Under what circumstances will path autocomplete not work in the address bar?

[IainB]

Under what circumstances will path autocomplete not work in the address bar?
System: Win10-64 Pro
xplorer² Pro v3.3.0.2 U x64

The path autocomplete feature in the address bar doesn't seem to work, even though the box was already ticked as per the Help file, where it says:

• To enable this mode, select the menu option Tools | Options. In the
  window that pops up, select Advanced tab. Put a tick in the Explorer-
  style path autocompletion in Address Bar checkbox.

I had not needed to use this feature very much recently, so I am unsure whether it actually worked in this latest version of xplorer² - though I recall that it certainly did some time ago - and thus I don't know when it might have stopped working.
As far as I am aware, path autocomplete has always been ticked "ON" as per the Help instruction above, and I would not have disabled it anyway as it is a potentially useful feature.
So far, I haven't been able to figure out why it doesn't work.

I maintain my settings for xplorer² by backing them up (using Export settings) in a preferred state to a .reg file, and, as my preferences change, I maintain the current preferred state by periodically updating the .reg file, by overwriting it with the latest preferred settings. I keep backup copies of all the settings files, renaming them something like:

• 2016-12-16 0702hrs x2settings HP Pav-15.reg

(So I can always revert to an earlier state, if necessary.)

So, if I have been changing the current settings and don't wish to keep those changes, or if a system crash or CCleaner has buggered them up (as sometimes happened, but not in Win10 so far) I will run the latest backup of the .reg file, so as to restore the latest version of the preferred settings that I usually use.

I wondered whether this method of maintaining my settings might have somehow defeated the way in which the path autocomplete feature works in this version of xplorer².

Any help/advice would be gratefully received. Thanks in advance.

[nikos]

explorer style autocomplete requires full paths so you need to start typing from C:\ and autocomplete as it goes

[IainB]

@nikos: Ahh, thanks. Duh. I smacked my head when I read your response. I had been operating on the assumption that a partial string was enough to locate a path. I had been trying out Listary and got used to that, I guess.

OK. So the basic explorer path auto-complete works.

There was one bit where auto-complete still didn't seem to be working though, In the Help manual it says:
____________________________
Jumping to a bookmark
There are multiple ways to jump to a bookmarked
address:
The easiest method is to enter the desired bookmark's
name in the address Bar . The bookmarked folder is
loaded in the active pane. You can also enter the
bookmark partly and use the Address Bar 's
autocompletion feature.
____________________________
After reading your reply, I figured that I was probably misunderstanding something. After a bit of trial-and-error, I realised I only needed to use the cursor Up/Down keys and auto-complete seemed to work a treat. Very fast.
The auto-complete seems to be reading from an MRU list, or something, though, so that may be a limitation.
I have bookmarks for directories C:\Workdata.001 through to C:\Workdata.0nn, and the autocomplete was all over the place, rather than going down the relevant bookmarks in the order they are in, or in the foldername order.

Thanks again.

[nikos]

there is an art in choosing stems for autocompletion. If you choose too common a string, you'll need to press UP key many times. Try using a number if your bookmarks differ more in terms of numbers

btw the "other" autocompletion with F1 key (not as explorer does it) also supports relative paths

[IainB]

Thanks @nikos, that is a useful point about the "art". I understand it a bit better now and should be able to use it more effectively..
The "F1" approach is something I have not yet tried as there seems to be a hotkey conflict with some of the hotkeys set up on my laptop using AHK or system hotkeys.
I think this thread can be closed now.