Total Commander GUI evolutions

Only forum where polls are allowed. You may announce a new poll in the matching support forum.

Moderators: white, Hacker, petermad, Stefan2

How do you think TC GUI should change?

I'd like to have full skin support
51
12%
I'd like to have a smaller/cleaner interface
57
13%
I only want new "modern" icons/fonts
53
12%
I want new selectable "sets" of icons (themes support)
45
10%
Current TC GUI rocks, don't change it!
87
20%
I’m satisfied with TC GUIs but I'm not against changes
137
32%
 
Total votes: 430

User avatar
Clo
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5731
Joined: 2003-12-02, 19:01 UTC
Location: Bordeaux, France
Contact:

Up or down...

Post by *Clo »

Lefteous
Your screenshot doesn't show any visual style
:o It shows the setting-menu, allowing to place the tabs up or down the main window, that seems to be the subject, isn't it?
Clo
#31505 Traducteur Français de TC French translator Aide en Français Tutoriels Français English Tutorials
User avatar
Lefteous
Power Member
Power Member
Posts: 9535
Joined: 2003-02-09, 01:18 UTC
Location: Germany
Contact:

Post by *Lefteous »

2Clo
It shows the setting-menu, allowing to place the tabs up or down the main window, that seems to be the subject, isn't it?
No, please read my posting about tab control styles and XP visual styles again. A tab control style controls if the tab control tabs appear on top or on bottom of the tab control. My posting includes a link to a MSDN site where all limitations are described.
bb
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 18
Joined: 2004-01-09, 16:57 UTC
Location: Leipzig / Germany
Contact:

Post by *bb »

i use xp theming, but a custom one and i like the gui like it is.
my screen layout:
don't show: buttonbar, drive buttons, drive combo, history list buttons and function keys,
show: tabs, current dir, tabstops, statusbar, commandline

i am totally against winamp/trillian style skinning

my filelist font is lucida sans unicode, normal fontweight and i am using a custom iconlib
mfg, bb
User avatar
J.A. Gruys
Member
Member
Posts: 130
Joined: 2003-07-29, 07:49 UTC
Location: Netherlands

Post by *J.A. Gruys »

"The best skin is a dead skin"

:!: :!: :!:
J.A.G.
User avatar
StickyNomad
Power Member
Power Member
Posts: 1933
Joined: 2004-01-10, 00:15 UTC
Location: Germany

Post by *StickyNomad »

"The best skin is a dead skin"
:D

I wouldn't say it that extreme in general, but as with TC, I share this statement.
To say it with I.R. Baboon: Me want NO Skinning Engine!!!
(people who want skins can use Windowbblinds, etc, and the TC GUI is already changeable in many ways)

What about the idea of having two or more default Buttonbars to choose from when setting up TC? The 'classic' one and maybe a 'power' Bar with a few more useful Commands on it (Multi-rename, Dirsync, etc) and/or alternative Icons?
Here is a screenshot of my modded TC

Greets,
StickyNomad
User avatar
=m4rc=
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 47
Joined: 2004-02-01, 12:57 UTC

Post by *=m4rc= »

Just change those dirty old fashioned icons in the bar and put some bright colors :D
and TC will looks like a brand new up-to-date software :wink:

For ideas check those kind of icons... http://www.foood.net/
There is a blue floppy drive to change the default icon and so...
DSE
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 19
Joined: 2003-03-07, 21:58 UTC

Post by *DSE »

I'd like to have full skin support
No, certainly not. There are specific tools for that (windowblinds for example)
I'd like to have a smaller/cleaner interface
No, this one is correct
I only want new "modern" icons/fonts
Ah, yes ! Somes icons DLL could be usefull of course, furthurmore if somes icons are specific to TC commands to add them as buttons.
I want new selectable "sets" of icons (themes support)
See above
Current TC GUI rocks, don't change it!
I agree
I’m satisfied with TC GUIs but I'm not against changes
Yes, but change only if this can add a new functionality.
Don't change only for beauty.

:wink: [/quote]
Warhead
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 9
Joined: 2004-04-12, 15:23 UTC
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Post by *Warhead »

[deleted]
Last edited by Warhead on 2004-04-16, 15:21 UTC, edited 1 time in total.
Warhead
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 9
Joined: 2004-04-12, 15:23 UTC
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Post by *Warhead »

I don't know if it makes sence to post here when the discussion has nearly extincted, still, I'd like to add my 5 cents.

It was really amusing to read some of the posts filled with "I want, I hate, I need, I don't need". What sort of impact were they supposed to have, apart from putting a sarcastic smile on the face? Some orators didn't even have enough intellengence to logically defend their opinion. An answer to that sort of posts in the same way would be - become programmers, guys, and develop file manager with all the features you're shouting about, hehe.
I want TC to start abandoning Norton commander idea(good for DOS).
Sounds like total absurd. Despite being a Windows application, TC is based on the legacy of gloruous and legendary Norton Commander and uses its concept. ... For people who pathologically dislike Norton there are managers based on that Windows explorer thing, all they should do is to find one they like best.

Actually, the Norton legacy is the subject I'd like to touch here. That won't be wrong to suppose that heaps of current TC users became PC users in the 80s or even earlier, so they got NC in their blood and many of them think of it with nostalgia.

Of course, TC interface can be adjucted to be close to Norton to some extent, speaking about the colors. Still, default pre-set for the Norton color scheme would be handy, just like it is in Salamander and SpeedCommander. Anyway it's not a big deal cuz after changing the colors in TC, it's always possible to copy the ini-file to some other location and stick to it when it's needed. Also, there is a downloadable menu for TC imitating Norton 4 menu, which is nice, too. And of course, most keyboard shortcuts are the legacy of Norton.

Apart from that, TC is not able to re-create that visual atmoshere of working in Norton, especially speaking of the bottom bar of the functional keys. (But is it supposed to? A good question). Some people even told me they miss vertical dividing lines between columns on the file panels - nostalgia! Just dislpaying my personal point of view I'm not trying to impose to anyone - I'd like to have possibility of getting interface close to the Norton look as much as possible. Probably, that would be real if that skin support was implemented. Ideally that'd be excellent to have TC flexible enough for being customized to satisfy both of the categories - Norton adepts and Norton haters. Well, it sounds pretty unrealistic.

Also, I'd dare to suggest the following improvements for the existing TC interface:

- Possibility of switching the vertical scroll bars on the file panels off. How many people scroll using mousewheell or keyboard? For those who use these ways, the scrollbars are just useless, moreover, they take the considerable amount of screenspace, especially when they are both of them on the screen. Being unable to customize that is the only serious drawback of TC interface imho. Well, it seems that none of the managers available now has that feature. TC has always been extremely flexible and easy for customizing - and implementing that possibility of switching the scrollbars on and off would put TC another step ahead from the rest.

- Possibility of displaying directories in upper case, files in lowercase, etc, just like it's possible in Salamander and SpeedCommander.

- Possibility of creating directories in upper case. I mean, that would be nice to have a mode in which directories are being automatically created in upper case, so that you wouldn't have to press Caps Lock all the time.

- Possibility of getting Ins key to act like spacebar - showing size of selected directory.

- It's possible to display hidden files and dirs, but that would be also nice to have em marked in some way. Or to have an option to mark hidden files in some way.

It's a little things, but they'd probably make TC using more convenient for a number of people.

And again about the skin support debate. It's pretty obvious that implementing skin support would increase TC popularity. Some people reasonably displayed their concerns that skin support will increase size of TC installation package. If so, it seems more logical to follow to exaple of, let's say, Winamp or ICQ, offering files for light or full installation. (It's so easy to throw sugestions and advice to the left and to the right, but it's never easy to develop the program, hehe).

Again, there was just my 5 cents.

P.S. I'll never be able to produce the file manager of my dreams 'cause I'm not a programmer... :-( Well, perhaps in next life... :roll:
joro_abv
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 8
Joined: 2003-12-02, 10:33 UTC

"That norton thing" :-)

Post by *joro_abv »

1. Most of us are proposing, not shouting.
2. I'm a programmer, so what ? If I wanted to write my own manager I wouldn't post anything here. Just because TC is something very good we're discussing how to make it even perfect , not starting something from scratch. Everyone has it's own ideas, of course, but why not the share - it's up to the TC author to decide what to take.
3. Your 5cents are really 5cents , even less :-))
4. Yep, Norton Commander is glorious ... like Napoleon ... and it's dead like Napoleon :-)).
5. Most of us are talking about building a flexible TC - if U want it like Norton - ok, if I want it like Explorer - ok. But what we're talking about when I can't even move my toolbar ?!?!?!?
striker_69
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 6
Joined: 2004-11-02, 10:39 UTC

Post by *striker_69 »

I need the TC for professional use at work. It must be fast and small!
Come on, people! You're talking like you're working on a 486 machine with 64 MB RAM!

In a modern world, why, why keep trying to make a program fit on a single disk thereby sacrificing many other features that might have been welcome by many??! As if we have only a few hundred megs on our hard drives. Why keep distributing the software on a diskette, when CDs are being used more and more? (well here I must correct myself - according to a recent interview, Christian is going to distribute new versions on a CD).
Please don't get me wrong, I like TC very much, and has been a user for a few years. But there is definitely an issue with its look! Many people are backed off by its default ugly look. I, personally, still find it a pain to customize the interface. It is not user-friendly, I should say. Every time you need to change something, you have to change the ini or go to the toolbar customize menu, which itself is not an easy thing to navigate at all...
I mean, give people some more convenience and flexibility, and they will appreciate it! The appreciation will convert into many NEW customers who might be backed off by TC's not-so-compelling visual look and lack of user-friendliness in setting.
Why are skins so popular in the world? Just take a look at places like customize.org, deviantart.com and others - there are thousands if not millions of visitors!
Many people these days spend a lot of time in front of their computers - and naturally having a sense of taste they want to look at something that's visually appealling. Moreover, they tend to get bored looking at the SAME ugly (or beautiful, does not matter) all the time! That is why people love changing skins. It is pretty much the same as changing wallpapers...
Now, what I mean by convenience and flexibility? That is, freedom of choice. Let the power users have a clean (empty, spacous) interface and work as fast as they can! However, also let the others (not programmers, just regular users like myself or even lamers) play with the interface by changing it the way theh like! It won't do any harm (well, except for a bit slower performance but who cares when people use memory-hogs like WindowBlinds and such!) but will bring A LOT of new users. Just look at the posts here on this forum -- many people are actually backed off by their first impression of TC - they download it, install, see how it looks, don't like it, uninstall and go away. They even use other file managers that are not-so-functional (or even worse in terms of easyness of use) but offer a more customizable interface (I am talking Directory Opus and others).
It is only surprising how such a popular and acclaimed program as TC (in fact, I personally think it is one of the most useful programs EVER made for the Windows platform) has been ignored by the skinners.
From the other side, if it is Christian and his colleagues' view of not allowing the skin support, I think you are losing quite a lot of potential users on it.
Needless to say the above is only my humble opinion.
User avatar
Hacker
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 13040
Joined: 2003-02-06, 14:56 UTC
Location: Bratislava, Slovakia

Post by *Hacker »

a 486 machine with 64 MB RAM
I don't think such a thing ever existed. ;)
I mean, give people some more convenience and flexibility, and they will appreciate it!
Make the program slow and the people won't appreciate it.

I personally am not against skinning, if it doesn't slow things down.

Roman
Mal angenommen, du drückst Strg+F, wählst die FTP-Verbindung (mit gespeichertem Passwort), klickst aber nicht auf Verbinden, sondern fällst tot um.
User avatar
SanskritFritz
Power Member
Power Member
Posts: 3693
Joined: 2003-07-24, 09:25 UTC
Location: Budapest, Hungary

Post by *SanskritFritz »

2striker_69
I personally love skinning and customizing (in fact, after a clean Windows install it takes me 2 days to install all the gadgets and applets i use and to customize Windows to suit my taste).
But TC is a one-man project. In this forum there are hundreds of change requests, not to mention Christian's plans for the future. Moreover it is mostly those "power users" who place the requests. So there is probably a priority list on Christian's desk, where those features, like skinning, reorganizing dialog boxes and such are pretty much on the bottom... IMHO of course.
I switched to Linux, bye and thanks for all the fish!
User avatar
Sir_SiLvA
Power Member
Power Member
Posts: 3270
Joined: 2003-05-06, 11:46 UTC

Post by *Sir_SiLvA »

1. i didnt voted because i can only vote 4 one option...
2. my wish options are
I only want new "modern" icons/fonts and
(never really liked them sorry Chris)
Current TC GUI rocks, don't change it!
(caus its small and fast and the why I want it
and yeah i hate skins (i fact bad skins like winamp, etc))
Last edited by Sir_SiLvA on 2005-06-28, 22:51 UTC, edited 2 times in total.
Hoecker sie sind raus!
User avatar
ADv
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 43
Joined: 2005-05-04, 20:37 UTC
Location: Ukraine, Kharkiv
Contact:

Post by *ADv »

Maybe it is possible to add a new type of plugins to change TC's appearance? What do you think? I can't actually imagine how it should work, but this feature will not eat system resources... only when you will load a plugin.. Isn't it a way to solve the problem of speed?
Post Reply