Scrollbar Bookmarks

[drbeat]

Assigning user defined color(s) to scrollbar could be useful. By clicking a color on scrolbar we jump there. Marks should be depending of tab or directory or even sorting method to avoid clutter. If you have hundreds of folders/files in a directory such jumps would be really helpful. Example: you have 500 music album folder, you want to check each directory one by one with sorted by date, now if you modify a folder content what happened? That folder go to the top of the folder list (because sorted by date) and you lost where you were. But if we such a mark we can (roughly) return there in a second. Otherwise you have to scroll down and try to find it among 500 folders or more.

Image: https://ibb.co/RhyNk3W

[ghisler(Author)]

To my knowledge, it's not possible to just change the color of scrollbars. You can only paint the entire scrollbar yourself, as TC does in dark mode on older Windows versions, but would lose the Windows theme this way.

[jinsight]

Idea: Use Ctrl-Right arrow to open the left pane folder in the right pane and change the sort order.

[Hacker]

jinsight,
How would that be related to the request?

Roman

[HolgerK]

Example: you have 500 music album folder, you want to check each directory one by one with sorted by date, now if you modify a folder content what happened? That folder go to the top of the folder list (because sorted by date) and you lost where you were. But if we such a mark we can (roughly) return there in a second. Otherwise you have to scroll down and try to find it among 500 folders or more.

Not exactly what you suggested but for a single point of interest per folder a simple solution:

Add these commands to your %Commander_Path%\usercmd.ini:

usercmd.ini

Code: Select all

[em_GotoPoiMarker]
button=
cmd=em_LoadSelectionFromPoiMarker,cm_ShowOnlySelected,cm_GoToFirstEntry,cm_SrcAllFiles
[em_SetPoiMarker]
button=
cmd=cm_UnselectCurrentPath,em_SaveSelectionToPoiMarker
[em_SaveSelectionToPoiMarker]
button=
cmd=SAVESELECTION #PoiMarker.txt
[em_LoadSelectionFromPoiMarker]
button=
cmd=LOADSELECTION #PoiMarker.txt

and add the following two buttons to the vertical button bar:

Buttons

Code: Select all

TOTALCMD#BAR#DATA
em_GotoPoiMarker

WCMICONS.DLL,19
Scroll to Point of Interest


10018

Code: Select all

TOTALCMD#BAR#DATA
em_SetPoiMarker

WCMICONS.DLL,44
Set Point of Interest to the List Entry under the Cursor


10019

Copy each code block separately into the clip board and use the context menu of the vertical button bar to paste the button into the button bar.
Alternatively assign hotkeys (Configuration->Options..->Misc.) for the two commands em_GotoPoiMarker and em_SetPoiMarker.

HTH
Holger

[drbeat]

HolgerK your code worked perfectly. It shows as a integrated feature it seems it's not to hard to implement. Multiple bookmarks assigned to only specific tab & works only directory's sorting method (date,size) to avoid clutter. Just clicking color on scrollbar (maybe user defined tip on it) and jump there. We have continuously larger capacity hdds and longer directories so this feature could be very handy..

[jinsight]

2Roman
Works only if you started at either the top or the bottom of the date sorted folder list and worked down or up, respectively, maually tracking the relative position in the pane.

[jinsight]

2drbeat, 2holgerK

The goal, as I understand it, is to return to the relative position in the pane after a folder has had its date changed and the the pane is sorted in date order so the folder moves to the top of the pane.

The code as written "bookmarks" the folder which will have its date changed by being worked. The code will go to that folder at the top of the pane.

To get to an approximation of the relative position, make the following change to the UserCmd.ini:

[em_SetPoiMarker]
button=
cmd=cm_UnselectCurrentPath,cm_GotoNext,em_SaveSelectionToPoiMarker,cm_GotoPrev

This will return to the folder next down from the folder worked on and which had its date changed. This will be close to the relative position in the pane of the original file worked on.

[Hacker]

jinsight,

The goal, as I understand it, is to return to the relative position in the pane after a folder has had its date changed and the the pane is sorted in date order so the folder moves to the top of the pane.

I think the goal is completely different.

Roman

[solid]

The goal, as I understand it, is to return to the relative position in the pane after a folder has had its date changed and the the pane is sorted in date order so the folder moves to the top of the pane.

Yes, I understand it the same.

The user is somewhere in a long list of folders which are sorted by date. He wants to enter the folder, makes some change, return to main list and enter the next folder. But since date changes because of activity, the folder shows to top or bottom of the list and previous position in the list is lost.
User wants to mark the previous location, so can return quickly to it.

[Horst.Epp]

That function can best be made using TwinKey plugin Bookmark functions.
Unfortunatley not in Dark mode.

[HolgerK]

The user is somewhere in a long list of folders which are sorted by date. He wants to enter the folder, makes some change, return to main list and enter the next folder. But since date changes because of activity, the folder shows to top or bottom of the list and previous position in the list is lost.
User wants to mark the previous location, so can return quickly to it.

Reason could be that new interprets/albums-folder are added to an existing music-folder and these new folders needed to be checked and eventually corrected (wrong mp3-tags, missing cover picture, ...).

The pattern behind this is processing a To-Do list.
In this case i would create a temporary folder "To-Do" and create shortcuts (<Ctrl+Shift+F5>) of the newly added folders inside this "To-Do" folder.

1. open "To-Do" Folder on the left side.
2. focus on the first link and open the link target on the right side (<Ctrl+Right>).
3. do what ever is necessary on the right side
4. after this is done remove the first link from the "To-Do"-folder on the left side
5. proceed with step 2 until the "To-Do" folder is empty

Regards
Holger

[drbeat]

The goal, as I understand it, is to return to the relative position in the pane after a folder has had its date changed and the the pane is sorted in date order so the folder moves to the top of the pane.

Yes, I understand it the same.

The user is somewhere in a long list of folders which are sorted by date. He wants to enter the folder, makes some change, return to main list and enter the next folder. But since date changes because of activity, the folder shows to top or bottom of the list and previous position in the list is lost.
User wants to mark the previous location, so can return quickly to it.

@solid You've understoond it perfectly.

@Holger To-Do list solution is a bit tiring by considering my job will take months (few hours each day of course) and in many different main folders will be processed. Also I'm not working folder to folder quickly, a folder's job would take 1-10 minutes. And I use external software as well. Your first solution suits me but it's not relative.

[jinsight]

2HolgerK

I like your suggestion. I think it's the most efficient way to accomplish the task of updating the contents of many folders. The To Do list folder can contain links to folders all over a file system. Once a folder is updated, its link can be deleted so progress can be tracked and visualized. It is also useful because it handles stopping and restarting the task at a later time.

You called it a "To-Do" list. I think of it as a weak version of virtual folders. Stronger versions of this concept can be found as Paper Folders in XYPlorer, mini-scrap in Xplorer2 or File Collections in Directory Opus. Additionally, in Total Commander, a folder of links can be a destination to copy a file to multiple disparate locations all at once.

For me, this highlights a general weakness of Total Commander for non-power users - poor marketing of how to use a combination of features for common tasks. The programs listed above label the "To-Do" or "virtual folder" idea, and sell it and describe it on their web pages and in their Help. Total Commander does neither. The information is in Forum posts but is difficult/near impossible to access for beginners because there is no common label to use.

Total Commander is rock solid in daily operation, is structured cleanly so it can be run from a single root folder and has a rich feature set that matches the top-tier file managers. It just doesn't communicate these features in ways today's users have come to expect so theses features are invisible to them.

This is not so much a complaint as a description.

[Hacker]

jinsight,
I stand corrected.

Roman