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Eschewing auto-refresh?

Posted: 2019 Aug 10, 20:16
by AndyFielding
Sorry if this has already been asked—I couldn't find any references to it.

One of the many things I've liked about x2 is that, unlike Windows Explorer, it doesn't impose auto-refresh (auto-sorting) on you. You could add stuff to a tab, and it stayed at the end of the listing so you could easily find and work with it. Only when you deliberately refreshed the tab (Ctrl+R), or closed that folder and reopened it, were its contents re-sorted according to the current view.

Since upgrading to v.4, I've noticed that x2 does auto-refresh, under specific circumstances: If you have a folder open in x2, and its tab is not selected (that is, not in view), any files or folders you save to it from other applications are auto-sorted the next time you view that tab.

Has x2 always been this way? I don't think so, because when it happens now, I'm always surprised.

In any case, is it possible to change a setting so x2 never automatically re-sorts folders that are open in it, even if they're not currently in view? I'd quite appreciate that. Thanks!

Re: Eschewing auto-refresh?

Posted: 2019 Aug 10, 20:22
by AndyFielding
Oh, and how do you turn off the horizontal lines in the Find windows? That's new, too (for me, at least), and I don't find it necessary.

Re: Eschewing auto-refresh?

Posted: 2019 Aug 10, 23:25
by nikos
you need to turn off the behavior that only refreshes a tab when you actually use it. Use TOOLS > ADVANCED OPTIONS menu and tick "allow inactive tabs to consume resources"

your second question, is it about grid lines? Use TOOLS > OPTIONS to turn them off

Re: Eschewing auto-refresh?

Posted: 2019 Aug 12, 05:19
by AndyFielding
nikos wrote: 2019 Aug 10, 23:25 you need to turn off the behavior that only refreshes a tab when you actually use it...
Sorry, I don't get it. If I turn that off, won't it always refresh? Maybe I wasn't clear, but I don't want any tab to auto-refresh, ever—whether I'm "actually using it" or not. Is there a way to do that?

nikos wrote: 2019 Aug 10, 23:25 Use TOOLS > ADVANCED OPTIONS menu and tick "allow inactive tabs to consume resources"
The option actually says "Allow inactive/hidden tabs to consume resources (refresh)". So if I select it ("tick" it), inactive/hidden tabs will auto-refresh, right? But again, I don't want tabs to auto-refresh... Why would I turn that on?

nikos wrote: 2019 Aug 10, 23:25 your second question, is it about grid lines? Use TOOLS > OPTIONS to turn them off
In Tools > Options, here's the only setting I see that refers to grid lines:


Image


...and it's already unselected by default. Are you referring to a different setting, somewhere else?

Nikos, developers are often so familiar with their software, it's hard for them to imagine what it's like not to know where everything is (or understand what it means). When you point people to options and features in x2, it'd really help if you could be more specific.

There's a standard way to do this: You include the steps you take to get there.

For example, in your answer about auto-refresh, instead of pointing me in the general direction (where I had to search pages of settings), you could write:

Tools menu > Advanced Settings > click Yes > Global tab > More options > "Allow inactive/hidden tabs to consume resources (refresh)"

It removes all the doubt. Who knows—if you did that with the grid-line setting, I might actually find it. ;)

It might help to imagine you're speaking to someone on the phone, and they're following your instructions. It's not that different here—it just seems like it.

Re: Eschewing auto-refresh?

Posted: 2019 Aug 12, 20:50
by nikos
regarding the advanced setting for inactive tabs, it would be much faster for you if you just tried what I said :)
it will make tabs behave like you were used to

as for the "grid lines", the problem is that I didn't understand your question, what ails you? I took a guess about the grid lines, it wasn't it, so please explain in detail (e.g. a picture) what do you mean by "horizontal lines"?

Re: Eschewing auto-refresh?

Posted: 2019 Aug 26, 05:51
by AndyFielding
I think we're just having some language problems. I'd try to re-explain everything, but I'm afraid I haven't time right now... Thanks anyway!