Firefox-like incremental search

Kilmatead · Post by **Kilmatead** » 2011 Jun 03, 17:22

This update seems to have a slight issue with entering filenames with spaces in x2 (works fine in Explorer) - it just ignores the typed space. Getting a little annoyed with the last few versions myself as well... the developer seems to be suffering from the syndrome that says "this feature is so great everyone will want to use it" and so there's no way of disabling it (like all the nonsense menus that pop up - I could care less about "Recent" files). And attaching itself to every bloody Load/Save modal is just clutter. I liked it better when it was just Type-and-instant-Find, no frills. Anyone have one of the old 2.0 installers around a backup somewhere? I wouldn't mind downgrading.

And Nikos, weren't you supposed to be adding a better Type-and-Find feature into x2 anyway? Whatever happened to that? All this docking has me wondering who stole my yacht (oh, wait, maybe it was repossessed...)

Tuxman · Post by **Tuxman** » 2011 Jun 03, 21:14

Kilmatead wrote:This update seems to have a slight issue with entering filenames with spaces in x2 (works fine in Explorer) - it just ignores the typed space.

I already noticed that a few versions ago, so it has been there for a while now.

Kilmatead · Post by **Kilmatead** » 2011 Jun 20, 21:39

In the interests of compounding the ironic with the sardonic (and back again), Listary 3 has yet again issued another update to add more clutter to your lives (link in previous posts).

On the plus-side, however, I found an old 2.0 portable version here which does not add clutter to your lives, and just does the basics - no silly Favourites, Recent items, or other waffle - just simple unadulterated type-and-find. This version has been pointlessly bundled into an official (dev/test) "Portable Apps" version, but the pertinent files (x86 or x64) can be extracted and the rest of the junk discarded safely. One wonders why they bothered?

Now, all I have to figure out is how to kill x2's insistence on using the spacebar as focus-select toggle status. I'm really coming to the conclusion that "file focus" is the anti-Christ of file management, and probably the dumbest thing ever invented. Causes nothing but trouble, and offers no benefit whatsoever. I'm sure I've requested an exorcism of it in the past, but no one seems to agree with me.

Just because Nikos (Kaiser Soze?) can't see the Devil doesn't mean he isn't real.

And before you ask (reductively) "what's wrong with focus", anyone feel free to point out what's "good about it", as I can't see it. (Which, if you think about it, would indicate that I also can't see Christ - which is no bad thing - the Shroud of Turin just faded that little bit more. No wonder God hates me.)

In a binary universe there should only be "selected" and "not selected". No indeterminate mystical third-state of Transubstantiation is necessary.

Yes, that was a rant. Your regularly scheduled programming will now resume...

Post by **nikos** » 2011 Jun 21, 06:22

if you don't want spacebar dealt as a keyboard accelerator then wipe it from Customize > KEyboard :idea:

Kilmatead · Post by **Kilmatead** » 2011 Jun 21, 06:52

Which no doubt would have been a wonderful idea that I could have thought of meself, if I could actually find the command it corresponds to... "Keyboard Use" seems to show it assigned as:

Space 32823 Toggle selection state of focused item

...except that (or a variant therein) doesn't seem to exist in the convoluted Customise -> Keyboard menu list. I can't even find a reference to 32823 in the resources, which is the usual means of finding a menu item (for me).

[Edit] It shows up under Miscellaneous, but doesn't let me remove it.

Post by **nikos** » 2011 Jun 21, 07:32

i just did it; select the shortcut and press remove button

Kilmatead · Post by **Kilmatead** » 2011 Jun 21, 07:40

Ahh... you have to select the command and then the "Current Keys" text for the Remove button to activate. Why didn't you just say so?

Cheers.

Who designed this thing? And who are all these so-called power-user experts anyway?

<Whistles like Bugs Bunny imitating Alfred Hitchcock>

Mr.Pleasant · Post by **Mr.Pleasant** » 2011 Jun 21, 22:32

Nice rant. I'm still having difficuties understanding how you would do without focus (that is a kind way of saying that it's completely senseless... I mean: having selected a few folders, pressing 'enter': which folder will be browsed?), but again: nice rant

One of the few things I like about Listary nowadays, is that, whenever there is a save- or open-dialog active, and you activate (Alt-tab) X2 (or WE), and then go back again to the save/open-dialog, this dialog 'mirrors' X2, and goes instantly to the folder active in X2.
This proves to be quite useful, as I usually am doing something in the 'neighbourhood' of the folder in which a file resides I would like to open. I'm already 'there' in X2. So only activating X2 is enough to get to the folder in the save/open dialog, and it saves me the effort of copying and pasting paths, or, in the case of those annoying folder dialogs without the possibility to paste paths, browsing to the wanted folder.
I don't know if this function was there already in the old Listary, but it is nice to have anyway :)

Kilmatead · Post by **Kilmatead** » 2011 Jun 22, 01:46

Mr.Pleasant wrote:I'm still having difficulties understanding how you would do without focus...

Being a single-click-activation mouse-only user, its intended functionality doesn't really apply to me. 90% of the time, this is fine (I just ignore it), but as x2 has a really bad habit of highlighting the first item in a folder (de-facto auto-selection) the number of times I've "accidentally" deleted the first item in a folder as well as the item I actually intended to delete causes me much grief. Nikos' suggestion was to use sticky-selection which indeed does eliminate this, but unfortunately causes a whole host of other weirdness when using single-click, so unfortunately I've simply gotten used to the devil I know - but I fail to see why it's foisted upon us.

I know such auto-selection is meant for the betterment of all mankind, but add in the thought that x2's status-bar doesn't show the number of selected items until there are at least 2 objects selected (nonsensically), how are you supposed to know something was auto-selected in the first place until it's too late? It's all just evil, I say, muttering in that way that only old bachelor's can, and an obvious government conspiracy of Big Brother.

Mr.Pleasant wrote:...this dialog 'mirrors' X2, and goes instantly to the folder active in X2

I don't mind the inclusion of some of the recent additions to Listary, but I'm against the inability to "hide" the new floating menus and the extra "helpful" entries in its own listview. It's all well an good your man opened up things like Favourites, et al, to the "free-version", but one of the things that drew me to it in the first place was its minimalism - now sadly lost. Thus I'm happy to be back with version 2. (I also sense a significant delay when those Save/Load modals open as it waits for Listary to sink its hooks in first - and this can't be disabled. More evidence of conspiracy, in my obsessively befuddled brain.

)

Ultimately it's all just further proof that the road to Hell really is paved with good intentions.

Like what is the deal with mobile phones these days? They seem to want to be all things to all men, but end up just being designed to pander to the trivial foibles of women. I don't get it. "Oh look, you can automatically share your photos of your deranged children with everyone in a 100-metre radius." Oh joy. "Isn't auto-synching just a wonderful invention?" No, no it's not. Doesn't everyone know the reason the AK47 became so enduringly popular was because of its no-mess/-no-fuss design? Why can I kill people with perfect efficiency but I can't have a phone that simply "works"?

I hate the 21st century and all it stands for.

And don't get me started on Easy-Cook Rice. Or Microwave Pizza. Or those god-awful liqueur-chocolates your aunt gives you for Christmas. Or child-proof bottle-caps. Or printed instructions that are so small no human eye could possibly read them. And have you ever tried to light Diesel-fuel on fire? You can't. It's insane. In the cinema the protagonist drops a match and all his enemies blow up with a satisfying burning glare. In real life it just doesn't work that way. And whatever happened to paperback novels that could fit in your pocket? And what is the deal with young-people who don't read anymore?

Tyrion Lannister wrote:A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.

And why am I still awake at 2:38 in the morning when I have to work tomorrow? The comforting silence in the dark of night isn't what it used to be either. Does a soul ever find peace? Can we ever transcend the mundane for the spiritual? Will I ever love again? And just who shot J.R. anyway?

These are all questions that modern file-management was originally meant to answer (at least I think so), but somehow we have lost our way. You can have your new world order. Just give me one of those cool green lasers the protesting Greeks seem so fond of - one of those would make my life perfect.

Yeah, lasers make everything better. Like light-sabres. Just green.

Kilmatead · Post by **Kilmatead** » 2011 Nov 26, 12:16

For those interested, there's been a new update for Listary 3.5 which includes a late bug-fix to correct a conflict with the Middle-Mouse-Button click within X2.

wperkins99 · Post by **wperkins99** » 2011 Nov 26, 20:19

Kilmatead wrote:For those interested, there's been a new update for Listary 3.5 which includes a late bug-fix to correct a conflict with the Middle-Mouse-Button click within X2.

Slightly off-topic, but does this perchance mean that you are re-embracing later versions (post - V2) of Listary?

Kilmatead · Post by **Kilmatead** » 2011 Nov 26, 20:59

wperkins99 wrote:Slightly off-topic, but does this perchance mean...

Nothing is ever off-topic. That's just a phrase Nazi-moderators (who are closet control-freaks) use to scare people into conforming to what they consider "relevant".

But, to the point - the jury is still out on Listary 3+. I keep trying the new versions to see how they may improve (which is how I ran across the MMB conflict in x2 which your man Channing was cool enough to fix immediately). This new version is a little less offensive, and definitely works better with 3rd-party modal lists (far faster hooking), but I still just end up turning everything off - no, please don't track this programme - no, I don't care about jump-lists - no, I don't want recently used nonsense - no, I don't want "smart stuff" - no, I said don't track this programme - damn it - stop adding applications to the list - WTF? - stop touching things you shouldn't.

It still feels like a misbehaving child with really ugly tattoos on its face that's standing in line waiting to get its nipples pierced.

Sometimes you just want normal chocolate ice-cream: You don't want it adulterated with "bits in it", you don't want "shavings of superfluous toppings" added, and you definitely don't want it to extend tentacles down your throat first to see if it can specially adapt to your individual palate.

stewcam · Post by **stewcam** » 2012 Jan 07, 01:16

I have been trying to use the Listary find-as-you-type feature with Xplorer2 version 2.0.0.3. However, I just cannot get it to appear. Any advice would be gratefully received.

Kilmatead · Post by **Kilmatead** » 2012 Jan 07, 01:57

Generally speaking, as long as you have the following setting checked in Listary's "Compatibility" tab, it should just appear when you start typing. The latest version of Listary is 3.50 Build 714 and it's confirmed to work fine with x2 (x86 or x64).

There have been a few Listary conflicts with other programmes (which interfere with its hooking mechanism) but they've largely been resolved. If using the above setting doesn't work for you, you may have stumbled across another hook conflict (ironically, this is neither the fault of x2 nor Listary, it is some other application you may have installed which can interfere in an otherwise happy marriage of Listary and x2 by disrupting focus-detection).

If you can isolate what is causing this interference (generally by disabling other programmes/extensions one by one until something works), report it to Listary's developer and he'll look into it further. Almost any programme running in your tray could be the culprit (especially those that manipulate third-party windows for hiding/centring/colouring/etc), so start with them.

stewcam · Post by **stewcam** » 2012 Jan 07, 03:13

Thanks. I tried disabling tray apps without any success. I am now thinking that the problem lies with Xplorer2. If I go to My Computer and set the Pane Style to Detail, and then restart Xplorer2 then Listary starts to work. Conversely if I go back to My Computer and set Pane Style to List, and restart Xyplorer2 then Listary no longer works. Note that the problem is not resolved by changing the Pane Style in a folder, only in My Computer.

zabkat support forum

Firefox-like incremental search

Using Listary find-as-you-type with Xplorer2 v2