Longstanding Total Commander issues
Posted: 2009-10-24, 10:30 UTC
I'm a big fan of TC and after using it daily for many years, I consider it to be the best file manager for Windows. However, there are still several issues affecting its overall quality, some of which are new to version 7.5, and some being around for quite a long time. I believe that fixing these issues would have a significant impact on TC's usability, making it a nearly perfect tool.
The list is too long for providing a forum topic for each if the issues, so let's refer to them by numbers.
Bugs
1. Scrolling the file list is slow compared to other applications. This issue happens most of the time and reproduces on several systems and OS versions, but there are times when scrolling speed suddenly increases even on problematic systems. I noticed that the slowness sometimes occurs on a specific pane (left-side or right-side only), which is even more peculiar.
2. TC sometimes gets stuck while scanning for directory sizes (Alt-Shift-Enter). Pressing Esc, then repeating the operation seems to resolve this. The issue reproduces more easily on large directory trees and might involve other applications accessing the hard-disk at the same time.
3. While viewing TGZ archives, TC sometimes remains in the '%TMP%' directory instead of going all the way back to the directory where the TGZ file resides in. It is also quite difficult to extract files from a TGZ file using a single pane because the immediate parent directory of the content directory is the TAR directory, not the one that the TGZ file resides in. Maybe an option could be added for not exposing the user to the TAR directory level at all ?
Usability Issues
4. Wrong defaults: each time I install TC, I select the following configuration options:
a. Two drive button bars (why not ?)
b. Show hidden/system files (who uses a professional file manager but doesn't want to see all files ?)
c. Sort directories like files (why not ?)
d. One-letter search with a dialog
e. 'StartupScreen=0' in the INI file (is there any dialog for this ?)
I'm wondering if most people choose (or would like to choose) the same. For instance, what's the use of not treating directories like files ? Does it increase performance ?
5. Column headers are in white (new to TC 7.5).
The easiest way for me to sort a file list is by clicking its column headers (File, Size, Date, etc.). In version 7.5, the column headers appear to be in the same color as the rest of the list, making them less identifiable. Is this configurable anywhere ? The "Custom columns" dialog doesn't seem to have color options.
6. The "drive is no longer available, please select another drive" pop-up is annoying. I understand that immediately selecting the next available drive without notifying the user might be dangerous, but we must think of a more usable way of notifying the user of the unavailability without forcing the user to make an immediate choice.
7. The fastest way for viewing directory sizes is using the Alt-Shift-Enter shortcut. In order to type it with one hand, the Gray-Alt (right-side Alt) button must be used instead of the Alt button. However, this sometimes changes the typing direction for multiple-language operating systems, making the shortcut unusable until the Left-Alt-Shift shortcut is used to reverse the direction. How about supporting both Alt buttons for this shortcut in both 'modes' ?
8. I'm familiar with two options for renaming a single file:
a. A slow 'two mouse click' sequence: this one takes a lot of time, and the information may get lost if Enter isn't pressed immediately after entering the new name. Also, the file's extension is being selected along with the file's name, although most of the time only the name part must be changed.
b. The F6 button: it's faster and it invokes a more convenient dialog, but the dialog includes the whole path, making it even more difficult to spot the filename.
How about making a shortcut for quickly renaming a file without modifying its path or extension (for instance, a dialog with two fields for 'name' and 'ext', selecting all the letters of the 'name' field by default) ?
9. Finding duplicates (which is an excellent feature) is hidden in the file search dialog, so it's pretty difficult to find. Some people don't even know the feature exists, which is a pity. Also, once the list of duplicates is available and is 'fed to the listbox', there's no apparent method for selecting only duplicates or removing duplicates somehow. It's tough to decide which copies are redundant, but a simple heuristic based on file name or date would be very handy.
10. FTP's 'Disconnect' button takes a long time to respond when the FTP server is not responding. Could an option be added for forcing a disconnection without waiting for timeout ?
11. When FTP disconnects in the middle of an operation, two pop-ups appear: one for aborting the current operation, and one for reconnecting. In order to continue the operation, the user must select something like 'No', then 'Yes', which is quite confusing. How about notifying the user that there were connectivity issues, reconnecting automatically (at least a few times, say 3), and letting the user select what to do next without a dialog ?
12. The packer order in the 'Packer' configuration dialog lists ARJ and LHA first. With all due respect to ARJ and LHA, is anybody still using them ? I suggest sorting the dialog by popularity, placing ZIP and RAR at the top. Since ZIP has a dialog of its own, I suggest placing a link to it from its parent dialog so nobody 'loses' it.
13. Can the new TC (>7.5) be trusted for opening split archives ?
For many versions, there was a warning dialog saying that TC might not detect all files of a split archive, or some similar limitation. In case split archives are supported, what are the current limitations (archive type, file sizes, internal vs. external packers, etc.) ? Is there something guiding the user not to miss any files ? I've still got the habit of using an external packer such as WinRAR for split RAR archives. May I get rid of it now ?
14. Verifying MD5/SHA-1 checksums for files: most of the time checksums are provided by a 3rd party and must only be verified, but the 'Create CRC Checksums' feature doesn't have an option for only displaying the checksum. It always creates a file. An option for viewing both the MD5 and the SHA-1 checksums would be extra cool.
Missing Features
15. SCP protocol support: why use WinSCP which (deliberately?) has no TC plug-in instead of using TC directly for this task ? Is this protocol very difficult to implement ?
16. The 'Split' dialog (bytes-per-file) for multiple-disk archives or other file splits doesn't include DVD sizes, or an option for selecting custom sizes.
17. When files are locked for writing/renaming, could TC indicate which process is responsible ?
Thank you very much for reading. I hope this list would help improve TC and increase its popularity even further.
The list is too long for providing a forum topic for each if the issues, so let's refer to them by numbers.
Bugs
1. Scrolling the file list is slow compared to other applications. This issue happens most of the time and reproduces on several systems and OS versions, but there are times when scrolling speed suddenly increases even on problematic systems. I noticed that the slowness sometimes occurs on a specific pane (left-side or right-side only), which is even more peculiar.
2. TC sometimes gets stuck while scanning for directory sizes (Alt-Shift-Enter). Pressing Esc, then repeating the operation seems to resolve this. The issue reproduces more easily on large directory trees and might involve other applications accessing the hard-disk at the same time.
3. While viewing TGZ archives, TC sometimes remains in the '%TMP%' directory instead of going all the way back to the directory where the TGZ file resides in. It is also quite difficult to extract files from a TGZ file using a single pane because the immediate parent directory of the content directory is the TAR directory, not the one that the TGZ file resides in. Maybe an option could be added for not exposing the user to the TAR directory level at all ?
Usability Issues
4. Wrong defaults: each time I install TC, I select the following configuration options:
a. Two drive button bars (why not ?)
b. Show hidden/system files (who uses a professional file manager but doesn't want to see all files ?)
c. Sort directories like files (why not ?)
d. One-letter search with a dialog
e. 'StartupScreen=0' in the INI file (is there any dialog for this ?)
I'm wondering if most people choose (or would like to choose) the same. For instance, what's the use of not treating directories like files ? Does it increase performance ?
5. Column headers are in white (new to TC 7.5).
The easiest way for me to sort a file list is by clicking its column headers (File, Size, Date, etc.). In version 7.5, the column headers appear to be in the same color as the rest of the list, making them less identifiable. Is this configurable anywhere ? The "Custom columns" dialog doesn't seem to have color options.
6. The "drive is no longer available, please select another drive" pop-up is annoying. I understand that immediately selecting the next available drive without notifying the user might be dangerous, but we must think of a more usable way of notifying the user of the unavailability without forcing the user to make an immediate choice.
7. The fastest way for viewing directory sizes is using the Alt-Shift-Enter shortcut. In order to type it with one hand, the Gray-Alt (right-side Alt) button must be used instead of the Alt button. However, this sometimes changes the typing direction for multiple-language operating systems, making the shortcut unusable until the Left-Alt-Shift shortcut is used to reverse the direction. How about supporting both Alt buttons for this shortcut in both 'modes' ?
8. I'm familiar with two options for renaming a single file:
a. A slow 'two mouse click' sequence: this one takes a lot of time, and the information may get lost if Enter isn't pressed immediately after entering the new name. Also, the file's extension is being selected along with the file's name, although most of the time only the name part must be changed.
b. The F6 button: it's faster and it invokes a more convenient dialog, but the dialog includes the whole path, making it even more difficult to spot the filename.
How about making a shortcut for quickly renaming a file without modifying its path or extension (for instance, a dialog with two fields for 'name' and 'ext', selecting all the letters of the 'name' field by default) ?
9. Finding duplicates (which is an excellent feature) is hidden in the file search dialog, so it's pretty difficult to find. Some people don't even know the feature exists, which is a pity. Also, once the list of duplicates is available and is 'fed to the listbox', there's no apparent method for selecting only duplicates or removing duplicates somehow. It's tough to decide which copies are redundant, but a simple heuristic based on file name or date would be very handy.
10. FTP's 'Disconnect' button takes a long time to respond when the FTP server is not responding. Could an option be added for forcing a disconnection without waiting for timeout ?
11. When FTP disconnects in the middle of an operation, two pop-ups appear: one for aborting the current operation, and one for reconnecting. In order to continue the operation, the user must select something like 'No', then 'Yes', which is quite confusing. How about notifying the user that there were connectivity issues, reconnecting automatically (at least a few times, say 3), and letting the user select what to do next without a dialog ?
12. The packer order in the 'Packer' configuration dialog lists ARJ and LHA first. With all due respect to ARJ and LHA, is anybody still using them ? I suggest sorting the dialog by popularity, placing ZIP and RAR at the top. Since ZIP has a dialog of its own, I suggest placing a link to it from its parent dialog so nobody 'loses' it.
13. Can the new TC (>7.5) be trusted for opening split archives ?
For many versions, there was a warning dialog saying that TC might not detect all files of a split archive, or some similar limitation. In case split archives are supported, what are the current limitations (archive type, file sizes, internal vs. external packers, etc.) ? Is there something guiding the user not to miss any files ? I've still got the habit of using an external packer such as WinRAR for split RAR archives. May I get rid of it now ?
14. Verifying MD5/SHA-1 checksums for files: most of the time checksums are provided by a 3rd party and must only be verified, but the 'Create CRC Checksums' feature doesn't have an option for only displaying the checksum. It always creates a file. An option for viewing both the MD5 and the SHA-1 checksums would be extra cool.
Missing Features
15. SCP protocol support: why use WinSCP which (deliberately?) has no TC plug-in instead of using TC directly for this task ? Is this protocol very difficult to implement ?
16. The 'Split' dialog (bytes-per-file) for multiple-disk archives or other file splits doesn't include DVD sizes, or an option for selecting custom sizes.
17. When files are locked for writing/renaming, could TC indicate which process is responsible ?
Thank you very much for reading. I hope this list would help improve TC and increase its popularity even further.
betatester314