[REQ] Unified Parameters System

[Flint]

On the Russian forum a new global idea for TC was posted by the user Batya: an extended and unified system of the template parameters (like %P, %N and so on). I've translated the suggestion into English, added some new ideas and put in the Wiki:
http://www.ghisler.ch/wiki/index.php/Unified_Parameters_System

It would be very nice to have it implemented.
Waiting for your suggestions and comments.

[ado]

nice idea, the hell of work

anyway - support from me

[XPEHOPE3KA]

the hell of work

... for Ghisler
Hope, implementing this won't take him very long.

[Sheepdog]

Very nice idea.

support.++

[Hacker]

Looks truly nice indeed.

Support++.

Roman

[XPEHOPE3KA]

Come on, Clo! You are the last moderator to agree with this idea!

[majkinetor !]

Command parameters are much more important than this. Everything noted in this article is just a shortcut for something that can already be done.

Don't get me wrong, this is excelent idea, and I fully support it and I like precise thinking in the article. Command paramters are missing functionality which can not be workarounded....

2x 2ado
"The hell of a work" is preatty big exaggeration. This is simple thing to do (several hours +-)

[Clo]

2XPEHOPE3KA

Hi !

• Why do you say "I agree" ?
- I don't agree , I don't disagree, I don't need, no more, no less.

 KR
Claude
Clo

[Flint]

majkinetor !

Everything noted in this article is just a shortcut for something that can already be done.

Maybe I've misunderstood you, but how all this can be done? I know only one way - macroses, but even macroses can't make absolutely the same things. For example, to take the list of the selected files on the inactive panel, the macros should either use clipboard (with replacing its current content), or call cm_SaveSelection (that causes additional dialogs to appear and disappear)... Both ways are inconvenient.

[Lefteous]

What I really miss are built-in ways to
- start a program with a list of files as parameter
- multiple instances of a program with a single file.

I'm not really sure if this can be done using the suggestion

[Flint]

Lefteous

- start a program with a list of files as parameter

This can be done: with %@ template.

- multiple instances of a program with a single file.

This can't.
Of course, in principle it's possible that on some template (e.g. %#) TC will start several program instances with the parameters specified, but it looks too off the rails. Currently (and in suggested improvement) all the templates are designed so that TC start a program with the list of parameters specified, and some user may think this is always true; so starting several instances instead of one will be a great surprise too him (maybe, very unlike one).

[XPEHOPE3KA]

2Clo

Why do you say "I agree" ?
- I don't agree , I don't disagree, I don't need, no more, no less.

Oh, just for a company

[Lefteous]

2Flint

This can be done: with %@ template.

Thanks I must have missed that. Fine!

Of course, in principle it's possible that on some template (e.g. %#) TC will start several program instances with the parameters specified, but it looks too off the rails. Currently (and in suggested improvement) all the templates are designed so that TC start a program with the list of parameters specified, and some user may think this is always true; so starting several instances instead of one will be a great surprise too him (maybe, very unlike one).

Well when a user adds such a parameter he always has to know the meaning of such a parameter so I don't see the problem here.

Some more detailed comments:

However, the current system of these templates is far from perfect: it is not regular

It's not regular?

%S stands for the source path without the trailing backslash (\) (this is the difference with %P).

Why do I need an extra parameters for this? A trailing backslash is just a static character.

Extended template %L

A bit complicated but okay.

New template %C

I don't see the usefullness here.

New template %@

Full support!

Group 2 (encoding)

8.3 is not really an encoding. I guess something else is intended here.

[Flint]

Well when a user adds such a parameter he always has to know the meaning of such a parameter so I don't the problem here.

I meant that when all the parameters cause TC to start a single program instance with a set of parameters, and only one single template that cause it to start several instances, it may be confusing. But this is only MHO.

Some more detailed comments:

However, the current system of these templates is far from perfect: it is not regular

It's not regular?

No, it is not. For example, how can one suggest that %P on the opposite panel is %T? that %N on the opposite panel is %M? What is the idea of these letters in particular? In the suggested system all this is more regular. You know, for example, that for any template you may add the "!" prefix and it will be the same template but for the opposite panel.

%S stands for the source path without the trailing backslash (\) (this is the difference with %P).

Why do I need an extra parameters for this? A trailing backslash is just a static character.

Yes, it's a static character. But how could you remove it if it is not needed? For example, suggest that some program needs the name of the folder without the trailing backslash (and does not work if the backslash is present). What is one supposed to do without the %S template?

New template %C

I don't see the usefullness here.

I personally don't see it too, but this may be of use for some case. I don't think that I'm able to foresee all the possible situations at once.

Group 2 (encoding)[(quote]
8.3 is not really an encoding. I guess something else is intended here.

Yes, maybe not very good name for the group... I meant that the Group 2 controls the way the file names are written into the file: full names, or short names, or Unicode-formatted names.

[Vochomurka]

macros should either use clipboard (with replacing its current content), or call cm_SaveSelection

Not necessarily. Third way you haven't mention - global variables in script. Most (perhaps everything) of your proposals can be implemented right now with PowerPro or some similar (or more powerful) scripting language.
(BTW, about "replacing content", why not restore the clip after processing the parameters?)