XYplorer Beta Club

How about improve the favorites system by making quicker access to favorites? The current interface for accessing favorites is too much hassle for 2 reasons...

Problems...
A) The toolbar drop down button is a 2-click hassle [when it could be 1-click].
B) The file menu is a 3-click hassle [when it can be 2-click].

Solutions...
A) 1-click solution for toolbar. Add a favorites toolbar that displays favorites as buttons. Also, if possible, allow it to be a seperate toolbar that can be dragged to a seperate row or be combined with the current toolbar row.
B) 2-click solution for file menu. Add another dedicated favorites menu that shows our favorites directly--like how it is done in web browsers. Change the name of the current favorites menu to '"favorites options".

Need some clarification here...
1) You say "file menu"...you mean "Favorites" on menubar?
2) The existing Favorites is only 2 clicks (as I see it) since the 1st click opens it, and the 2nd selects the desired item...selecting choice of folders/special/files is done via hover...
3) How would you handle the choice of folders/special/files? I use all three and thus I don't use a TB icon...well, also because I've got no room on TB to waste..
4) You say to display them as buttons...how would that work, given that to uniquely indentify a given item (for me) requires a minimum of 30+ chars of a path/name being seen?

here is a sample screenshot from my previous file manager. notice how favorites are quicker to access directly. similar to a web browser.

TsunamiZ wrote:here is a sample screenshot from my previous file manager. notice how favorites are quicker to access directly. similar to a web browser.

So is there a good reason (or something obvious I'm missing) why this wish (now that I see the screenshot) almost duplicates a prior thread of yours that was active recently? Here's the link to that one: http://www.xyplorer.com/xyfc/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4461
Or why this shouldn't/couldn't have been a continuation of that one?

And can't much of what you want be done via existing CTB's? It would seem likely though I'm not 100% sure how to best do so.

making favorites buttons with the toolbar buttons is a partial workaround for now. but this specific request has more useful advantages. such as auto updating favorites buttons that correspond to the favorites set in the menu, etc. i think the current favorites system is too buried and not as convenient as it should be.

btw: this thread covers the issue differently, that's why i started a new thread. maybe it would make sense to move some of the old info from the old thread into this one, not sure.

also, improving the favorites menu is just as important as the toolbar. because when xyplorer is sized down with the toolbar buttons cut off, the favorites menu serves as an alternative way to access favorites.

TsunamiZ wrote: the favorites menu serves as an alternative way to access favorites.

BTW, all that I'm seeing in your example is favorite folders but not files or special folders...what about them? Without those sub-groups, it's not a complete set of favorites (to me)...and they shouldn't be mixed it with folders so you'd still have a nested selection situation which isn't much different from current..

Not trying to argue but just wanting to cover all aspects here, ok?

for that i would suggest having multiple favorites menus if necessary. such as "favorite folders", "favorite files", "favorites options", etc. so they can all have direct convenient access instead of being buried as they currently are.

TsunamiZ wrote:Problems...
A) The toolbar drop down button is a 2-click hassle [when it could be 1-click].
B) The file menu is a 3-click hassle [when it can be 2-click].

Uh, no. Both are one-click. Mouse down --- select item --- mouse up.

actually by number of clicks, im also referring to the amount of mouse stops or points of movement. so the current favorites system is still slower to navigate and use than the suggested improvement.

btw: i also refer to them as clicks because im usually too impatient to wait for the slight delay for the menus to auto popup between steps. so i click-click-click on them.

TsunamiZ wrote:for that i would suggest having multiple favorites menus if necessary. such as "favorite folders", "favorite files", "favorites options", etc. so they can all have direct convenient access instead of being buried as they currently are.

And I would see that as a total waste of screen space, especially as there are three sub-categories of favorites so having them as submenus makes perfect sense..

Following that logic, then instead of Move/Copy/Backup being submenus they would each have unique menu items...and that makes no sense AFAIC.

there is plently of screen space for the menu. its not a matter of whether they are already logically organized. quicker and more convenient access to the favorited items are more important--and thats what im suggesting. bring them up level.

also, i wouldn't mind having any custom favorite items as 1 categorty. in fact, i would prefer it.