xplorer2 build 2.001

IneedHelp · Post by **IneedHelp** » 2011 Sep 21, 09:23

Ray wrote:it's far more convenient to rename files using the app that's already open than to run a 3rd party app, focus on that, rename, close the app, go back to X2, ensure that the changes are reflected within X2.

Regardless of the renaming rules complexity, having advanced mass-renaming built-in or external makes absolutely no difference when it comes to the number of required windows and clicks here and there. In every case you still get a window to configure or select the rules, and then you need to confirm the operation. You don't need to check back in x2 if a 3rd party tool successfully renamed each file... in most cases the renaming tool tells you itself if errors occur.

Ray wrote:I am perfectly happy to use third party tools that integrate with X2 through context menus. I understand the needlessness of a file manager having everything and the kitchen sink built in. Renaming (for me) is a strong exception.

If renaming for you is that important (don't get me wrong, it's important for me too) , you should've known by now that using dedicated renaming tools is the way to go (especially when the most advanced are not even hard to get).

And, while I was posting this, Kilmatead already beat me to it.

Ray · Post by **Ray** » 2011 Sep 21, 09:49

I've been using "Renamer" for years for advanced rename operations.

Passing files from X2 via the "send to" shortcut has its limitations (can't pass more than x no. of files, depending on path lengths)

After a trial and error session a while back I settled on the following command:
> D:\ReNamer\ReNamer.exe $S
- this did the trick until today, my old shortcut Ctrl+Shift+2 did nothing. This prompted me to post here. Using Renamer through X2 has never gone as smoothly as I'd hoped. Anyway, I changed the shortcut key and it runs fine now. Perhaps an external app hi-jacked the old hotkey.

Kilmatead · Post by **Kilmatead** » 2011 Sep 21, 09:58

If you're using x2 V2, define your user command as:

> D:\ReNamer\ReNamer.exe /list "$>"

rather than using $S. This way, there will be no limit to the number of selected files you can send to it. (The pathname length limit comes from the number of characters windows allows for command-line argument passage, but using a listfile bypasses that.)

IneedHelp · Post by **IneedHelp** » 2011 Sep 21, 09:58

Ray wrote:Passing files from X2 via the "send to" shortcut has its limitations (can't pass more than x no. of files, depending on path lengths)

After a trial and error session a while back I settled on the following command:
> D:\ReNamer\ReNamer.exe $S

I'd look for a renaming tool which supports file lists. I'm not familiar with ReNamer, maybe it supports file lists too, but I'm using File Renamer Turbo, and I pass files and folders to it by using this user command line:

>"C:\Program Files (x86)\File Renamer Turbo\File Renamer Turbo.exe" /open /list $>

The key token here is '$>' which got implemented by Nikos after being requested by Kilmatead several times. The temporary text file listing all selected files and folders' paths on each line proved to be very useful with many other tools as well.

Some tools wok only with file lists and don't accept dynamic multiple file references input. Another advantage to file lists is that there's no limit to the number of files you can pass to an application.

It happened again... :D

Kilmatead · Post by **Kilmatead** » 2011 Sep 21, 10:08

IneedHelp wrote:It happened again...

IneedHelp wrote:...implemented by Nikos after being requested by Kilmatead several times

I only requested it once. I finally just made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Watching the Sopranos and the Godfather on DVD comes in handy from time to time.

Actually, come to think of it, this token is another thing that didn't get into the "official" list of documented tokens for version 2.0.0.1 - and of that I have reminded him numerous times, so it's not too surprising that people haven't found it yet.

Ray · Post by **Ray** » 2011 Sep 21, 10:16

Kilmatead wrote:The pathname length limit comes from the number of characters windows allows for command-line argument passage

Guessed as much... the command I used didn't seem to have the max char limitations but I've replaced it with the one you listed. Thanks. You too, INeedHelp.

Kilmatead · Post by **Kilmatead** » 2011 Sep 21, 10:28

Ray wrote:the command I used didn't seem to have the max char limitations

Well, it did still have those limitations, but as $S only passes the filenames itself (not the full paths) it could fit more names in the argument line, so you hadn't hit the limit yet. $> sends full filepaths so it may be used safely on numerous different files selected from different directories (as from a Scrap pane "Find" result) if necessary. RSPCA rules aside, killing two birds with one stone is always a good thing.

By the way, I think I once tested it by passing 5000 files to Renamer, and it worked fine, so there shouldn't be any practical limits.

One caveat with ReNamer - do not use the token with the /enqueue command, as they don't play well together. This is a fault in ReNamer itself, which the author doesn't seem too concerned about - a common disease amongst developers it would seem.

Ray · Post by **Ray** » 2011 Sep 21, 10:43

One caveat with ReNamer - do not use the token with the /enqueue command, as they don't play well together.

Nice to know. I didn't know about the command line args available for Renamer until you mentioned them. I could swear I searched for just that when I was troubleshooting this issue and came up with zilcho.

I'm also going to try File Renamer Turbo which IneedHelp mentioned. It doesn't seem to have an uber-cluttered interface like some others, looks like something I could get along with. Let's see if it beats the reigning rename champ on my system. :)

Kilmatead · Post by **Kilmatead** » 2011 Sep 21, 11:07

Ray wrote:It doesn't seem to have an uber-cluttered interface like some others

In keeping with Nikos' ergonomic defence, I recall once mentioning that some of these utilities have some freakishly cluttered interfaces

:

For further reference, this thread contains suggestions from other users pertaining to dedicated (freeware) renaming utilities, and an (admittedly) opinionated look at each from myself.

Ray · Post by **Ray** » 2011 Sep 21, 12:47

Haha! Nice! We could have a pigeon sh1t on that and I wouldn't know the difference!

The rename utility thread is quite entertaining (and pertinent) - ReNamer seems the most popular with the crowd here!

Ray · Post by **Ray** » 2011 Sep 21, 13:48

Just a quick verdict on the two renaming utilities.

I really like File Renamer Turbo:
It has two big advantages over ReNamer:

Way better shell integration: files can be sent to existing profiles straight from the context menu.

When clicking on a rule within the app, the settings for that rule appear in the RHS pane. When you combine this with the live preview, tweaking the rules to achieve the right result becomes extremely easy. ReNamer has live preview but one needs to double click each rule to edit it and then save it to see the results.

Kilmatead · Post by **Kilmatead** » 2011 Sep 21, 14:27

Well, I should hope it has some advantages - after all, one costs 20 quid, the other is free. Indeed, almost all of these utilities are free, so it's a little difficult to rationalise paying for it unless it provides some substantial gain to the user.

That said, somewhere else there is a reference "Can only rename 75 files/nag screen" so if you can live with that, one could consider it free as well.

I imagine with a little imagination and command-line options (/preset) ReNamer could accomplish much the same as "profiles". And in an amusing contradiction to the purpose of this last x2 update, context menus are easy enough to customise just for this purpose.

IneedHelp · Post by **IneedHelp** » 2011 Sep 21, 15:48

Whenever it's about adding a new type of tool, I usually check multiple applications of the same type, but this wasn't the case with File Renamer Turbo. It was probably the 2nd or 3rd file renaming tool I tested, and although I was aware that there's a lot more tools out there, I decided it's the one I want to go with, and it reconfirmed its position over time when it handled some of the most complex renaming rules. That being said, and considering my contextual menu (which I don't even care of anymore):

I'm more of a user-commands-to-toolbar-buttons guy now

. And while I have a lot more to work on my tool-bars, that x2 16 toolbars limit isn't helping at all :D
So, yeah, not a big friend of contextual menus here.

Kilmatead · Post by **Kilmatead** » 2011 Sep 21, 16:25

IneedHelp wrote:it reconfirmed its position over time when it handled some of the most complex renaming rules

In much the same way as all file managers essentially do the same job (just with different bells and whistles) the same applies to Renaming utilities - there probably isn't one of them that can't accomplish everything that someone might need, it's just a matter of how they approach it. For everything else, there's always scripting. And half of them do that already, too.

IneedHelp wrote:that x2 16 toolbars limit isn't helping at all

You know what the main problem with the internet is these days? Porn. That's right: good, wholesome, God-Fearing Porn. "What's wrong with that?" I hear you ask, "everybody likes porn." Well, simply put: it kills the imagination. If everything every girl, guy, animal, vegetable or mineral has for sale is available for free just hanging out there for the wishing, no one ever need use their imaginations ever again. And an imagination that isn't used will always atrophy.

Same with toolbars. If you put every single option on the planet in a toolbar button (including porn), what's the point in having menus at all? Or is this some kind of odd psychological fitness test, where you no longer want to ever read words, you only want to identify things using physical-location-memory and video-game skill-trees?

The simple question is, how the heck can you possibly need more than 16 toolbars? I think I have 3, and I consider that too many (being the stingy minimalist that I am). I know I'll regret this, but just for laughs, do you have a screenshot for our amusement? (And please scale it down so it doesn't stretch from here to the moon - screenshots ought never be full-res.) That said, judging by what you did to one of my carefully crafted GUI's, I have a rough idea of what this monstrosity is going to look like.

But just for fun, go on and show us your ugly baby. And please remember that Pride is a sin - which has nothing to do with religious teaching or judgement. Pride is just evil, no matter how you slice it. It always cometh before the fall.

IneedHelp · Post by **IneedHelp** » 2011 Sep 21, 16:57

Kilmatead wrote:Or is this some kind of odd psychological fitness test, where you no longer want to ever read words, you only want to identify things using physical-location-memory and video-game skill-trees?

Then I would've got rid of the tool-bar button tags, no? It's all about being able to brush my teeth using my left hand while doing something productive with my right- apparently porn and tool-bar buttons are excellent companions.

Kilmatead wrote:The simple question is, how the heck can you possibly need more than 16 toolbars?

Well, you really don't need more than one tool-bar per row, case in which 3-4 instances would be enough, but if you want to group buttons in categories, then you can easily exceed the limit.

Kilmatead wrote:I know I'll regret this, but just for laughs, do you have a screenshot for our amusement?

Screenshot of what? The image of the toolbars has been posted above.

Kilmatead wrote:And please remember that Pride is a sin - which has nothing to do with religious teaching or judgement.

I remember that the first time I experienced Pride was at the age of 5 when I disassembled a Rubik's cube just to assemble it back matching the colors of the facets, but I don't remember having a hard fall after that :D

I know, I disappoint.