Feature Request: options when clicking on directory title

[Lefteous]

2pdavit

I have created a poll. I hope all possible answers have found their way into the poll. If not feel free to add your comments/ideas: http://www.ghisler.ch/board/viewtopic.php?t=4334

[JohnFredC]

left-click can be used for the suggested feature since the immediate response is vital due to the nature of the feature, and a delayed left-click should be linked to the current behaviour i.e. for editing the path field

This would be a very good solution and gets my vote.

Rhino (3-D CAD) uses a delayed right-click method to chose between two different context menus. The delayed click (meaning: hold down the mouse button for an additional second or two) is easy to learn and becomes second nature quickly.

Such an approach must be taught or demonstrated, however, because it isn't likely that many users would "discover" it...

[Black Dog]

[face=courier]On 12-06-2004 04:10:12 +0000 superboy wrote:

s> What it does is allows you to click on the title showing
s> the directory path (in the case of TC, the path showing
s> under the tab), and depending where you click it would
s> open that directory.

Yep, I think that the "hyperpath" is a good idea too. But AFAIK Christian didn't made any comments last time.

Christian, what do you think about "hyperpath"? :)[/face]

[jb]

left-click can be used for the suggested feature since the immediate response is vital due to the nature of the feature, and a delayed left-click should be linked to the current behaviour i.e. for editing the path field

This would be a very good solution and gets my vote.

This got my vote too (in Lefteous' poll).

Rhino (3-D CAD) uses a delayed right-click method to chose between two different context menus. The delayed click (meaning: hold down the mouse button for an additional second or two) is easy to learn and becomes second nature quickly.

Such an approach must be taught or demonstrated, however, because it isn't likely that many users would "discover" it...

Do you plan to offer TC courses or to create an animated tutorial?
I agree that probably many users would not "discover" the delayed right-click without a hint. But I think it is sufficient to integrate an emphasized hint (bold, boxed, ...) into the ordinary online help.

[pdavit]

2 Lefteous

Thanks for the poll!

2 JohnFredC & jb

Thanks for being in favour of my suggestion. I find this the best approach but nobody commented on how TC should handle situations where the path is too long to fit in its field area.

Concerning the hidden nature of the suggested feature: TC has a help file in addition to an on-line FAQ plus many eager to help users in this forum. Oh, and probably there are many users that use right-clicking for file selection and don’t know that a delayed one can give them the context menu. And probably there is an even greater number of users that switch to the Explorer method of file selection just because they couldn’t get the context menu to appear. That’s the nature of delayed clicks. They are rare/hidden but in my opinion brilliant!

[Lefteous]

2pdavit

nobody commented on how TC should handle situations where the path is too long to fit in its field area.

Maybe the path could scroll horizontally if the mouse cursor is moved on the left or right side of the titlebar. What do you think?

One more idea (has it been suggested before?). I thought about using modifier along with the new feature. Different combinations of modifier could interprete the "change directory" in another way. Example:

CTRL+Click = change directory in current tab
CTRL+SHIFT+ Click = open in new tab in current panel.
CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+Click= open new tab in opposite panel.

However this is just an example. The simple "change directory" in current tab could be done by just a single click - it depends on your favorite default behavior.

[Sheepdog]

What about the possibility to jump with TAB within the path - structure? I think you can use cm_editpath with shortcut and then use TAB / SHIFT TAB to navigate within the path and change the current directory in the same way. Enter could trigger the changing.

sheepdog

[Black Dog]

[face=courier]On 14-06-2004 14:43:14 +0000 Lefteous wrote:

L> Maybe the path could scroll horizontally if the mouse
L> cursor is moved on the left or right side of the titlebar.

...or by mouse wheel.[/face]

[pdavit]

Maybe the path could scroll horizontally if the mouse cursor is moved on the left or right side of the titlebar. What do you think?

Yes, almost similar to the suggestion I made two posts back. And a better, more flexible, solution to that implemented by both Frigate and Servant Salamander.

A good solution since if you need to uncover part of the path close to the beginning of the structure you will be moving the mouse to the left anyway and likewise to the right if you are trying to access the end of the path.

Disadvantages:
- Might need a bit of accuracy in mouse movement.
- Might be annoying if you’re accessing a path close to the path field edges.

Left/Right buttons may be more stable although less straightforward and GUI clumsy.

Does any one know if the other biggest rival, SpeedCommander, has a similar feature?

[JohnFredC]

Does any one know if the other biggest rival, SpeedCommander, has a similar feature?

No, it doesn't.

Salamander places an ellipsis (..) just after the root path if the total path doesn't fit in the space provided.

ie: C:\..\Remainder\of\Path\

This is an acceptable solution for me.

[pdavit]

Salamander places an ellipsis (..) just after the root path if the total path doesn't fit in the space provided.

ie: C:\..\Remainder\of\Path\

This is an acceptable soution for me.

Yes, while Frigate adds the (..) bit closer to the end of the path but with a buggy behaviour sometimes.

Salamander’s approach is also fine by me, although not ideal for extremely long paths, yet again those paths are also extremely rare.

[Lefteous]

While a C:\\Dir1\Dir2\..\Dir62\Dir63\*.* construction is good to not losing the overview, the scrolling solution is better for the "change dir"-feature, because every part of the path can be reached by scrolling left or right.

[JohnFredC]

Perhaps a popup dialog that appears after a short mouse "hover" period would be helpful.

It could simply contain the entire path "wrapped" to multiple lines if necessary and with each subpath "active" in the sense already described above.

[pdavit]

Is something like the following screenshot acceptable?

rl.png

Remember that the arrows will only appear if and only if the path cannot fit in the path filed.

[Sheepdog]

Is something like the following screenshot acceptable?

rl.png

Remember that the arrows will only appear if and only if the path cannot fit in the path filed.

I cannot view the file directly - there is displayed a message that angelfire is hosting the picture. But I could download it - it seems to me an acceptable solution.

sheepdog