Attr column not sortable?

Thany · Post by *Thany » 2013-09-02, 09:42 UTC

I know it doesn't make all the sense in the world to sort by attribute, but still, in a directory that has files with lots of differing attributes, I do find myself wanting to sort by attributes sometimes... It seems not possible to do so - clicking on the Attr column depresses it (so it is clickable) but does nothing functionally, it seems.

Is there a specific reason why the Attr column doesn't sort? And can it be enabled?

MVV · Post by *MVV » 2013-09-02, 11:17 UTC

You can create custom column set with field that shows attributes, and it will be sortable.

Thany · Post by *Thany » 2013-09-03, 08:30 UTC

Understood.

But what about the default Attr column? It seems arbitrary that it's not sortable.

Post by *ghisler(Author) » 2013-09-03, 14:55 UTC

There is no logical sort order for the attributes column.

Thany · Post by *Thany » 2013-09-03, 16:30 UTC

Internally (in the win32 API at least) file attributes are a 32-bit integer, iirc. You could sort on that. Wouldn't that work? Otherwise you could alphabetically sort on the way attributes are displayed. Also take a look at how Windows explorer sorts by attributes, and does so alphabetically.

I know it's not perfect, but it seems strange to me when a column is clickable and it doesn't sort. That's the only thing clicking a column normally does. So it looks like a bug when it doesn't work. It's a UX-thing - I care about stuff like that

Also keep in mind that it doesn't neccesarily need to be perfectly logical, as long as it's consistent.