XYplorer Beta Club

bug #1 Steps to reproduce:
1. remove all categories from catalog
2. create a category

Results in XYplorer crashing.

bug #2
I noticed that you can add file items into the "favourite folders" category. Meaning that, if you want both categories open all the time, the categories are useless (file or folder is indicated by the icon). But you have to have one whether you want it or not.

As I understand your post in the Fav thread, you're working toward having only one kind of item and no compulsary categories?

Chris Wood wrote:bug #1 Steps to reproduce:
1. remove all categories from catalog
2. create a category

Results in XYplorer crashing.

Yep, fixed. Thanks!

Chris Wood wrote: bug #2
I noticed that you can add file items into the "favourite folders" category.

It's (expected) confusion, not a bug. You are right: the categories are just containers where you can put anything you like. From the catalogs perspective there is no difference at all between folder items and file items: both are internally kept as items of type "location". Later other types will be added ("tab items", "run items").

From the next BETA onwards I will stop the auto-filling of the catalog to avoid this kind of confusion. I'll add an "Import Favorites" command to let you do it when you feel like it. But once again: the Favorites and the Catalog are totally independent from each other.

First of all, really great work you did on the Catalog, well done!

And yeah, I found a little bug Open Properties of a Catalog Item, then close the window using the cross in the titlebar instead of one of the buttons: all properties are lost! Should work like a click on Cancel if you ask me...

Also, I think it'd be nice if when adding a folder its color settings would be filled with the Box color setting (if any) by default, as I used this as a "color scheme" to easilly know where I am on the tree and it makes sense (to me) to wanna use it also on the Catalog, to keep the "color scheme".

I wont ask for the Import of Fav Files I know it's been mention already, but since I understand Favorites (Folders And Files) are now a completely different feature than the Catalog, I would ask again for a couple of things I already had asked but that I'd really wanna see (back) in XY:
- having the toggle fav file option on the ctxt menu of the file !
- having 2 submenus on the ctxt menu on an empty area of the tree (bringing the fav. folders) : Special System Folder & Favorite Files
I know we got the Catalog, but honestly I'll still use this fav ctxt menu (or the copy/move to) because for me & the way I work it'll be easier/faster to do so (most of the time)

A little thing that I'd love to see too: if a right-click on the little square area between the tree's scrollbar would toggle the Catalog.
Yes it's a little area, and only visible if you habve both horiz. & vert. scrollbars on the treeview, I know, but I always have thoose two so this space is always there for me, so I'd love it to be able to use it to toggle the Catalog in a click

(and I wish a right click on the statusbar would also toggle the panel, not show it then switch sizes....)

Don't add stuff to the context menu, unless it's optional. The context menu is the absolutely worst place to add stuff, in accordance with Fitts' law.

Good idea with using the space between scrollbars but it's probably not possible with the normal UI objects.

So Don, will we be able to get rid of categories/category headers if we don't want them?

Chris Wood wrote:Good idea with using the space between scrollbars but it's probably not possible with the normal UI objects.

What "normal UI objects"? In XY almost nothing is normal. The scrollbars themselves are one of the few exceptions, however they grey square between them belongs to me! But I'm not sure if I like jacky's idea: it's not accordance with Lessau's law ("Make it weird, but not too weird").

Chris Wood wrote:So Don, will we be able to get rid of categories/category headers if we don't want them?

Huh? You don't want them? You want everything flat?

jacky wrote:And yeah, I found a little bug Open Properties of a Catalog Item, then close the window using the cross in the titlebar instead of one of the buttons: all properties are lost! Should work like a click on Cancel if you ask me...

It works as it should (like Cancel).

jacky wrote:A little thing that I'd love to see too: if a right-click on the little square area between the tree's scrollbar would toggle the Catalog.

Hm. F8 is not good enough for you? You are a mousy man.

It would be a little weird, but will that weirdness hurt usability? If the button is subtle it shouldn't be any worse than without, so long as there is another way to open the catalog. Opening the catalog isn't a particularly scary action if the user experiments. And to be even nicer, the icon could change (eg. from a down arrow to an up arrow) when the catalog is closed.

admin wrote:Huh? You don't want them? You want everything flat?

Yeah. Categories only serve a useful purpose if you have heaps of items in the catalog. You can tell item types apart by their icons, and even create your own seperators.

admin wrote:Hm. F8 is not good enough for you? You are a mousy man.

F8 is slower, if you have your hand on the mouse, and your other hand isn't hovering above the keyboard.

Chris Wood wrote:Categories only serve a useful purpose if you have heaps of items in the catalog. You can tell item types apart by their icons, and even create your own seperators.

They cannot be removed. Call your one category "Catalog".

Chris Wood wrote:Don't add stuff to the context menu, unless it's optional. The context menu is the absolutely worst place to add stuff, in accordance with Fitts' law.

hmm ok I used the term context menu, but I was referring to the menu when you right-click on an empty area on the treeview. So it's not the ctxt menu of a file or folder, just the one with atm the fav folders only.
That's where I'd like to have submenus for fav files & special folders.

admin wrote:

jacky wrote:And yeah, I found a little bug Open Properties of a Catalog Item, then close the window using the cross in the titlebar instead of one of the buttons: all properties are lost! Should work like a click on Cancel if you ask me...

It works as it should (like Cancel).

hmmm.. Tried with the new v5.0 and yes it does. With last version I had when I used the cross it would loose all the item settings (the unknown filetype icon, no label and something like [no data set] as tooltip) Guess you had it fixed already probably in your version

admin wrote:Hm. F8 is not good enough for you? You are a mousy man.

Indeed Actually it depends.. but yes I'd love to be able to use the mouse for this one.
I can see why its "weird", but now, a (right-)click under the listview, aka on the statusbar, will bring the panel on.

It would kinda be the same with the tree & the Catalog, only since there's no statusbar under the tree, that space is the one left to use. Doesn't looks that weird to me

- have submenus for fav files & special folders.
> here applies the two-fools rule: you are still alone with this wish.

- show/hide catalog
> what are you doing with your other hand? or are you moving the mouse two-handed like björn borg?

jacky wrote:Also, I think it'd be nice if when adding a folder its color settings would be filled with the Box color setting (if any) by default, as I used this as a "color scheme" to easilly know where I am on the tree and it makes sense (to me) to wanna use it also on the Catalog, to keep the "color scheme".

That would make a lot more sense if the catalog item color scheme would auto-react if you change the box color scheme. But maybe you don't want this all the time and with every item... no, sorry, implementing this would be a touch too smart.

jacky wrote:- having the toggle fav file option on the ctxt menu of the file !

Yes, man. Also "Add this item to the catalog" (at current position) would be nice.

But to save space, these should go in one submenu of the ctx menu (preferable in one already existing!). So, where do we put it or how do we call it? (we had this discussion already somewhere...)

admin wrote:- have submenus for fav files & special folders.
> here applies the two-fools rule: you are still alone with this wish.

come on people, I can't be the only one who misses them

admin wrote:- show/hide catalog
> what are you doing with your other hand? or are you moving the mouse two-handed like björn borg?

lol err no not two-handed, but yeah I can do a lot of things with that other hand: not wanna move it from where it is on the keyboard cause it's over some keys I have to use frequently in some operations, holding cofee, or a phone, whatever
I love being able to show/hide panel from a mouse click, and being able to do the same for the Catalog would be great too

admin wrote:That would make a lot more sense if the catalog item color scheme would auto-react if you change the box color scheme. But maybe you don't want this all the time and with every item... no, sorry, implementing this would be a touch too smart.

Yeah ok, so then why not having an optional "Import Color Box Settings" on importing the fav folders?

admin wrote:Yes, man. Also "Add this item to the catalog" (at current position) would be nice.

But to save space, these should go in one submenu of the ctx menu (preferable in one already existing!). So, where do we put it or how do we call it? (we had this discussion already somewhere...)

hmmm the only thing I can see for now would be to rename "Move/Copy/Backup To" to "File Operations", which would have the same submenus (Move, etc) plus thoose two items.

But they are not "File Operations".

admin wrote:But they are not "File Operations".

err.. maybe not technicaly no, but maybe it could fit if you "open" the meaning of "Operations" a bit (or maybe I'm thinking that way cause it could work in French )

What I mean is, one could see the fact that you switch that file from being or not a fav file, or adding it to the Catalog, as an operation regarding that file; even though it ain't an operation in the same sense as copying it...

"File Operations" sounds better than some kind of "File Related" doesn't it?