List view issue

goggin · Post by **goggin** » 2004 Jul 24, 15:29

My apologies if this has already been discussed, but I don't get here often and may have missed some things...

I have a problem with the List View ...which is my favorite mode for viewing. Now I also prefer to have Folders listed at the front of the list (Tools > Options > Window Tab > Files Sorted As = Separately) ...although I'm not sure that's important.

When I move up or down from a given folder, even just 1 level, and come back to that folder, the file list will display as if it's been scrolled to the right at least one column. The focus can be, and is often, still on a file or folder in the left most column, which is now scrolled off to the left, such that the quickest way to get the file list repositioned is to just use the arrows to move the focus up or down one file or folder. Then the left most column is immediately scrolled back into view.

But this is a real nuisance...it makes moving up, down, and around in a group of folders a real pain.

Does anyone else have this problem? Any solutions?

Thanks!
--
dgg

Post by **nikos** » 2004 Jul 24, 16:50

so you mean that the old focus is hidden to begin with?
if you haven't done so, you can try setting a maximum list column width from tools | options | window

goggin · Post by **goggin** » 2004 Jul 24, 18:45

This may take a couple iterations for me to explain clearly

If I start off in a folder in the list view...the folder has say a dozen subfolders ...listed at the top/left most column...followed by a list of 50 or so files...and the file list on the right extends beyond the view of the pane (ie., I'd have to scroll right to see all the files). So there's roughly 62 items in this folder, the first 12 of which are subfolders and the rest are files. It takes 4 columns to display all 62 items in the list, and I can see only columns 1 and 2 (I'd have to scroll right to see columns 3 or 4).

Then, selecting any folder at the head of the file list, say item # 6 in the list, and hitting Enter to drill down into that folder...so far so good.

But now I hit Backspace to come back to the original folder and...darn! the folder list has scrolled to the right 1 column, so that the left most column is off the screen. (The right most column will also still be off the screen...just in case that helps make the situation clearer...I'm looking at columns 2-3 of a file list that takes up 4 columns...I can see column 2-3 now, but to see column 1 would require I scroll left, or to see column 4 I would have to scroll right).

Now, because the last selection in this folder was item #6 in the list, that item still has the focus (this is the folder I just went down into and back up out of). But although item #6 still has the focus, I can't see it because it's in column 1 which is scrolled off to the left. In order to be able to see that item again, I've learned to hit the down arrow once followed immediately by the up arrow. These motions cause xplorer2 to scroll left and now I can see the item that has the focus again.

I could also use the mouse to scroll left and bring item #6 back into view, but I'm a keyboard nut. But that's not the point...the point is this makes if very difficult to navigate up, down, and arround within a group of folders.

It's a lot harder to explain that it is to see!

If you can recreate the behavior, you'll quickly see that it's anomalous.

And as I mentioned before, I'm not sure if this is important or not, but I have Tools > Options > Window Tab > Folders Sorted = Separately and Max column width = 300.

fgagnon · Post by **fgagnon** » 2004 Jul 24, 19:19

Excellent description, goggin.

I can reproduce this following your steps.
(& likely would have reported it if I ever used list mode regularly)
The trigger is definitely setting a max column width other than the default=0. I could not reproduce the effect with 0 max.width setting (default, auto-width).
-------
Further experimenting (on XP-pro, sp1, unless otherwise indicated):
a. The list view alway shows the last column(s) for me (differs from goggin report).
b. It only happens coming back up a level from some folders, but not others. The behaviour is consistent for a given subfolder; but haven't found what's uniquely different between the subfolders.
c. It does not matter how the navigation was done (d-click, enter, Alt-arrow, backspace, paneheading, addressbar/enter ...)
d. I cannot get the anomalous behaviour on old w98 machine

JRz · Post by **JRz** » 2004 Jul 24, 23:38

Yes, I can reproduce this too (with help from the remarks by Fred about the column width).

I've played around a bit with the column width setting and I found I can make every folder behave like this as follows (may help Nikos; I'm using the right pane to accomplish this, I found another anomaly about the left pane (see below)):

Make your view small enough to have at least two columns and wide enough so there is no scroll bar. Now move the divider bar between the left and right just far enough to the right to get the horizontal scroll bar (try to move pixel by pixel, that's a bit hard but practice makes perfect

)

Make sure you have something in the first column as selected item (file or folder does not matter)
Now specify a max column width large enough to make the view shift to the right for at least one column (I can do this in every folder I tried this with). Now pick a smaller number for column width so the left column comes into view again.
Use 'binary search' technique to establish where the switching point is. Making column width just one pixel larger will make the column with focused item disappear, making it one less again reveals the column again.

Can you do something with this Nikos??

About the left pane. I can see effect from setting a different max column width for the right pane, but the left pane seems to be unaffected by this setting. Columns don't change a bit when I use different settings for max column width

And the last thing I noticed was that when you specify a value for the max column width less than 50, a warning pops up telling you to specify a value between 50 and 1000. But when you enter a number larger than 100, this warning doesn't appear! Column don't seem to be altered when specifying values larger than 1000.

fgagnon · Post by **fgagnon** » 2004 Jul 25, 00:25

Yes, you can all kinds of temporary funnies by changing the
Max list column width value, or by changing panewidth over/under what's needed for exact match to integerXcolumn-width; but that's not somthing one does regularly, nor do I think that was goggin's issue.

I read the issue as being when one RETURNS to a folder from one of its subfolders, then that subfolder is (often) not in view as it should be. (but a quick downArrowKey,upArrowKey sequence gets it back)

& I can see how this would be a real annoyance for habitual list-mode viewers.

Post by **nikos** » 2004 Jul 25, 07:36

this is a side-effect of the way x2 handles the max column width setting
i thought i had it cured but clearly it isn't so. I also like the list view and've been experimenting with setting max pixels = 150 and large folders. Most of the time the focused item remains in view coming back to the folder but some items near the middle are not placed correctly
i have to say that i never saw this problem with items in the first column

JRz · Post by **JRz** » 2004 Jul 25, 08:15

I realize that goggin had another issue, merely trying to establish what is causing this issue. I think what goggin sees happening is caused by some problem with the way X² calculates how to display items in the list view and you can only fix things properly when you know what is the root of the evil!

That was the thought behind my post...

Post by **nikos** » 2004 Jul 25, 09:15

and i know how i missed this bug in the first place:
it only happens in XP and I was testing in 2000 where it doesn't occur

notice again the law of the sod in action:
just when i had everything prepared for releasing 1003 this bug pops up
i suppose it could have been worse, 1003 could be out already
i must have angered the heavens somehow

fgagnon · Post by **fgagnon** » 2004 Jul 25, 11:26

and if we're onto pane style views that don't work right ...
The small icons view only displays correctly for short item names --
At about 10.3 length, they begin to overlap/overwrite the next item(s) to the right, whereas I would expect the use of ellipsis (...) to prevent masking the neighbouring items, there appears to be no use of the ellipsis at all for long item names.

(But I see no use for that style, myself, so have no reason to complain -- just describing what I find for a pane style view I never use.)

As far as I can tell, it's been that way "forever" (including in 2x)
[this on XP pro, sp1]
------------
moving to w98, I find that with default max list column width (=0), the small icons view does not have the problem reported above (which, BTW, was with or without a max list column width limit; because that width is not applied to small icons view column-spacing in XP - unless you switch the pane style to list view & then back to small icons

)
But when I set a column-width in w98; it did get applied to small icons view, too (immediately) -- & then the anomalous lack of name truncation appeared with names overlapping their RH neighbours, just as in XP.

Post by **nikos** » 2004 Jul 25, 13:47

i think small icons view doesn't agree with constrained list view widths, but it's a useless view mode anyway

fgagnon · Post by **fgagnon** » 2004 Jul 25, 14:06

I agree about useless -- just posting my observations.

goggin · Post by **goggin** » 2004 Jul 26, 23:35

Wow! You guys are great!

I just tried resetting the Max list column width back to default (0) and voila! It works!

Nikos, please don't hold up 1.0.0.3 on my account...now that I now how to control the behavior, I really don't mind if this is put on the "to do" list and you get to it in due course.

Thanks again to everyone who helped figure this out. Once again I'm zooming up, down, and around my folders like a crazy fool!

Post by **nikos** » 2004 Jul 27, 07:35

but it is already fixed in the interim 1003, try it!

fgagnon · Post by **fgagnon** » 2004 Jul 27, 11:43

yup.
(I can't get the listview anomalous behaviour in XP anymore, after downloading the updated preview from your link in advance preview topic.

)