Problem with Actions > Folder settings > Save

Robert2 · Post by **Robert2** » 2004 Jun 23, 02:59

Greetings--
A desktop.ini file is created in the corresponding folder each time Actions > Folder settings > Save is used.
These desktop.ini files are "super" system files which are normally hidden from view. As a matter of fact, the View > Show all command does not display them. They only appear briefly when they have just been created, then they vanish from sight when the view is refreshed one way or the other.
The problem with these desktop.ini files is that they don't show unless you toggle on a Windows Explorer special setting to view highly sensitive system files (or supposed to be so). As a general rule, it is unadvisable to toggle on the display of these files. So this creates a problem.
Whenever a folder is compressed using WinZip or any other compression tool, these desktop.ini files are compressed along with the other files in the folder. Unfortunately, this is undesirable most of the time.
Would anybody have a workaround?
Or maybe xplorer² could save individual folder settings in a different way?

Post by **nikos** » 2004 Jun 23, 05:50

can you see any other alternative?

Robert2 · Post by **Robert2** » 2004 Jun 23, 07:48

Greetings--
Well, I am no programmer at all, I am only computer-literate enough (?) to think of a few alternative solutions.
xplorer² could use the registry to store these settings. But too many registry settings tend to slow down the global Windows system.
Or use a centralized INI file in xplorer² home folder. Each saved folder would have its own paragraph with settings.
The main thing is to avoid a plethora of undesirable desktop.ini files. Or they have to be hidden from applications one way or the other.
Ideally these desktop.ini files would be considered off limits by such applications as WinZip and would not be included in Zip files.
Since ordinary users are not aware that these desktop.ini files are present on their system, maybe WinZip could also be made unaware of them?
I don't know if this could be achieved by the WinZip developers, but maybe xplorer² could make these files as invisible to WinZip as they are in the file manager panes. Is there any programming possibility?

Post by **nikos** » 2004 Jun 23, 08:16

this isn't a programming issue, it is design issue, so everybody can contribute a thought!

registry is out of the question since there are tons of folders
desktop.ini is a valid windows system file, and explorer itself uses it for its special folders
it is very small in size
if it bothers you ending up in archives, this being an external program (winzip) there isn't much i can do. Perhaps they have options to exclude super-hidden files from their packs(?)

Gandolf · Post by **Gandolf** » 2004 Jun 23, 10:16

Try using WinRAR, which will generate Zip or RAR archives. This displays the desktop.ini file in it's list of files to compress and you can therefore select all files except the ini file.

Dave.

JRz · Post by **JRz** » 2004 Jun 23, 10:38

There's an option when zipping files using winzip to exclude hidden and system files. Its default setting is to include these files. Just switch it off (somewhere in the 'Add files' dialog).
This will effectively skip desktop.ini (and all other files with the system and/or hidden attribute, that's the price you have to pay

)

Robert2 · Post by **Robert2** » 2004 Jun 23, 12:29

JRz wrote:There's an option when zipping files using winzip to exclude hidden and system files. Its default setting is to include these files. Just switch it off (somewhere in the 'Add files' dialog).
This will effectively skip desktop.ini (and all other files with the system and/or hidden attribute, that's the price you have to pay )

Greetings--
Thanks for the tip, JRz! It works.
Unfortunately it does not work with other software like CabPack. I'll have to clear the folder settings whenever I want to compress a folder without selecting the files first.

longfellow · Post by **longfellow** » 2004 Jun 23, 14:30

This works for me (YMMV):

Select the .INI file.
Press the grey (num pad) '*' to invert the selection.
R-click and select 'Add to archive' (or whatever command your zipper has).

JRz · Post by **JRz** » 2004 Jun 23, 15:32

longfellow wrote:This works for me (YMMV):

Select the .INI file.
Press the grey (num pad) '*' to invert the selection.
R-click and select 'Add to archive' (or whatever command your zipper has).

Yes, you are right of course. But as Robert2 states:

Robert2 wrote:The problem with these desktop.ini files is that they don't show unless you toggle on a Windows Explorer special setting to view highly sensitive system files (or supposed to be so). As a general rule, it is unadvisable to toggle on the display of these files. So this creates a problem

So, you have to switch on an undesirable feature of Windows, exposing all 'super-hidden' files for your solution to work

Robert2 · Post by **Robert2** » 2004 Jun 23, 16:51

Greetings--
I think that there has been a big misunderstanding here.
Selecting or de-selecting files, whether they are called "desktop.ini" or anything else has never been a problem.
There is a problem with these "desktop.ini" files only because they are normally invisible. No one can select or de-select invisible files. You might not even be aware that they are there!
Also, the problem arises mainly when whole folders are zipped, and you do not see what is inside in detail. When you can see what is inside a folder, it is as easy as pie to select or de-select individual files. With "desktop.ini" files, there is the added problem of making them visible. There is an alternative solution though: if you launch the "Actions > Folder settings > Clear" xplorer² command on a folder, any "desktop.ini" file that might be present there is deleted (removed). You lose the folder settings but you are rid of the "desktop.ini" file.

fgagnon · Post by **fgagnon** » 2004 Jun 23, 17:15

everybody is making true statements, but I get neither an understanding nor a description of a "problem", in the sense of an adverse effect -- especially regarding something impacting xplorer².

Is there really something wrong with the desktop.ini file(s) being included (or not included) in an archive?

If so, what is the downside (or benefit) ?

... and what (if anything) does it make sense for either the file manager app or the archiving app to do?

Robert2 · Post by **Robert2** » 2004 Jun 23, 18:09

Greetings--
Most of the time my zip files are created to be sent as attachment to email messages.
Of course, it would not be a real disaster if my zip files included these "desktop.ini" files but it might puzzle addressees as to why they were included in the zip files at all. And when all is said and done, I'd like to include only the files that I really want to send.
As was so nicely hinted here, one could consider that this has nothing to do with xplorer² at all. But most of these ubiquitous "desktop.ini" files are created by xplorer² when you use the Actions > Folder settings > Save xplorer² command on a folder. "Desktop.ini" files are also created by the Windows system, but as far as I aware, Windows only creates them in root folders. It is then easier to be aware that they are there.
I just had a thought. Maybe xplorer² could have some special mark or a special icon that would show that a folder has had its settings saved. Maybe the "Save" menu item in Actions > Folder settings > Save could be greyed out whenever a folder is selected and its settings have already been saved (there is a "Desktop.ini" file in it).
This would be quite helpful. As these "desktop.ini" files are not visible, it is very difficult to know if a given folder has already had its "folder settings" saved or not.

JRz · Post by **JRz** » 2004 Jun 23, 18:45

To add to the mayhem: When you clear previously saved settings for a folder, desktop.ini doesn't get removed!! Just the settings from X² are annulled, but the file itself remains (until you manually delete it of course

)

Windows uses desktop.ini files also to store customized settings per folder (not only root folders Robert2 !!)

So it's an issue beyond the scope of this forum. Case closed I guess.

fgagnon · Post by **fgagnon** » 2004 Jun 23, 19:17

How about moving just a little outside the existing box, and ask "Why must x2 use desktop.ini files for folder customisation?"
Could x2 intead use its own folder configuration files which are not superhidden? -- & to pick a name, how about !!x2folder.ini (with !! leader to rise to top of sort by ascii)
And what would be "wrong" with making them simply hidden? ...
or even plainly visible? ... so they might be picked out easily when not needed/wanted in use cases such as described by Robert2

Of course this doesn't address the general presence of any desktop.ini files -- whether created by windows or any other app.

And if there there are often many non-x2 desktop.ini files in regular use, is this not really, as JRz concludes, simply out of scope for x2.

... just stirring the pot with more questions than answers ...

Brad · Post by **Brad** » 2004 Jun 23, 19:42

My 2c

I personally would vote for a system where all folder settings are recorded in a single file per user. This would have a number of advantages (for me):

1. No extraneous files dropped all over the directory tree.
- Easy to back up all my styles
- Easy to copy all my styles to different machines
- Easy to find, change, delete any style
2. Individual users can maintain their own directory views
3. User can easily copy directory styles to other directories
3. Previously mentioned issue (being included in zip) is eliminated
4. File format could be extended to include wildcards, and recursion
- ex1, any folder with "pictures" in the name could be set to thumbnail view
- ex2, any folder under "\myjunk" could be set to thumbnail view

The disadvantage (for Nikos) is that now everytime the current directory is changed this file (in memory) would have to be scanned, instead of just noticing if there is a file called "desktop.ini".

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