XYplorer Beta Club

Just noticed that XYplorer does not have 'undo' button (ctrl+z) while explorer does.

That has been noticed before. But it will be noticed again.

Yep, it was noticed here, for instance.

This is the number #1 thing I miss from Explorer, now that XYplorer has nice thumbnails. I doubt I'm alone in this - undo is incredibly useful for when you change your mind about deleting a file... *shudders at Recycle bin*

Yay! Noticed again! I've just accidentally dropped a folder from the tree somewhere on the catalog and went "hey, where's undo!?" :-D

Also... did anyone notice that most links to previous topics are broken? Just replacing the /forum/ bit in the url with /xyfc/ seems to work tough...

The problem with Undo for file operations is: it's a lie. Hence I never bothered to add it.

Why? Necessary information may get lost that cannot be recovered. Think of overwritten files... Here Undo is like a safety belt that does not work when you need it the most.

But...there are many cases where an undo of only the last function could be done...such as a rename of a folder, or a copy to a new location, or delete to recycle bin...Win Explorer doesn't always allow Undo...it depends on what was done...

In the case of accidentally dropping a folder somewhere in the folder tree, it's only a matter of searching for the folder to find it again. Either by name or by creation date (if you don't remember the name). Using undo is of course more convenient if it can be implemented reliably. If not, the file manager could alternatively just log all actions and let the user reverse the operations manually if needed. But of course, logging will necessarily have an impact on general performance.

Accidentally overwriting a file is worse, but avoidable as long as the file manager asks for confirmation first. Confirmation dialogs provide the necessary safety belt for irreversible actions. The user shouldn't expect to be able to undo an operation that has been explicitly stated as irreversible and granted permission to execute. Consequently, I don't see undo as an illusion of safety, but rather as a convenient roll-back for safe operations.

kimsnarf wrote:In the case of accidentally dropping a folder somewhere in the folder tree, it's only a matter of searching for the folder to find it again. Either by name or by creation date (if you don't remember the name). Using undo is of course more convenient if it can be implemented reliably. If not, the file manager could alternatively just log all actions and let the user reverse the operations manually if needed. But of course, logging will necessarily have an impact on general performance.

Accidentally overwriting a file is worse, but avoidable as long as the file manager asks for confirmation first. Confirmation dialogs provide the necessary safety belt for irreversible actions. The user shouldn't expect to be able to undo an operation that has been explicitly stated as irreversible and granted permission to execute. Consequently, I don't see undo as an illusion of safety, but rather as a convenient roll-back for safe operations.

Wow again! Well said, man. I'm already melting. In fact I like the word "roll-back" -- it's somehow less pretentious than "undo" because it conveys that something has to be done and not undone (which can happen only in a fantasy world).

So, I added roll-back to my list!

kimsnarf wrote:... Consequently, I don't see undo as an illusion of safety, but rather as a convenient roll-back for safe operations.

Ok, I'm willing to add an Undo that's as good as Undo can get.

But here's a tricky one: you move folder X from folder Y into folder Z that already has a subfolder X. Comes a prompt "You want to overwrite X and all its contents". Click OK. Now, what can we undo here?

Action:
- Move X from Y to Z
Undo:
- (a) Move X from Z to Y: bad! deletes Z/X
- (b) Copy X from Z to Y: not good! Y/X and Z/X both are different from before
- (c) No Undo

I guess (c)... ?

I tried to set this up in its most simple state under Win Explorer..
Created a new empty folder X within folder A..
Created a new empty folder X within folder B...
Cut A\X and pasted into B...
Got the "do you want to replace etc?"
Said yes...then used "Undo"...
The initial result was that B\X became B\New Folder

Then repeated above but also created a TXT file within both A\X & B\X before cut/paste...on Undo, it prompts/deletes the TXT file within B\X...

So I'd use as much as possible the same scheme as Undo in Win Expl...

Just want to revive this topic because i am getting old and making more mistakes . I guess undo is on your list. or??

admin wrote:The problem with Undo for file operations is: it's a lie. Hence I never bothered to add it.

Why? Necessary information may get lost that cannot be recovered. Think of overwritten files... Here Undo is like a safety belt that does not work when you need it the most.

The only way to do this would be to cache the files you overwrite, which while fine for small amounts of small files, becomes impossible if you're overwriting a few gigs of data.

surrender wrote:Just want to revive this topic because i am getting old and making more mistakes . I guess undo is on your list. or??

Yes, but the list is getting old, too.

I wouldn't expect XY Undo to be able to undo everything, just the same that Win Expl can...like removing a newly created file/folder, or a 'delete' to recycle bin, or a file rename...I'm not sure of exactly what all WE can undo and what it can't, but matching its abilities would be sufficient for me..

Here here JC