Show Row Mouseover

[Phred]

With our screens becoming very wide these days - 30" on the diagonal not being uncommon - visual referencing of related file data across a broad panel is frequently less than easy; on Full Show*.
Running your eye across a file's various elements can lose alignment and jump to an adjacent line.

David Carpenter's seminal '(Search) Everything' has a useful View setting: 'Show Row Mouseover', a feature I believe we would find very useful in TC.

Hell, even Windows Explorer in WIn7 and Vista has it; Detail View.

*Perhaps it would help in other Shows as well.

Any agreement? Any chance?

[MVV]

Why can't you set second background color to divide lines? Just set it slightly different from your main background color and you'll see some sort of line borders.

[Phred]

I could, but even in alternate coloured lines, a dynamic mouseover is a lot more attention-getting and -guiding. Alternate lines don't necessarily particularise the line you're on: your eye may jump two lines...

And keep in mind that prehistoric evolution has given us far more visual acuity in relation to moving objects (or those that have just moved) than to those that are static.

"Don't move..!" as the enemy creeps past...

It's being done in many places now; I'd think it would be easy.

[Sir_SiLvA]

With our screens becoming very wide these days - 30" on the diagonal not being uncommon

ROFLMAO? 30" is in Germany at least not very common....

Running your eye across a file's various elements can lose alignment and jump to an adjacent line.

IF that is the case learn to use the Keyboard - the Tab- and Cursor-Keys are your friend

[HolgerK]

2Phred
Maybe

[Configuration]
SingleClickStart=2

is what you want?


Help 4b INI-File Settings
..
SingleClickStart=0
0: Double click starts programs (default)
1: A single click starts programs and opens files (Win98 WEB style)
2: A single click only opens folders. For files, a double click is needed
4 added: The text cursor no longer follows the mouse cursor

Regards
Holger

[HolgerK]

ROFLMAO? 30" is in Germany at least not very common....

24"+20" is a common monitor setup here since years ...

Regards
Holger

[MVV]

Phred, I don't see any mouseovers in Windows 7 Explorer. Only when I click an item, focus rectangle appears on it. Same in TC - if you click a line, focus rectangle will indicate it.

[HolgerK]

2MVV

Hover effects in explorer are not available in classic theme.
Only with Explorer: Organize->Folder and search options:
(x) Single-click to open an item (point to select)
__(x) underline icon titles only when I point at them

Regards
Holger

[MVV]

Ah, I'm always using double-click.

[JohnFredC]

Another approach to this same issue (wide panels, lots of columns) would be for the file panels to have "freeze columns" support as spreadsheets do.

The file panel is a grid of data, after all, and UI functions that support viewing and navigating data grids are applicable to user interaction efficiency, even in file managers.

I proposed this many(!) years ago here but didn't get any love for it.

[umbra]

I like both ideas. The "frozen columns" could be useful with small screens, so if I was interested in some additional columns, I could always see at least filenames. And Phred's idea would look better on larger screens.

[HolgerK]

Another approach to this same issue (wide panels, lots of columns) would be for the file panels to have "freeze columns" support as spreadsheets do.

Instead of "freezing" a column, a vertical splitter to divide the file list panel into 2 coupled list views with independent horizontal scrollbar can be used too.

The same can be used with vertical splitting, thus enabling to keep a part of the folders at the begin of the upper list view visible while the independent scrollable lower list view shows files from the end of the same (large) directory.
The later may be helpful for portrait monitor and drag&drop operations inside the same directory (you are not forced to open the same directory in the second panel).

And now extend this splitter paradigm with the possibility to decide what should be viewed inside the additional sub panel (quick view,... )

Regards
Holger

[Phred]

2Phred
Maybe

[Configuration]
SingleClickStart=2

is what you want?
Help 4b INI-File Settings
..
SingleClickStart=0
0: Double click starts programs (default)
1: A single click starts programs and opens files (Win98 WEB style)
2: A single click only opens folders. For files, a double click is needed
4 added: The text cursor no longer follows the mouse cursor
Regards
Holger

Interesting, Holger. I've tried it for a while but I, myself, found that it broke too many TC conventions. It was good to have a responsive cursor-bar, but the single-click felt just too alien. And the selections for the cursor-bar expose TC's ancient roots: a choice of 16 strong colours, emanating from the days of that old thing, DOS...
The now-common mouseover in other apps is a simple but useful evolution of the human interface, IMO. And, hey, even without focus.

What you suggest, JohnFC, sounds good, too. We're more discerning now, and more demanding. Freeze-panes has existed for many years now; there's no reason we shouldn't hope for them in our favourite file manager.
But, Holger, I can't see what you're meaning. You say two coupled views '..can be used too'. Do you mean they can already, or that they could be used too, in the future?
At first blush, it seems more complex than JFC's idea of a pane-splitting divider, with lock, as per modern spreadsheets.
Can you rough up a sketch? Can we post graphics here?

[Stance]

I've tried it for a while but I, myself, found that it broke too many TC conventions. It was good to have a responsive cursor-bar, but the single-click felt just too alien.

I agree - it feels strange, but this can be due to the fact that the idea of file management collides with our expectations. Generally question - is it possible to find a convenient Row Mouseover in any file manager, and can it ever be compatible with all kinds of handling(keyboard) and the different ways we mark our files?

The request is solved with that (manually) SingleClickStart=6 or 7 -setting in your Ini-file.
Due to the bad documentations and bad configurability you have opened this request and other users may use the search function or read here in the forums about it. I think you should be more precise what felt so alien, it will probalbly help to optimise the software. For example, that it is fixed to the singleclick-feature or...

And the selections for the cursor-bar expose TC's ancient roots: a choice of 16 strong colours, emanating from the days of that old thing, DOS...

Your are not limited to 16 colors, you can customise every single color one after the other.

The now-common mouseover in other apps is a simple but useful evolution of the human interface, IMO. And, hey, even without focus.

One should mention that there is a possibility to use 3rd party apps like Katmouse and/or use windows settings like "Mouse hotraise" (mouseover) to achieve a similar behaviour for to scroll the inactive panel with the mousewheel or to bring the windows under the cursor into the foreground automatically.

In the Beta8 of the Total Commander you can find a -very basic- cursor in the deactive panel, too.

Can you rough up a sketch? Can we post graphics here?

You can use your account from here and create a request in the Total Commander Wiki, together with other users and even pictures are possible.