Navigation history is global; I suggest a per-tab folder history

[Picant]

Well I figure my approach to work (and it seams of many others as well) in this respect does not correspond with yours. That's fine, but I have a hard time to understand why the user shouldn't have the freedom to decide which way he wants to work especially when it's not such a big deal to implement this choice as you mentioned above.
Maybe I haven't figured out your way of working with tabs. That's why I asked you to explain the point of 'will ALWAYS be on a different tab'.

[Picant]

I think much of the confusion and discussion about tabs here stem from the term chosen for this graphical element.
In interface design, a tab is a graphical control element that allows multiple documents or panels to be contained within a single window, using tabs as a navigational widget for switching between sets of documents. It is an interface style most commonly associated with web browsers, web applications, text editors, and preference panes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tab_(interface)
To me the term tab was misleading because I associated it with the description above. It should be called something different like fake tab or what about smart bookmark since it behaves more like it?
I started evaluating TC 10 days ago and I thought great, I can finally use tabs (I used Altap Salamander before for many years which doesn't have tabs).

I strongly vote for the implementation of real tabs and would be very pleased to see them soon.

[Usher]

2Picant
Some time ago Microsoft tried to add tabs to Windows Explorer. Did you test that feature?

[Picant]

2Picant
Some time ago Microsoft tried to add tabs to Windows Explorer. Did you test that feature?

No I haven't since I never liked Windows Explorer. I always used Norton Commander and afterwards Altap Salamander.

[ghisler(Author)]

I tried preserving the directories per tab, but most of the time the tab contents were not current (e.g. missing or too many files).

[Hacker]

Christian,
What do you mean by "missing or too many files"?

Roman

[ghisler(Author)]

For example if you add directories modified by other programs, like a download directory, a word processor directory etc. then these folders get modified outside of Total Commander all the time. It makes no sense to cache them if I have to re-read them anyway when switching to these tabs.

[Hacker]

Christian,
I am not sure how this is related to the topic. The request is to allow keeping a separate directory history (Alt-Down) per tab instead of (or in addition to) a single global history. You are talking about caching directory contents which does not seem related to this request in any way.

Roman

[Picant]

Christian,
I am not sure how this is related to the topic. The request is to allow keeping a separate directory history (Alt-Down) per tab instead of (or in addition to) a single global history. You are talking about caching directory contents which does not seem related to this request in any way.

Roman

Exactly, just keep a list of the visited folders not its content. And do this for each "tab". With Alt+Left and Alt+Right go back and forth in that list. If a folder does not exist anymore go to its parent folder instead, but do not go to the next entry in the list.

[DrShark]

No, it wouldn't be very difficult. I think the best solution would be two histories (one global and one per tab), but how could this be presented to the user?

My suggestion is to add to global Directory history menu a group of function menu items (similar to group with "Add current dir" and "Configure..." in Directorty hotlist). There you can add entries for switching from global to other kinds of histories:

Code: Select all

<globel history entry 1>
...
<globel history entry Z>
-------------------------------------
Global current panel history (no thinning) Alt+Shift+Cursor down
Current active tab's history
Global opposite panel history 
Global opposite panel history (no thinning)
Global opposite panel active tab's history

[Flint]

I must say, I find the idea of per-tab history very appealing. I'm not sure what the best interface approach would be, but I join to those who say that the problem exists. I personally work with tabs in TC as if they are independent entities. And every time when I go through history, it's very disorienting when TC throws me out of the current project's directory tree into something completely unrelated, just because some time ago I switched to another tab.

[ctygehtuk]

The global (per side) history is killing the tabs idea which consists in its separate world inside each tab. When I'm pressing alt-left or mouse backward button I expect to be back one level folder path like I'm pressing the backspace button or the other history logic but inside tab history. After one year TC experience I'm confused every time when it's forwarding me to the history of the other tab.

[paleckar]

I've been using Total Commander since the times it was still Windows Commander. It is the only app that I've never stopped loving and using on a daily basis.

That out of the way, I can safely say that not even 25 years of usage is enough to get used to the shared history between tabs and not be constantly confused about it. Virtually *every single* other application out there that utilizes tabs to browse or edit items has their history separated and often even treats them like sandboxes, which is a too strong conditioning and a force of habit to overcome.

I'm deeply saddened that something as trivial to implement as this has not been incorporated into TC, even though user has been calling for it for a long time now, especially when for no better reason than because Christian Ghisler apparently does not like it.

Why not make it optional then with the default off? Please please reconsider. Take one for the userbase TC is otherwise an awesome and super useful app that we all love. Thank you.

[ghisler(Author)]

See my reply here:
viewtopic.php?p=200342#p200342

[Picant]

I've been using Total Commander since the times it was still Windows Commander. It is the only app that I've never stopped loving and using on a daily basis.

That out of the way, I can safely say that not even 25 years of usage is enough to get used to the shared history between tabs and not be constantly confused about it. Virtually *every single* other application out there that utilizes tabs to browse or edit items has their history separated and often even treats them like sandboxes, which is a too strong conditioning and a force of habit to overcome.

I'm deeply saddened that something as trivial to implement as this has not been incorporated into TC, even though user has been calling for it for a long time now, especially when for no better reason than because Christian Ghisler apparently does not like it.

Why not make it optional then with the default off? Please please reconsider. Take one for the userbase TC is otherwise an awesome and super useful app that we all love. Thank you.

You mirror my experience exactly.

I don't think of my PC as one site, as Christian suggests. I think in terms of projects that run concurrently and typically have one tab open per project. It would be a great help if I could navigate backwards and forwards in the project (tab) history without the influence of other tabs.

The only way I currently have with TC to accomplish this is to use one tab per panel and have multiple instances of TC open.

I don't understand why this can't be implemented as an option, since according to Christian it's not a big effort and many people want this option. Why not have a check mark in the configuration, which is e.q. called '[] per tab history'. Per default it is off.
What is so complicated about it?