View only Active Drive in Tree View?

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Old Faithful
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View only Active Drive in Tree View?

Post by *Old Faithful »

Hey Folks,

1st time posting and new user here...

Recently been trying Total Commander to replace my trusty Norton File Manager from back in 1994... But desperately needing to move on to a 64 bit OS, I won't be able to use it any longer and TC seems to be the best thing to replace it with :)

So I already figured how to use the F8 command, to switch views to folder tree on the left and opened folder contents on the right for each panel, so as to be able to easily navigate folders and move files (I'm getting used to using the Alt key while dragging to move instead of copy), but something I haven't figured out yet is how to Make the Tree Actually Reflect the Drive Selected on the Button Bar, instead of showing the tree of everything you've worked with on that session including the kitchen sink with dirty dishes :lol: which, after a while, becomes mightily confusing :?

Yesterday, after working for hours to rearrange and delete stuff in a large folder, I decided to replace the untidy one on my backup drive, which is essentially a mirror of my working hard drive, and instead of deleting that one, I deleted the one I had been working on, because when I selected the backup drive, instead of seeing its tree displayed, nothing had changed and instead of deleting G:\Documents, I deleted C:\Documents :cry:

I won't go into the details of the rage I went into since I usually permanently delete stuff, let's just say the cat and the dog promptly left the room and I was ready to break something :evil:

So my question is, because I'm afraid that it will be pretty much impossible to unlearn 26 years of using Norton File Manager and 10 years of DOS before that: is there a way, though some hidden setting or command, to force tree view to only show the drive that one selects, like it does for contents on the list panel? or better yet, to have the tree view only show the actually selected drive and nothing else?

This would avoid having to select the drive, manually go to tree view and close every previously opened folder, go back to the selected drive in tree view and click to open it, which seem to be the only way to make sure the tree view actually reflects what's in the list view.

I hope I made myself clear enough and that there is a solution for this. Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
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Re: View only Active Drive in Tree View?

Post by *Hacker »

Old Faithful,
Welcome! Just so we are on the same page, are we talking about the classic old Tree (Ctrl-F8) or the newer Separate Tree(s) (Ctrl-Shift-F8, can be pressed repeatedly)?

Roman
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Re: View only Active Drive in Tree View?

Post by *petermad »

Maybe if you used the Separate Directory Tree (Ctrl+Shift+F8), then you will always be able to see where both file panels are opened (and then maybe also use separate drive buttons for left and right file panel).

But if you really want to view only the active drive in the tree, then choose "Configuration" -> "Options..." -> "Display" -> "Always load complete directory tree" - then TC works like NC.
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Re: View only Active Drive in Tree View?

Post by *Old Faithful »

Hacker wrote: 2020-06-04, 20:41 UTC Old Faithful,
Welcome! Just so we are on the same page, are we talking about the classic old Tree (Ctrl-F8) or the newer Separate Tree(s) (Ctrl-Shift-F8, can be pressed repeatedly)?

Roman
The Separate Tree... Folder on the left, file list on the right... How do I insert a Screen Shot, do I need an online hosting account?
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Re: View only Active Drive in Tree View?

Post by *petermad »

2Old Faithful
How do I insert a Screen Shot, do I need an online hosting account?
Yes.
The Separate Tree... Folder on the left, file list on the right..
That is not a separate tree. Separate tree is: tree - folder - folder OR tree - folder - tree - folder.

You can see the differences here:

https://madsenworld.dk/tcmd/1separatetree.png (Ctrl+Shift+F8 once)
https://madsenworld.dk/tcmd/2separatetrees.png (Ctrl+Shift+F8 twice)
https://madsenworld.dk/tcmd/filepaneltree.png (Ctrl+F8)
https://madsenworld.dk/tcmd/oldstyletree-onedriveonly.png (Ctrl+F8 and "Configuration" -> "Options..." -> "Display" -> "Always load complete directory tree")
https://madsenworld.dk/tcmd/lotsoftrees.png (just too much)
https://madsenworld.dk/tcmd/notrees.png (ahhh - back to normal)
License #524 (1994)
Danish Total Commander Translator
TC 11.03 32+64bit on Win XP 32bit & Win 7, 8.1 & 10 (22H2) 64bit, 'Everything' 1.5.0.1371a
TC 3.50b4 on Android 6 & 13
Try: TC Extended Menus | TC Languagebar | TC Dark Help | PHSM-Calendar
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Re: View only Active Drive in Tree View?

Post by *Old Faithful »

petermad wrote: 2020-06-04, 20:55 UTC Maybe if you used the Separate Directory Tree (Ctrl+Shift+F8), then you will always be able to see where both file panels are opened (and then maybe also use separate drive buttons for left and right file panel).

But if you really want to view only the active drive in the tree, then choose "Configuration" -> "Options..." -> "Display" -> "Always load complete directory tree" - then TC works like NC.
I already use that (Ctrl+Shift+F8), I wouldn't be able to use TC without it: Drive Folder Tree on the left, File List on the right; Same view but another path on the second panel.
I've tried Configuration, Options, Display, "Always load complete directory tree" but it doesn't change how Tree View behaves.

To sum it up: When I change drives, the contents are immediately listed in List View, as expected. But Tree View still shows every single folder I ever opened during that session, instead of showing me the tree for the selected drive and that is the source of confusion.

It would be even better if Tree View could concentrate itself on the selected drive only, instead of showing the complete kitchen sink including the contents of the Desktop, that Microsoft has been trying for so long to make us believe hide reside above the C drive, when it fact it resides under C:\users\Username\Desktop, or wherever Microsoft decides to hide it depending on the OS du Jour.

In other words, I'd like Total Commander to work like a true Manager of Files on Disks and for the Tree View to show the Tree for the Selected Drive... Am I asking too much? Or have I been using computers for too long and have become a hopeless curmudgeon ;)
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Re: View only Active Drive in Tree View?

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petermad wrote: 2020-06-05, 17:08 UTC 2Old Faithful
How do I insert a Screen Shot, do I need an online hosting account?
Yes.
I was afraid of that... lost all my online pics when my last two photo hosting service closed them so I don't trust them anymore :evil:
petermad wrote: 2020-06-05, 17:08 UTC
The Separate Tree... Folder on the left, file list on the right..
That is not a separate tree. Separate tree is: tree - folder - folder OR tree - folder - tree - folder.
I'm working with "two separate trees", in other words two panels each with a tree on one side and a list on the other, like
https://madsenworld.dk/tcmd/2separatetrees.png (Ctrl+Shift+F8 twice)

As for the unconventional ones, how did you manage that? Perhaps what I need could be done after all ;)

I'll take a screenshot from my other computer of what I can do with Norton File Manager and upload that to my mega account, hopefully it will be directly viewable.
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Re: View only Active Drive in Tree View?

Post by *Old Faithful »

I got to go now, thank you for your help so far, will come back later at the end of the day :)
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Re: View only Active Drive in Tree View?

Post by *petermad »

I've tried Configuration, Options, Display, "Always load complete directory tree" but it doesn't change how Tree View behaves.
That only worktsfor the non-separate tree - and if the tree is already in use, when you invoke that setting you have to press Ctrl+F8 once again to make it change to the new tree type - then you should see https://madsenworld.dk/tcmd/oldstyletree-onedriveonly.png
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Re: View only Active Drive in Tree View?

Post by *petermad »

what I can do with Norton File Manager
Like this https://madsenworld.dk/tcmd/nctree.png - or is that too retro? :wink:
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TC 11.03 32+64bit on Win XP 32bit & Win 7, 8.1 & 10 (22H2) 64bit, 'Everything' 1.5.0.1371a
TC 3.50b4 on Android 6 & 13
Try: TC Extended Menus | TC Languagebar | TC Dark Help | PHSM-Calendar
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Re: View only Active Drive in Tree View?

Post by *Old Faithful »

petermad wrote: 2020-06-06, 01:15 UTC
what I can do with Norton File Manager
Like this https://madsenworld.dk/tcmd/nctree.png - or is that too retro? :wink:
hahaha... Not bad actually. Reminds me of Dosshell ;-)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/37/DOS_Shell_Screen.png
you'll notice it has tree on the left and file list on the right and two panels just the way I like except that the two panels are horizontally stacked - I don't remember if it was possible to stack them vertically, that was a long time ago ;-)
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Re: View only Active Drive in Tree View?

Post by *Old Faithful »

To better illustrate what I mean, I prepared three pictures:

what I see (left) and what I'd like to see (right)
https://mega.nz/file/m9kyTSZD#NDC0KTbCMRYQl2kY1tzpqE7RUG7lb1LmhOjTTno1rxE

why do I still see the C tree when I switch to G
https://mega.nz/file/G88SDAKT#-9xRRfpzSVIKdxZIQiqgDZwug-ZmlFbjy2n0L58tLYc

I want to see this instead when I press the G drive on the right panel
https://mega.nz/file/Pl8AHYzb#RjLD_5t6yZFxxfPMStEDTWuvmlJh4LxHp-OcHB62SCY
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Re: View only Active Drive in Tree View?

Post by *petermad »

The question is: would you be satisfied if in the example drive G. is scrolled to the top, or do you also expect the drive C: part of the tree to be collapsed?

Interesting that you apparantly are running 32-bit Windows 10 - rare.

You could try to set AlwaysToRoot=1 in the [Configuration] section of your wincmd.ini file - then at least the the root of the current drive in the tree will always be highlighted when you change drive with the drive buttons.
Last edited by petermad on 2020-06-07, 21:32 UTC, edited 1 time in total.
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TC 11.03 32+64bit on Win XP 32bit & Win 7, 8.1 & 10 (22H2) 64bit, 'Everything' 1.5.0.1371a
TC 3.50b4 on Android 6 & 13
Try: TC Extended Menus | TC Languagebar | TC Dark Help | PHSM-Calendar
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Re: View only Active Drive in Tree View?

Post by *Old Faithful »

petermad wrote: 2020-06-07, 12:12 UTC Interesting that you apparantly are running 32-bit Windows !0 - rare.
Thank you for being so kind and patient with me, Peter. Since you seem to show so much interest, let me tell you a little story. If it's too philosophical or political just ignore it and move on to the next section, but I thought it would help you understand where I come from and why I seem so adamant in my requirements.

Yes, indeed, I'm long overdue for an operating system bitness upgrade. In fact, for a complete paradigm shift, of which I hope to see Total Commander or another Orthodox File Manager becoming the central part, in other words, of a File Manager based Operating System.

I come from the DOS (Disk Operating System) User Family. Although I discovered computers programming in FORTRAN on punch cards on a multi-user system back in the 70s, and the first PC I used was the TRS-80, with its primitive cassette based storage system, I later moved on to CP/M and, finally, to DOS when I discovered the File Manager that truly revolutionized computing for me, DOS Shell, which brought computing from its linear command line origin to the two dimensional world of the Graphical User interface and its synergistic interconnectivity.

Over the years I have seen with great dismay this amazing system, where users had total control over their computing, which held so much promise at the dawn of the Personal Computer Revolution, being taken away from people and taken over by large corporations, first by the 'desktop' user interface isolation layer aimed to 'guide' users into more efficient work to suit the corporate model of the world society was slowly moving towards, instead of the freedom of total control of the file system of old. And now, with the 'tile' interface, uses have become mere data producers and consumers connected into system more akin to The Matrix than human betterment that Star Trek promised.

In practical terms, we have gone from a Disk Operating System where File Management was under total control by the user, to a system where users aren't even supposed to know where their stuff is outside of the confines of Google, Facebook and other major corporations only separated from total appropriation buy the ever so tenuous safeguard that is the password and online connectivity.

To me, my computer is not a pod in some giant stalk on a farm like in the Matrix, where Freedom is tightly constrained by a framework out of which discourse isn't allowed, but rather a vast open shop with shelves along the walls and a large open area near the center with one or several projects going on, situated a lot at the fringe of a city surrounded by fields and forests, connected to a main highway by a wide driveway.

***

Now that I've explained the philosophy behind it and my interest In TC (I've actually dabbled with it on and off for years until I had no choice but to move away from my trusty Norton File Manager), let me delve a little bit more why I stayed for so long with a 32-bit OS: my best applications are 16-bit, I've built extensive libraries for them and they have unfortunately been long abandoned. But I've kept using them and still use them to this day, in particular TopDraw, a program that does everything Adobe Illustrator does, but with 1000 times less hard drive space, memory and CPU power, and that, to this day, has no equal.

Another, more personal and moral reason for this long overdue change is the necessity to protect history, without which one cannot learn from and become a better person. Old applications are for me a lot like like antique furniture or, better yet, antique tools and kitchen appliances with their amazing abilities many of which we have forgotten the use of.

Because these wonderful apps or some of their dependencies were written for 16-bit and were abandoned afterwards, you can see why I had to stay for so long with a 32 bit OS - Until, that is, after having dabbled with Virtual Box and then more seriously with Virtual PC for many years but without definite success, I discovered, quite recently, the one that actually worked completely seamlessly with my applications and hardware: VMWare.

Add to this my life-long project to be completely free from the Tyranny of the Operating System that Software Installation is, locking users into one machine and one platform, and recently succeeding into transforming all of my applications to Portable Mode, essentially converting the proverbial 'MCP' back to what it was supposed to be only doing, managing hardware, and you can perhaps now better understand why it is so important to me to have a File Manager that gives me total control over my machine and does exactly what I need.

In practical terms, what I'm basically trying to achieve is a File Management System consisting of a Tree, to Situate Myself within my File System on one side, a List of folders and files on the other with their specifiers: name, size, date, attribute (version history would be nice to have if that existed), and, last but not least, an upper level drive bar at the top, distinct from the tree. And that, on two side-by-side panels, to allow efficient File Management, consisting essentially of Renaming, Organizing into Folders, Moving, Copying, a Differential File Versioning System (a long dream of mine that to my knowledge never came to pass) and Synchronizing and Search (Discovering Everything has been nothing short of a Revelation to me). The left panel would be used for the Work Drive and, on the other, another for a Backup Drive, an external Archive Medium (such as a CD or DVD) or a transport device for quick delivery to other machines (such as USB key or other portable drive).

At this particular point in time, I have managed to work around TC's idiosyncrasies of having the whole world including the dirty kitchen sink in the tree, when changing drives, by collapsing the whole tree to nothing except for the 'desktop' (which, by the way, as a metaphor, means absolutely NOTHING to me, as its real location is fairly deep within the file system and changing from OS version to OS version, being, on my present OS, located at C:\user\username\desktop), then expanding, in the tree, ONLY the drive I selected on the drive bar with its list of first level folders. But if there was a way to only show the tree for the selected drive all my problems would be solved, because otherwise why would one need the drive bar for, if not for being the tree of drives?

Well, I hope this clears things up a bit. Sorry for the long ramble, but I think I couldn't have explained my reasons without it, where I'm coming from and why it's so important to me.



As for your other questions:
petermad wrote: 2020-06-07, 12:12 UTC The question is: would you be satisfied if in the example drive G. is scrolled to the top, or do you also expect the drive C: part of the tree to be collapsed?
That answer should be obvious if you read the rest of this long post - I'd much prefer the tree to be limited to the drive I selected - the drive bar IS the drive tree to me. Which doesn't mean that switching drives shouldn't reactivate the previously opened path (like in DOS), although it would be nice if this was optional.

petermad wrote: 2020-06-07, 12:12 UTCYou could try to set AlwaysToRoot=1 in the [Configuration] section of your wincmd.ini file - then at least the the root of the current drive in the tree will always be highlighted when you change drive with the drive buttons.

It's already setup this way ;-)


Again, thank you for your patience, thank you for listening and thank you for your generous help :)
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