Colour / color coding: Keywords??

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Telemacus
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Colour / color coding: Keywords??

Post by Telemacus »

I'm a bit obsessed with using color coding for my files management.
I'm currently using the "comments" field to add words like "urgent". Then I create a new entry in the customize color coding panel so that any file containing "urgent" in the comments field is displayed the way I want. Pretty cool. :wink:

The thing is, there's a column called "Keywords" which would be more appropriate than the comments column, but the problem then is how to add keywords to a file? It doesn't seem as simple as using the menu option "Action -> Set comment" (or Alt + Z) it's just that I'm currently using the comments column as a tag column, which is not ideal, but hey, it works... :party:

By the way, I do have issues with the setting disappearing all of a sudden and then having to resort to my saved .reg file (as described in some posts), but this doesn't always work and sometimes I have to build the color coding from scratch (I must say I was using a 2013 version of Xplorer2, just installed the latest one).
By the way, the instructions say that you need to exit the program before doubling clicking on the .reg file, so we're supposed to use window's search system to find the file? :alien:
Last edited by Telemacus on 2014 Oct 21, 14:29, edited 1 time in total.
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FrizzleFry
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Re: Colour / color coding: Keywords??

Post by FrizzleFry »

You definitely need to exit x2 completely before you double-click the x2 settings reg file.

Are you are using Window Explorer replacement? If so you need to exit x2 using File/Exit or Alt-X instead of just clicking on the upper-right X to exit x2 completely.

I do not use WE replacement so when I need to do something out of x2 I just do right-click open on the folder to open it in WE and then close x2.

I'm interested in that Keywords [S] column also... specially since it is a [S]tock column (added by x2)

The (somewhat outdated) manual says that the Keywords column contains "Keywords entered in the documents' Properties dialog" but none of the properties dialogs of the files I have tried so far have provided a way to enter them... maybe this is not supported in Windows 8...
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nikos
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Re: Colour / color coding: Keywords??

Post by nikos »

if you don't want to search for the REG file, just put it on the desktop so it's easy to find

keywords is a column that not all files support it, and it's not as easy to set as comment. So overall you are using the best approach possible!
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Telemacus
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Re: Colour / color coding: Keywords??

Post by Telemacus »

FrizzleFry wrote: Are you are using Window Explorer replacement? If so you need to exit x2 using File/Exit or Alt-X instead of just clicking on the upper-right X to exit x2 completely.
Yes, I am. Nikos has suggested that I put the .reg file on my desktop.
nikos wrote:if you don't want to search for the REG file, just put it on the desktop so it's easy to find.
I'd rather not put too many files or quick links there. Still, finding it shouldn't prove too hard.
nikos wrote:keywords is a column that not all files support it, and it's not as easy to set as comment. So overall you are using the best approach possible!
Good to know!

Now, I was wondering what happens when you customize the colors and the rules you set are mutually exclusive.

For example:

Red color for .txt
Blue color for *.* with the word january in the comments (which also includes .txt files, obviously)
etc.
Which rule has "more weight"? is there a way to define that (the "weight")?
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Re: Colour / color coding: Keywords??

Post by Kilmatead »

Rules are interpreted on a "first matched" approach - once any one of them is satisfied, the item is coloured and the routine exits - they do not "stack", so if two conflict, just be sure to place the "more important" one above the other (assuming they don't always match).

For example, say you want to use boldface font for Folders... but you also want to have hidden folders boldface (yet in a different colour). You need two rules, one for simple boldface, the other for boldface/hidden/coloured. The "Hidden" rule must come before the regular folder rule because otherwise the "hidden folder" rule would never actually be seen, since a folder is always a folder, even when hidden (unless you write an exclusionary rule into it). It can get quite messy after awhile. :D (Now, if nikos were to add the completely nutty hierarchy-rule format from DeskRule into colour-coding, we could have some real fun... :twisted:)

As for REG files, you can actually browse (in x2) to the location where the REG is, then click it - there will be an obligatory message from Windows asking you "if you are sure you want to do this" - while that message is currently displayed you can just close x2 first in the background, then hit <Ok>. That's the most convenient means that I've found. :shrug:
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Telemacus
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Re: Colour / color coding: Keywords??

Post by Telemacus »

Thanks Kilmatead, now I understand the point behind moving items up and down in the list, which I didn't quite get, I thought it was just there so as to order them manually (for example, alphabetically).
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