basis for Spot filter via TB/List Mgm.

[avsfan]

This is not *exactly* the issue being discussed, but it's very close...

I use visual filter all the time, and would love to have an incremental search -- much like the Spot functionality, but with the ability to jump to the next occurrence of the found text (like FireFox has)... This would make it much easier to find the file(s) I need without having to constantly change the VF settings...