XYplorer Beta Club

Hi Flux,

I've just happened to realize that my both most often "called" sessions (actually, I'm toggling them) are 4 sessions apart in the menu.

Request: do you think you can add an additional key to the ini allowing to overwrite the natural alphabetical sort order? I don't need any GUI support, just a sort of an ini-tweak to set up my individual order of existing sessions.


Thanks & cheers,
Filehero

Hi back!
The ability to reorder the list of sessions? Hmmm... Great idea!

Well, I really must take the time to fully rewrite the first post... My next step I guess.
In the meantime, here's the Session Manager v2.6 beta1 update with 2 new cool features!

Changelog:
+ Added a "Temporary Session"
+ Added ability to reorder sessions list
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Details

• Temporary Session:
Added a "Save Temporary Session" entry for those times when you temporarily want to switch between sessions without updating your current one.
- The Temporary Session is added at the bottom of the list on its own line.
- It can be deleted (when not in use) via the generic "Delete Sessions...", or the dedicated "Options... " > "Delete Temporary Session".

• Reorder List of Sessions:
Clicking on "Options..." > "Reorder List of Sessions" opens a window where you can reorder your sessions.
- Write one session name per line.
- Write "-" on one line to create a separator. Note that if one or more separator is used, a dotted line is automatically added on top of the sessions list to visually differentiate it.
- To reset the list order to the default alphabetical order, simply erase everything.
- By default, the list is populated with all sessions in alphabetical order (though it's purely visual, nothing is written or used in the INI).
- But you don't have to write the name of all sessions to reorder them: the sessions whose name is written will be displayed first, then all remaining sessions will be displayed in alphabetical order. So if you only want one session to be on top, erase everything and just write its name.

Hope you like it!
Flux

Flux, yes I do like it...very nice. Thanks,
Ken

Hi Flux,

FluxTorpedoe wrote: Changelog:
+ Added a "Temporary Session"
+ Added ability to reorder sessions list

thanks for adding session reordering (though I prefer to mess with the ini file. ).
It's funny, I've been having a "Temp"-session for quite some time.

Both features are working flawlessly! Again, thanks for maintenance.


Cheers,
Filehero

Hi Flux,

your SM has become my "goto" script (together with the SimpleUpdater) - it has even completely rendered my LayoutManager literally useless.

But there's one thing I'm struggling more and more with every new function added: what's the precise meaning of the different session icons/symbols and their combinations?

In the menu icon column I note three different star icons (both the orange and blue 'five-edged', and the smaller orange 'multi-edged'), additionally there are the "•" and "¤" chars.
Don't get me wrong, SM is intuitive just by focusing on the plain menu. But to an old brain like me these "annotations" really start to become confusing every once in a while (for some examples just see the images attached).



Cheers,
Filehero

Thanks for the feedback, guys!

Filehero wrote:what's the precise meaning of the different session icons/symbols and their combinations?

Pertinent question indeed... Basically "star" means "active session".

But here's the full theory:
- Yellow star icon = active session without layout
- Blue star icon = active session with layout
- Layout icon (*) = inactive session with layout (also used for and in the layout menu)
- • suffix (**) = (active or inactive) session with layout

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(*) Layout icon: I have only WinXP to try things on, and I want to propose internal icons if possible; this icon's retrieved from iframe.dll and is supposed to look like a small tabbed layout. I recently tried it on a Win7 where it looked like... unknow stuff, so I know it has to be changed, and I found one much better alternative in Win7 shell32 (but couldn't try it "live") - but it's the first time I see the "orange spiky sun"!
An update shall come when I'm able to try things.

(**) •: Used as an extra-safety visual sign that layout is/will be changed, and in case of missing/problematic icons.
Also used in the "Delete Sessions..." dialog to identify layout sessions.

EDIT: I just realized I had broken my icon detection for "active session with layout" a while ago.
- It's supposed to be a blue star icon by default (working),
- but to use the SessionManager icon if one is present in the same folder with the same name (e.g. SessionManager.ico for SessionManager.xys) (fixed in next version).

Extra symbol:
- ¤ = bad idea which will be removed
It was to make the Temporary session stand out a little because I didn't like it "left aligned" like the other sessions.
I just renamed "¤ Temporary Session ¤" as "- Temporary Session -" and it's already more coherent.
I could leave only "Temporary Session" which would be logical name-wise, but it doesn't look or feel right being on the same level as the other sessions... I can't help trying to juggle between consistency, visual appeal, visual performance, etc.

So I'm open to remarks on this point or any other...

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Filehero wrote:your SM has become my "goto" script

Well... the more I use XYplorer, the more I'm wondering how Windows users can work without it!
And... the more I use SessionManager, the more I'm wondering how XYplorer users can work without it!
Just kidding... but I'm serious!

User feedback made it evolve a lot since my first internal version... So that's why if anyone has other great ideas to implement (while trying not to make it a bloatscript), you're more than welcome!

Hi Flux,

thanks for elaboration. I have to (re)do a deeper look at all my session configs, I suppose.

As for the temp session name: I could live without any additional 'marker' char since it's already emphasized by the menu separator. But I also can easily live with it.

Cheers,
Filehero

Hi'
Though I use Session Manager all the time without a problem, I took a little time to torture-test it and found a few things to arrange.

Session Manager v2.6b4 - Changelog
* Relocated the entry "Layout loading: ON/OFF" from main menu to "Layout Tools" submenu. Reason: with the new possibility to reorder sessions with separators, the main menu was getting too crowded.
* Rename the "Temporary Session" without its weird ¤ signs
* Enhanced icon auto-selection for active session with layout
* Enhanced icon auto-selection for layouts and for inactive sessions with layout, in anticipation of Win7/Win8 (couldn't test yet under Win7)
! Fixed the new "Reorder List of Sessions" function, with newly added sessions possibly not visible
! Fixed half-toggling of NavigationPanel/Tree/Catalog, when switching between sessions with layouts, in very rare conditions. Well, as of now it seems rock-solid here. I'm only waiting to try it under Win7 and choose a better-suited icon for the layouts, before I label it v2.7
Then I shall work on rewriting the first post with screenshots as examples...
...Unless some of you come with brilliant ideas to implement!

In any case, if you have any question or remark regarding its use, please don't hesitate to ask !

Have a nice day,
Flux

Hi Flux,

quick test after updating: all my basic functionality still seems to work.

However, my temp session is still displayed as "¤ Temporary Session ¤" in the menu, as confirmed by looking up the ini. Note: removing the "¤"'s from the ini's section name doesn't have any obvious effect over here.


Cheers,
Filehero

Filehero wrote:However, my temp session is still displayed as "¤ Temporary Session ¤" in the menu

And that's because the Temporary Session is Tempo... wait for it... rary!
Couldn't help it!

So no need to mess with the ini (I never touch it myself) - though you're free to do so, ofc.
After you're done with the the temporary session and delete it (when not active, in "Delete Sessions..." or "Options | Delete Temporary Session"), next time you re-save a Temporary Session, it will have its name fixed.

This is brilliant. Have just started using it, and it's awesome, an incredibly boost in speed, efficiency, ease of use

Any rating scales in this forum or karma points? This is bound to become the most useful script in the general category, an overall improvement. Hard to imagine anyone could not benefit from it.

That being said, don't hesitate to ask if you have any question, or any idea for improvement.

@all
Foretaste: to celebrate the next v2.7, I've changed the code to facilitate direct access from KeyboardShortcuts or from personal Menus.
Will be available as easy direct access: Reset Session, Reset Layout to Default, and Save Temporary Session.

The "Reset Layout to Default" is specially useful if you want a quick "visual reset" when you have other buttons that "break" your standard layout(s) (e.g. by displaying single branch view with thumbs).

FluxTorpedoe wrote:

Filehero wrote:However, my temp session is still displayed as "¤ Temporary Session ¤" in the menu

And that's because the Temporary Session is Tempo... wait for it... rary!
Couldn't help it!

It's ok. I just wondered why I had to delete a session just to update it's name irrespective of the session's nature. Anyways, it worked.


Cheers,
Filehero

Hey Flux,

Have I told you lately your SessionManager is simply great. The more I use it, the more I want to use it.

A couple of comments, definitely not big issues. I've been using it quite a bit today especially since Don came out with the "Dual" Pane additions. I noticed it wasn't saving my layout arrangements like I thought it was until I realized I had the Layout Loading off. Now that I turned it "on" all is fine as far as saving dual pane arrangement and other layout aspects. Your script changes the main menu after setting Layout Loading "on" to indicate "Reset Session (and Layout)..." and "Update Session (and Layout)...". Why I didn't realize it wasn't saving Layout (i.e., before knowing about the menu change), is because when the optional confirmation box comes up asking if you want to update/save your current session as seen in my screen capture below, the text says "You're currently using session (with layout)" so it leads an inexperienced user to Session Manager to believe the session is being saved with the layout.In reality, the layout isn't being saved because "Layout Loading" is off. Should that confirmation box be different when Layout loading is "OFF" such that "(with layout)" is not there? Or maybe just don't include "(with layout)" for either case. It's a nit-pick, but it can be a bit confusing to new users when there not yet aware that the main menu changes to indicate "Update Session (and Layout)" when Layout loading is "on". I've now reread your explanations for blue vs. gold stars and that certainly helps.

The other very minor nit-pick is the use of the ">" after "Layout Tools" and "Options" in the main menu. On my screen they don't align vertically and I think the menu would look a bit more professional if you simply stayed with the "..." as you use in the other menu items. Edit: As a follow-up to the above after using Session Manager on my laptop for quite awhile, I find that the setting "Layout loading: On" is exactly what it says. It's telling Session Manager whether you want to load the layouts with the session which evidently has nothing to do with whether you want layouts saved when you're updating the sessions. I discovered that it was only when I clicked on "Update Layout of Current Session" under Layout Tools that the layouts were actually being saved with the sessions and along with that, the "(and Layout)" appears next to the Update Session" in the main menu.

To be honest Flux that seems a bit odd, in that "Update Layout of Current Session" is not a "setting" like you have for "Layout loading" that gets a check mark. It's worded such that the user simply thinks he's saving the layout at that point in time when he clicks on it (which may be the case as well) and not like he's making a "setting" change which will thereafter, save the layouts when updating the session. Tell me if I'm miss-understanding, but if that's the case, wouldn't that menu item "Update Layout of Current Session" be better worded as "Save Layouts with Session Updates" or similar as a setting and if need be, you could gave a separate menu item for "Save Layout" now, though it's probably not necessary.

Thanks for a great script,
Ken

Hi there!

Filehero wrote:It's ok. I just wondered why I had to delete a session just to update it's name irrespective of the session's nature.

Hmmm you have a point there! I'd given the Temporary Session a different status so it would always appear at the bottom of the list whether people reorder their sessions or not. But then it shouldn't be "renamable" (else it's not a temporary session anymore!).
- So I greyed out the "Rename Session..." entry for the Temporary Session.
- But for the tweakers out there that don't like its current name/symbols, I used a single var for it internally: $PRE_TmpSession , so you can change it where it's first defined.
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klownboy wrote:the text says "You're currently using session (with layout)" so it leads an inexperienced user to Session Manager to believe the session is being saved with the layout.

That shouldn't appear indeed! It's something I'd overlooked (I must admit I use sessions so often that I work with Confirmation OFF). Fixed.
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klownboy wrote:The other very minor nit-pick is the use of the ">" after "Layout Tools" and "Options" in the main menu. On my screen they don't align vertically and I think the menu would look a bit more professional if you simply stayed with the "..." as you use in the other menu items.

I love nitpicking , and I would dislike the misalignment too! But it wouldn't be logical to use "..." (not the same meaning, these entries open a popup menu, not a dialog), so I used TAB instead of spaces and now it should be aligned whatever the font. Fixed.
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... After that, you lost me...
I'll make another post to clear things.