TC 7 [req]: Temp Panel/Virtual folders

[ghisler(Author)]

Well, that's how hard links work - but only with NTFS, and files on the same partition. If it would be so easy, I would have added it a long time ago, but unfortunately it is not.

[Lefteous]

2ghisler(Author)

I don't think that such a feature deserves such a big amount of work - 95% of the users wouldn't even notice the new feature, and 99% would never use it...

Well I don't know on which ascertainment this statement is based on. There must be a reason why Microsoft introduces a features which allows collections of files different from physical directory order. I don't think they work on such a feature because some developers like it or some "heavy" users requested it...
Another point is that many other file managers already have such container feature.
I can't wait for the features in TC 7.0 which took several months of development time AND are expected to be used by many users.

Before discussing implementation complexity it should be clear if this would be a required feature or not.

[Valery_Kondakoff]

What do you miss in the temp panel plugin?

Just a quick example (TEMPRORARY PANEL plugin by Sergey Puljajev. v1.0):

Let's say there is a big file (*.avi) that was copied to Temporary Panel. Now I just want to see the movie and press 'Enter' on this file in Temporary Panel. The file is first copied to the temporary dir and only after that is started to play from this dir. So there is a unnecessary copy of a big file.

And if I open a txt-file in this manner, make some changes and save the file back the changes will go to the temporary copy, not to the initial file.

[icfu]

Use File Redirector, not Temporary Panel:
http://www.totalcmd.net/plugring/FileRedirector.html

It doesn't copy when viewing and it saves to original file.

Icfu

[Valery_Kondakoff]

Are you sure?

Just installed File Redirector 5.4. Created a test text-file. Copied it to FR panel and pressed F3. The file was copied to TC temp-folder and opened from there. So this is exactly the same problem.

[icfu]

It does NOT work with F3 or F4, this is a limitation of plugin interface IIRC, but it works when double clicking!
This is what you have requested:

Now I just want to see the movie and press 'Enter' on this file in Temporary Panel.

Icfu

[Xtrician]

2ghisler(Author)
I suggest you to start work on that project and rewrite TC for future functions without problems.

Take your time, but do it.

[ghisler(Author)]

I can add some functions to the plugin interface to make things like F3 and F4 work - this would certainly be much easier than writing just another (internal) interface for a separate temp panel. What other functions do you miss?

[Vochomurka]

2Ghisler

1. Links MUST BE SAVED after exiting Total Commander (File Redirector has this feature, some other temp panels have not);
2. Copy prompts ("Overwrite, Overwrite all", etc) are desirable to correspond to those at copying usual files, not links. I believe the said prompts cover ALL possible situations at copying. Most temp panels (including File Redirector) have strange reaction to some choices.

The above two requirements are ABSOLUTELY enough for me. Thanks in advance.

[icfu]

What other functions do you miss?

xplorer2 functionality, saving search results for example:

Manage files from many folders simultaneously
xplorer² has a special kind of window called scrap container where you can place files from many folders and deal with them all at once — like the find files result list, except that you control what goes in. You can save and reload scrap lists, organizing your content regardless of its physical location. You can even browse folders flat, recursively including all their subfolders!

http://zabkat.com/pic/skrap.png

You cannot do that with a plugin so even if you add F3, F4 it will not be more than just a poor workaround.

Of course TC should implement them as tabs just like Speed Commander, not as separate windows.

Icfu

[Valery_Kondakoff]

It does NOT work with F3 or F4, this is a limitation of plugin interface IIRC, but it works when double clicking!

You are right, thank you for explanation!

[JP]

What other functions do you miss?

I'd like to "copy" files from different sources to a TEMP PANEL and be able to compress them from the TEMP PANEL. If a copy an entire folder, I'd like to have the option to have this folder automatically updated in TEMP PANEL (v.g. if I create a a new file in the original folder, I'd like to have the possibility of choose if this file would be automatically added to the same folder in TEMP PANEL or not). Would this be possible to implement?

[Lefteous]

I want persistant search captures - NOW!

[szlori]

After some time of absence, I'm back to express my support for this request.

What I would like to see in TC 7 (based on different comments above):
- virtual folders (not really physical temp panels, where files are physically copied)
- you can create several of these in different tabs
- no subfolders necessary in a virtual folder (for now at least)
- files are only from local filesystem (no complications with archives, ftp, etc.)
- ability to assign a name to these virtual folders
- content will be persistent between sessions

Optionally, if these virtual folders are created as a result of an action like search, feed from lst file, this could be saved along with the content.
This way the folder could be refreshed by reapplying the associated search or re-reading the lst file.

[JohnFredC]

Perhaps as a first implementation of "virtual" file panels in TC, NO action taken on an entry in a virtual panel should effect the original file (only the virtual one). That would get us the list capability with an understanding that the originals aren't touched. Easier to implement I expect? Safer.

Other things:

Ability to create folders in the virtual panel, add "files" to them, and in all ways have them act like actual folders.

All data columns (name, size, date, etc) applicable to the original file should be selectable to appear in the virtual panel, be filterable, sortable, etc. Including columns from content plugins.

Ability for the virtual panel to maintain its own integrity. For instance, if the panel is fed from a Search dialog ("feed to listbox"), then it should self-refresh at user set intervals... upon displaying the folder, every n minutes, return to root, etc... some schema that is workable, configurable, and not vulnerable to misinterpretation. For example, things like file size and date (of the original) should be maintained "live".

A choice to show missing referents with color or to simply automatically remove the entries for missing files would be good. For instance: in SC an entry in a File "Container" shows red when its referent file is missing.

I further observe that a first step toward all of this would be for us to agree on terminology...

What would we call these panels. Temporary panels? Virtual folders? Temp Lists? Containers? Organizers?

What do we call their contents? Virtual files? Links? Ghosts?

Let's agree on something. It'll help the discussion.