Functional issues in Omega

narayan · Post by **narayan** » 2002 Aug 08, 10:30

I had two observations for Omega Release:

1. No tooltips are displayed for certain types of items:
* folders,
* pdf, MS Word, pps, GIF, HTML and JPEG files

(On the other hand, they are present in case of ppt, xls and lnk files.)

Question is: do we expect to see a tooltip for all files and folders? Is it filetype-dependent? Or, can it be seen only for those files where the author has added some details (example: the "properties" dialog box for a MSWord/Excel file)?

2. The "tree expansion on hover" function definitely does not work. (I have NT4, service Pack-6a). I tried holding the mouse on a folder name in the tree, and also on the "+" sign in the tree; but neither worked. (I tried holding time of >2 sec.) In fact, it needs a double-click on the name (and a single-click on the "+" sign) to expand a branch.

All the 3 tree-related options in the "view > Options > Usability" dialog-box are selected (checked).

Could this be due a conflict in some settings?

Post by **nikos** » 2002 Aug 08, 11:08

>No tooltips are displayed for certain types of items

which windows are you running?
from w2000 onwards most things have tips
XP provides tips for folders too, which is kind of cool but there's no documented way to do that -- i'd have to write my own code for that

more on tooltips will follow in a tips'n'tricks artikel, since it's a quite neat and powerful feature poorly understood

>tree expansion on hover" function definitely does not work

that only works during drag/drop when your hands are "tied". If you are just moving the mouse there's nothing stopping you clicking on the [+]

narayan · Post by **narayan** » 2002 Aug 08, 13:01

which windows are you running?

I was reporting for Windows NT4, Service Pack-6a.

If you are just moving the mouse there's nothing stopping you clicking on the [+]

Yes, but just think of the advantage of unfolding a branch unfolded just by hovering the mouse over it! A lot of clicks are saved.

Note: I don't look like a squirrel, either!

But then I am sure all the lazy people on this earth are solidly behind me

some of them are actually too lazy even to raise a voice against your tendency to make us click, click and click... But if you give in, you are sure to get a lot of blessings..

Post by **nikos** » 2002 Aug 08, 14:10

NT4 doesn't have much to offer tooltip-wise. Still you should see in 2x whatever tips your standard explorer/desktop has to offer, same file types and all

wrt "hover for slackers" issue, why don't you hire an operator to act on your behalf instead? If it is a small child you can get it cheaply since they are ice-cream rather than coin-operated

rir3760 · Post by **rir3760** » 2002 Aug 09, 19:06

2xExplorer Omega - Sticky selection

Wish:
To be able to select/unselect files using the spacebar when Sticky selection in ON. Right now it can be done with Insert or Control+spacebar but spacebar (alone) seems more natural (and easy).

Bug/Glitch?
When sticky selection is ON trying to select files with Shift+arrow keys cancel the previous selection, e.g:

1.- Turn ON Sticky selection (Alt+S) and select a few files with Ctrl+spacebar or Insert key.
2.- Try to select a few more files with Shift+Up/Down.
3.- First selection is lost.

Bug or feature?

Post by **nikos** » 2002 Aug 11, 10:06

> select/unselect files using the spacebar when Sticky selection in ON

sounds good, i'll add it

> Shift+arrow keys cancel the previous selection

feature, for sure! :)
i can't think of any way to make sticky selection work with shift+arrows. So you'll either have to do your shift-selecting as a first step or use the old "save selection" [Ctrl+F11] command to protect it before embarking on the Shift-select step

narayan · Post by **narayan** » 2002 Aug 14, 11:52

When the single-click selection mode is ON, pasting the clipboard contents is difficult from within the folder. (Otherwise, 2x tries to stuff the clipboard content into the highlighted subfolder. That means we have to take care that the mouse has not hovered over some sub-folder.)

To correctly paste the item, I have to-
1. Go up one level
2. Point to the folder
3. Right-click and select paste.

I may be missing the trick here entirely. Is there any easier method?

Post by **nikos** » 2002 Aug 14, 15:49

what if you right-click "nowhere" and thus get the default context menu for the pane? There's a paste command there

narayan · Post by **narayan** » 2002 Aug 19, 04:14

I actually forgot to mention a special condition when this happens:

The difficulty arises only when the folder contains a large number of folders/files (so that the entire pane is filled up with the list, and there are no blank lines at the bottom of the pane). In this case, the mouse pointer has to be positioned on any one (random) folder/file, which gets selected because of the "select-on-hover" functionality; and then the right-click context menu does not give a paste option!

On the other hand, if the folder contains only a few items, it is possible to right-click on the empty (bottom) portion of the pane to get the "paste" option.

Post by **nikos** » 2002 Aug 19, 09:21

i just used your preferred single click mode and didn't have any problems. Even if a pane is full you should be able to find some white space between 2 columns & right click there

unless you are in detailed view where i'd recommend clearing the "full row selection" option in View | Options | Usability. That would allow you to right-click on the rightmost columns without activating any items

narayan · Post by **narayan** » 2002 Aug 19, 09:44

That's it! :thumbup: :thumbup:

I was using my preferred "details" view, and hence could not find a free space in a jam-packed pane.

I will modify the option.

I think this certainly merits a place in your next FAQ (till x2 takes over, in any case! )