Custom Column: Selected files

[Rekrul]

You have a directory with a large number of files in it. You enter a filename pattern and it tells you that there are 5 files selected. You then have to scroll through the list to find them. It would be nice if there was a custom column to bring them to the top of the list.

I know there are other options to see only the the selected files, but having a custom column would be easier.

For example, let's say that you remember the name of some files you downloaded and you want to see what other files you downloaded on the same date. You enter a filename pattern to select them, sort by your custom column to bring them to the top of the list, click on one of them, then sort the list by date. If that's not the right one, sort by selected again, click a different file and then sort by date again.

This would be easier than using search, setting it to only search the current dir, clicking on the filename you want, sorting the list, then going back and performing another search, clicking on a different file, etc.

Besides, it just seems like a natural option to be able to bring selected files to the top of the list.

[Hacker]

Rekrul,
Does Show - Only Selected Files help in any way?

Roman

[Rekrul]

Does Show - Only Selected Files help in any way?

It's better than nothing, but not as good as sorting would be. Show only selected files indeed shows only the selected files, but when you go back to the All files display, those files are no longer selected. You have to press "/" on the numeric keypad to re-select them. Also, there's no toggle for that function, so you have to select one menu item to show the selected files, then a different menu item to go back to normal. Or you can make a hotkey to activate it, but then you have to press CTRL-F10 to go back to normal. Sorting would be faster, easier and take less steps.

[Usher]

Show only selected files indeed shows only the selected files, but when you go back to the All files display, those files are no longer selected.

Really? How do you work with this feature? Filtering and selection are different features.
I have set Ctrl+S on for filtering. When I press letters, TC shows only filtered files. Now I can press Esc to stop filtering, then use any metod to select really needed files (Gray*, Gray+, Ctrl+A, Alt+Gray+, whatever), then press Esc again. Selection is still present, filtering is removed.

[Dalai]

2Usher
Try again with the menu option Hacker mentioned.

Regards
Dalai

[Usher]

2Dalai
Aaah, that way… My way seems to be more convenient, but it's also far from perfection.

[Rekrul]

Maybe there are other work arounds, but being able to create a custom column to sort selected files to the top of the list wouldn't harm anything and having more ways of doing things is always a plus.

[Rekrul]

I suggested this once before, nobody else seemed to see the value in it and it was never implemented, so I'm suggesting it again.

Can you please add an option to make a custom column for selected files?

Yes, I know there's an option to show Only Selected Files, BUT, when you switch back to All Files, it deselects all your files and you have to remember to press "/" to restore the selection. Plus, if you have selected any other files and then press "/", it will deselect those and restore the previous selection.

For example, let's say that you have a directory with a large number of files and you want to select some of them for copying/moving. You enter a pattern and it selects all the files that match. You use Show > Only Selected Files, they appear in the active pane, you manually deselect some of them, then switch back to Show > All Files. The full file list appears, but your files have been deselected, so you need to press "/" to restore them. Then you enter another pattern, show Only Selected Files, deselect some of them, show All Files, press "/" to restore the selection, etc. If you do this many times, there is a good chance that you may forget to press "/" between each selection, and all the files you thought you selected up to that point have been deselected.

It would be so much simpler if you could create a custom column for selected files. Then you enter a pattern to select some files, sort by the Selected column, those files come to the top of the list, you manually deselect some of them, enter another pattern, those files come to the top of the list, you manually deselect some of them, etc.

You can create a custom column for virtually every other file attribute, why not one for selected files?

Failing that, can there be an option to not clear the selected files when switching from Only Selected FIles back to All Files?

[white]

Moderator message from: white » 2023-02-22, 09:46 UTC

I suggested this once before...

Merged with the earlier thread.

[hi5]

I would a "sort selected files at the top of the panel" view useful at times, so if somehow possible. I'd use it.

Perhaps a TC plugin "tc=Selected=yes" can be introduced, once you have that you can define a column view and use that to toggle the sorting in the file panel.

[Rekrul]

I would a "sort selected files at the top of the panel" view useful at times, so if somehow possible. I'd use it.

Perhaps a TC plugin "tc=Selected=yes" can be introduced, once you have that you can define a column view and use that to toggle the sorting in the file panel.

A plugin would be fine. I checked, but couldn't find one.

[solid]

Content plugins doesn't add functionality. They read and display already existing values written in various locations.

So in order to have custom column as requested, the selected state of the file/dir should be written in some location. The questions that arise are where this state will be written and for how long it should be kept.

[hi5]

I don't know the type of plugin needed, perhaps a new type would be needed, but this is a bit similar to a question I asked last year "can I apply an autoview when there are more than 10 files in a folder" at the moment you can't but the information is present:

2 / 25 files (2 of 25 file selected in the panel status bar for example)

So if that information can be made available to the user via a plugin or whatever you can use it for all sorts of things.

[NotNull]

To me it sounds that a "Jump to next selected"/"Jump to previous selected" option would better fit your (=Rakul) workflow?
That way you don't have to change between sorts.

(Maybe such a feature already exists?)

[Rekrul]

To me it sounds that a "Jump to next selected"/"Jump to previous selected" option would better fit your (=Rakul) workflow?
That way you don't have to change between sorts.

That could be a usable work-around, but being able to just bring all the selected files to the top of the list would still be really handy.

(Maybe such a feature already exists?)

I couldn't find any such feature.