Mouse back behaviour since 9.5x (was about thinning + HistoryCut)

[thed0g]

Hello,

I've updated to 9.50 today, since I don't use beta versions in production and what stood out the most was the changed behaviour of navigating between folders using the forward and back buttons on a mouse. The mouse is a Logitech M500, Windows drivers.

In TC 9.50, if I have this hierarchy of folders:

[..]
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]

If I enter folder [1] then press Back mouse key, I get back to the root, where I can see all 4 folders. When I enter folder [2] next, then press the Back mouse key, I get thrown to folder [1].

Wtf?

When I press Back mouse key again, I finally leave folder [1] and get back to root. When I open folder [3], then press Back mouse key, I get thrown to folder [2], then [1], then root. What is this sorcery? Windows Explorer certainly doesn't behave like that. One might argue that there's something similar from a web browser, but Folders aren't linked together just because they reside in the same parent folder. You can have 10 .html websites with same parent root, but if you didn't visit page [2] from a URL on page [1], you won't be thrown to [1] when going back.

I've never in 25 years of using Windows OS seen this behaviour. It also doesn't make any common sense from a real life paradigm. If I take a folder [1] from a shelf with 4 folders, put it back on, then open folder [2], I don't expect folder [1] to magically appear in my hand.

Please make some opt-in option to bring back old behaviour in the settings.

[Stefan2]

Hi and welcome.


I don't know it that is really related, but look up "thinning" in history.txt or in the forum.

and

Please try this new option (TC9.50) in wincmd.ini section [Configuration]
HistoryCut=1

It should handle the history similar to TC 9.22.

HTH?

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EDIT:

Re: Back button not working as expected (was about thinning + HistoryCut)
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=57551&p=369720#p369720
Post by *ghisler(Author) » Sun Feb 09, 2020 10:58

This isn't a bug. It's a unification of behaviour (which btw has nothing to do with history thinning).
In TC 9.22a, when you went back in the history via button bar "<-" or Alt+Cursor left, and then switched to a diferent directory, the entire history behind that point was lost. That's how it also works in a Web browser. But Total Commander isn't a Web browser, it's a file manager. Losing the previously visited directories is not nice.
Also in TC 9.22a, if you picked a directory from the dropdown history (triangle button or Alt+Cursor down) put that directory at the end of the history. So when you then went to a different directory, the history wasn't lost.

TC 9.50 tries to unify this: when you go to a previous directory via button bar "<-" or Alt+Cursor left, and then go somewhere else, that new directory is appended to the history so the history beyond that location isn't lost any more. This is more similar to what happens when you use the dropdown history in TC 9.22a or 9.50.

 

[Horst.Epp]

Whatever your mouse software does, TC behaves correctly if it gets the real Backspace key !
So your mouse software is sending the key which maps to TCs "cm_GoToPreviousDir".
This goes thru the history and it does this since its very fist version and never changed it in any way.
If you want the behaviour of the backspace key map it into you mouse software.

[thed0g]

I don't know it that is really related, but look up "thinning" in history.txt or in the forum.

Please try this new option (TC9.50) in wincmd.ini section [Configuration]
HistoryCut=1

It should handle the history similar to TC 9.22.

Yes! Thank you, this brought back the behaviour as I wished for.

[Hacker]

[mod="Hacker"]Moved to the English forum.[/mod]

[Hacker]

Christian,
Not sure if having HistoryCut=0 as the default is really a good idea.

Roman

[ghisler(Author)]

The problem with the old behaviour was that (as in a web browser) you would lose your complete history by going back to the beginning of the history, and then changing to some other directory.

[Hacker]

Christian,
That is true, but as you note, everyone knows this from web browsers (and from all the previous versions of TC), so this is actually expected behavior.

Roman

[thed0g]

The problem with the old behaviour was that (as in a web browser) you would lose your complete history by going back to the beginning of the history, and then changing to some other directory.

Well, the thing is that the comparable paradigm for TC isn't the Web browser, but the default "file manager" which for the Windows platform is Windows Explorer. There's no such behaviour there either, so I'm not suprised there are 3 different threads with confused users about this change already and they surely won't be the last ones.

Such "cheese moving" change should optimistically be implemented via "opt-in", then perhaps gradually switching to the default based on feedback. But even then putting a message to the user about the new default and if they're not satisfied, making it a GUI option in the program "Configuration" menu.

[ghisler(Author)]

The question is how to preserve the history order and still not lose the newer history entries. Maybe re-ordering them somehow?

[Hacker]

Christian,
Well, the only thing that comes to mind is appending the landing directory of Alt-Left to the history, i.e.:

Code: Select all

C:\             - History appends C:\
Enter C:\Alpha\ - History appends C:\Alpha\
Alt-Left        - History appends C:\
Enter C:\Beta\  - History appends C:\Beta\
Alt-Left        - History appends C:\

History entries at the end:

Code: Select all

C:\
C:\Alpha\
C:\
C:\Beta\
C:\

Roman

[ghisler(Author)]

But then you cannot go to previous entries than the very last one via Alt+Left.

[Hacker]

Christian,
Hmm, true, you would have to set some kind of flag for Alt-Left / Right navigation (including cm_GotoPreviousDir, cm_GotoPreviousLocalDir, cm_GotoNextDir, cm_GotoNextLocalDir), which would then reset if the user would navigate into a dir in any other way than Alt-Left / Right.

Roman

[ghisler(Author)]

That's exactly what HistoryCut=0 is currently doing!
If you just go back/forward multiple times with Alt+Left/Alt+Right, you can go through the entire history. The difference only occurs when you THEN go to a different directory:
1. With HistoryCut=0, this new directory is appended to the END of the list
2. With HistoryCut=1, the history is cut at the current position, all directories after that position are lost, and the new directory is appended

In the next beta, I will set HistoryCut back to 1 until we can find a better solution.

[Usher]

2ghisler(Author)
And what about adding description of all history features (including cut and thinning) in help?