Full filename caption for thumbs + icon overlay like WE?

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j_c_hallgren
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Full filename caption for thumbs + icon overlay like WE?

Post by j_c_hallgren »

Had a JPG with a rather long filename...while switching to thumbnail view, I noticed that it shows only as many characters as current width allows and then uses "..." to show truncation...Win Expl in thumbs view wraps the filename onto multiple lines so that it always shows full filename...

There doesn't appear to be an option available to pick which of these styles one desires...I think that would be best way to handle it, as at times I'd like it truncated to maximize view and other times the full name.

One thing that I DON'T like about WE is when you rename one of these long wrapped names, it does it via multiple lines vs XY which puts it on one long line...so this is advantage for XY!

And second part is: WE shows the icon for that filetype (Paint, etc) in lower right of thumbnails...I don't see that as option in XY...is it there or not? If not, given that it may help in spotting certain file types, could it be added? I presume it should show based on "Show icon" opt setting in case some prefer it not be there.
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jacky
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Re: Full filename caption for thumbs + icon overlay like WE?

Post by jacky »

j_c_hallgren wrote:Had a JPG with a rather long filename...while switching to thumbnail view, I noticed that it shows only as many characters as current width allows and then uses "..." to show truncation...Win Expl in thumbs view wraps the filename onto multiple lines so that it always shows full filename...
Actually, Explorer does show the filename on 2 lines only, then it goes "..." aswell.
The real difference is that when you select/focus a file it then shows its name fully, overriding the line under if needed. I have personally never really liked this behavior, but if possible it could be an option yes. Allthough I don't think XY should change it's current way & go 2 lines, stick on one, gives more thumbs on one "screen" ;)
j_c_hallgren wrote:And second part is: WE shows the icon for that filetype (Paint, etc) in lower right of thumbnails...I don't see that as option in XY...is it there or not? If not, given that it may help in spotting certain file types, could it be added? I presume it should show based on "Show icon" opt setting in case some prefer it not be there.
Don't know what you're talking about here. For me, they both do the same: for a picture, only shows a thumb, and for other file, show the associated icon. With Explorer I don't get no filetype icon for pictures, only the usual thumbnail.
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j_c_hallgren
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Re: Full filename caption for thumbs + icon overlay like WE?

Post by j_c_hallgren »

jacky wrote:Actually, Explorer does show the filename on 2 lines only, then it goes "..." aswell.
The real difference is that when you select/focus a file it then shows its name fully, overriding the line under if needed. I have personally never really liked this behavior, but if possible it could be an option yes. Allthough I don't think XY should change it's current way & go 2 lines, stick on one, gives more thumbs on one "screen" ;)
Yes, you're correct about max 2 lines...I didn't make that clear enough...sorry! And I agree completely about screen space...
However, since there seems to be a few requests lately to make XY more resemble WE, having this strictly as selectable option would, I think, not only make it more compatible for some users, but for file names that need a second line to show how it differs from others, it could be quite useful. And even when file is selected on XY, it doesn't show full name unless you hover over it to view tooltips or have IP Properties on.
j_c_hallgren wrote:And second part is: WE shows the icon for that filetype (Paint, etc) in lower right of thumbnails...
Here's a sample screen print showing what I mean...notice the icons in bottom right corner?
This also show how hidden files appear...(the middle two are hidden)

Image
Still spending WAY TOO much time here! But it's such a pleasure helping XY be a treasure!
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jacky
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Re: Full filename caption for thumbs + icon overlay like WE?

Post by jacky »

Well, first off I'd say that I'm not sure XY should try to mimic Explorer the most. I mean, it is a different application. Sure, having a look&feel of the well-known Explorer is a very good thing, and having some behaviors to be same/close as Explorer is good too, but it sure shouldn't be a rule than XY must be like Explorer in every way or so, I think.

That said, an option to have the full name for the focused&selected item could be added, so could an option to have filenames on two lines. And yeah options are cool ;), but maybe only one of those could be enough?
Or, because using 2 lines instead of one is only nice when filename aren't too long, and thumbs aren't too small, so maybe an option to have it the way it is now, or to show the full names, ie. using as many lines as needed.

The only downside to this would be that not all rows would have the same height, since not all of them would require the same number of lines. Would/could that be a problem?
j_c_hallgren wrote:Here's a sample screen print showing what I mean...notice the icons in bottom right corner?
Yeah, I thought you meant something like this indeed, but I do not have this over here. Looked quickly at the Folder options but didn't find anything. Maybe it's a W2K thing, or some tweak you did on your registry?

Either way, as an icon to see the filetype I personally don't really care for this, and wouldn't want it as it would slow things down a little I suspect ; especially since it coudln't really be cached, or else what would happen when the association has been changed after the thumb was cached?
I can see the use to see if the file's hidden or not, but maybe then just have the whole thumbnail be faded a little, like icons are on Details View...?
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Post by j_c_hallgren »

Mirroring WE is not my primary goal in this request, and agree it's not always desireable...it was that I saw that for file names more than about 20-25 chars (depending on thumb size), that portion of name that may distinguish closely named files may not appear unless one is viewing in list mode, where file name column can be much wider...

I'd like to get some input from Don as to what is easiest to code yet may add as much functionality in this area...because for short file names or those who don't care about truncated, having two lines would be a problem...it's for those odd cases when it would be needed to clarify.

Regarding icons on thumbs: Showing those would be controlled by existing "show icons" option, as these are same icons that show in list mode...and I don't believe that it's a registry mod, but not 100% sure.
Still spending WAY TOO much time here! But it's such a pleasure helping XY be a treasure!
(XP on laptop with touchpad and thus NO mouse!) Using latest beta vers when possible.

jacky
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Post by jacky »

j_c_hallgren wrote:Regarding icons on thumbs: Showing those would be controlled by existing "show icons" option, as these are same icons that show in list mode...
I'd say an extra "Show Icons on Thumnails" would be better. Yes, it's the same icon, but yet it's not really the same. And while I think most of people do have icons on Details/List/etc Views, I'm not sure all of them would like to have that same icon on their thumbs (especially if it slows down things)
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