[TC 10.50 b2] Search form - Plugins tab. Inconsistency and/or bugs

[AntonyD]

If the problem with persist displaying of buttons on the Search Form plugins tab is solved in bete2, then there is still a problem/misunderstanding - with showing the rules themselves.
1) Why does the Plugins tab show at least one rule when you open a form? Because the buttons to create them are there so that I can show/create as many rules as I need to. So why do I have a blank default rule? Like, now I know it’s possible to do it here ? And is it possible not to understand at all - WHAT should be done on this form if it has clearly named buttons "More rules" / "Fewer rules" ?
2) Why can I add another empty rule to a default empty rule (Value is not filled in) - click "Cancel" on the Search form - reopen this form and still see two empty rules?
3) Why can I add another empty rule to a default empty rule (the Value field is not filled) - press the "Fewer rules" button twice (i.e. there are no more!!!! rules on the form) - click "Cancel" on the Search form - open this form again and still see two empty rules?
4) Why if I do paragraphs 2 and 3 in a built-in search form and then open a separate "Search" form, I will see only one empty rule there? Does the way in which the same form is run influence the choice of a source data for drawing the GUI elements on the form ?
5) Since have I the ability to delete all the rules? That they are really in any version of the opened "Search" form were missing! This request is different from the question set out in paragraph 1!!!
It is implied that once I created several rules for searching, I used them for searching. And now I want to completely clear the tab from them.
6) Why is it that when you open the form on the Plugins tab you see that the checkbox "Search in plugins" first turns on and only then it turns off after a second/2 seconds approximately?

[ghisler(Author)]

1) So you can start choosing a plugin immediately. The option "Search in plugins" is disabled, so the empty rule has no effect.
2) Some users may want to first open the number of rules they want, and then choose the details
3) That's indeed strange, it should remember the last rules when you close the dialog box
4) The rules are remembered within Total Commander, the separate search is a separate executable and doesn't know about previous rules
5) Sorry, I don't understand what you mean. Isn't that the same as 3) where you tried to delete all the rules?
6) The option gets turned on automatically when you add or change any rules. Re-adding the rules when opening that tab has the same effect, so TC unchecks the option manually at the end.

[AntonyD]

1) The same effect I can get and from the situation - when there is NO any GUI elements which in sum present the rule body;)
Yep, because in 99% of cases the default rule/the default "TC" plugin - does not contain those fields/predefined operators - which I want to use in my search))) Which means that from user's point of view - it's much more intuitive to see NOTHING BEFORE the action - before the process of creating the proper rule for user's needs, isn't it? Please agree that when working with this form has never been a question of fractions of milliseconds when using it. For already there's a totally weird slowdown happening when I just try to open it. It's a waste of time creating empty rule(s)!

2) Hmmm, still, why pressing the Cancel button of the Search form - does not eliminate all my actions regarding the process of rule's creation? I DID NOT checked in The option "Search in plugins" (which is turned off by def.)! Those any actions with rule bodies should not be saved, imho

3) Definitely is a bug. And even worst from my opinion: I can't to choose - which rule I want to delete! "Fewer rules" only delete the last ones. which is a terrible logic, Definitely...

4) I Do not understand it.
a) I opened built-in Search form - opened tab Plugins - created 3 rules - made the searching process. I CLOSED the form. As far as i understand TC holds inside itself(at the ini file - does not matter) the overall state of all GUI elements on this tab.
b) I am waiting 1 minute.
c) Now I open standalone Search form - and at this time point you want to say that TC inside itself provides this standalone form with outdated info about the rules??? TC "forgot" about actions had done one minute earlier?

5) It concerns about the choosing process for deleting the specific rule body... IF I do not have the rights to delete precisely that rule which I want -> then I want to see the button "Delete all rules"! If I created 7 rules - why I should click 7 times "Fewer rules"? And especially when these clicks do not work - as it stated in 3)

6) "The option gets turned on automatically when you add or change any rules. Re-adding the rules when opening that tab has the same effect, so TC unchecks the option manually at the end."
I still don't get it the logic. IF rules are saved always when I add them (as you said - for a future using - for filling them with a proper details) and after Cancelling the form - then and the state of this check box ALSO should be preserved when I cancelled the Search form. But I only see the the flickering effect on this check box - it turns on and after 1|2 secs turns off...

[ghisler(Author)]

I have checked now why 3 is happening: The last plugin settings will be remembered ONLY when the option "Search in plugins" is checked. When you click on "More rules" or enter a rule, then it gets checked automatically, so the rules will be remembered. when you just click on "Fewer rules", "Search in plugins" does not get checked. Therefore any previously saved rules will still be remembered. However, when you start editing just one rule, "Search in plugins" gets checked and the changed rules will be remembered.

[AntonyD]

Good - now we know the reason of such behavior.
BUT - this is not what I am as the end user - can expect or easy understand - for me these buttons should work ALWAYS
Deleting the rules - is a completely independent task - which should be available always))
Just as it should be possible to rely on the behavior of the Cancel button for the entire Search form.
This button always intuitively works as a stop word - if you know what I mean))))
If there's no awareness that I can - by clicking it - simply reset all the changes I've made on the form to zero - then it's worthless.

And give the ability to delete a rule - which I will specify, rather than working too straightforwardly - by always deleting only the most recently seen rule.

[ghisler(Author)]

The idea is that when you define some complex rules, you may want to re-use them for the next search.
So if you start deleting the rules and then cancel the dialog, TC remembers the last _enabled_ rules.

[Usher]

2ghisler(Author)
Two questions:
1. Can you add option to reorder rules? Something like reordering of wlx/wdx plugins? For complex rules it would be easier to move unneded rule to the bottom and delete it using "Less rules" button.

2. Does TC optimize search expressions? Reordering rules may significantly speed up search with some complex rules.

[petermad]

1. Can you add option to reorder rules? Something like reordering of wlx/wdx plugins? For complex rules it would be easier to move unneded rule to the bottom and delete it using "Less rules" button.

Like also requested here: https://www.ghisler.ch/board/viewtopic.php?p=412486#p412486

[AntonyD]

A new trace has appeared in this bug.
TC 10.50b5
Let's try to open this tab on the 64-bit version of the program and on the 32-bit one.
So on the 64-bit version, the rendering will go as if sequentially - tab by tab.
First, the elements of the Advanced tab are drawn - and only then the elements of the Plugins tab.
On the contrary, for the 32-bit version, when opening the search dialog and clicking on the Plugins tab,
there will be a quick switching and rendering of only the elements of this tab.

Further - more)))
Look AT HOW the tab is rendered on the 64-bit version and how on the 32-bit one:
64
[img]https://i.ibb.co/SP9Tdk9/1.png[/img]
32
[img]https://i.ibb.co/RjR2tJV/2.png[/img]
I give a hint - how the 32-bit version is rendered seems to me both more correct and more beautiful!!!

2*ghisler(Author)
And also pls, check questions/suggestions from Usher's post above.

[AntonyD]

https://www.upload.ee/files/14133639/Video_2022-05-12_132159.wmv.html
Here you can see about which glitches I am talking about. Also It could be notices that as soon as I will reopen manually all tabs on-by-one - after that these glitches looks like are gone...
Also in this video I showed other glitches that are drawn when you click the add rules button. What ugly overlaps of lines and blocks there are.

[AntonyD]

last beta 6 still contains my mentioned problems.

[ghisler(Author)]

These are just custom controls drawn by Delphi/Lazarus. Where is the problem?

[AntonyD]

Where is the problem?

Emmm, described in my posts - in a textual and video forms + pics. link to video also was provided.
or is the information incorrectly submitted for reading?

[ghisler(Author)]

I don't see any problems just that I can watch how the controls are being drawn. The end result is just fine.

[AntonyD]

2*ghisler(Author)
The problem is that the rendering PATH is quite different for a 64-bit application and for a 32-bit one.
That's why I shot the video in a 64-bit application! Since if you do the same steps in 32-bit, there are simply no bad glitches, intermediate renderings of nonexisting objects and indistinct flinching of the entire dialog! I also attached pictures of this dialog in 64 and 32 bit applications. And there it is clearly visible that the final RESULT of the rendering is also different and deeply not fine for 64-bit app! Everything is too white! In my opinion, exactly how the dialog looks in a 32-bit application is the most correct and beautiful. It seems that in a 64-bit application, the rendering process was simply interrupted almost at the very end of the algorithm. And the necessary painting of the entire background with a slightly grayish color was canceled.

Look AT HOW the tab is rendered on the 64-bit version and how on the 32-bit one:
64
[img]https://i.ibb.co/SP9Tdk9/1.png[/img]
32
[img]https://i.ibb.co/RjR2tJV/2.png[/img]
I give a hint - how the 32-bit version is rendered seems to me both more correct and more beautiful!!!

And also pls, check questions/suggestions from Usher's post above. 8 post above
and comment from petermad 7 post above.