Re: File manager tree.

[Kuba Winnicki <bw hostidc idc com pl>]

Miguel de Icaza wrote:

> So, I would like your input on how we can improve the file manager to
> make it better.

There is a thing which bugs me all the time I use gmc. It's mess with
mouse button bindings in GMC.

Middle button is the biggest mess. Once it is supposed to open
directory/file in new window with single click, once it is
drag-pop_up_context_menu-do_action and once window manager's root menu.
For me there are two alternatives how to bind middle button:

  * Single click, like in KDE;

  * "Paint mode" -- similar to what button3 does in terminal version of
mc. So you could select multiply files/directories using only mouse, no
Shift/Ctrl combos would be needed any more :)

It would be perfect to make middle button behavour configurable.

Right mouse button - currently it is similar to Windows Explorer, where
this button pops up context menu, but in Windows world it is much more
powerful. There, context menu appears when button3 is _released_. So you
can do everything what you do with button1, clicking to select, making
rubberband selection, draging and droping, and when you release button3,
pick what action to perform on selected file(s).

Left mouse button is most explicit from all three. The minor problem
with it is that action for drag into other folder/desktop is move. In
windows world move is performed if drag happens in the same
disk/partition, copy otherwise. As in Un*x logically disks/partitions
doesn't exist for system, I think the best would be to make move action
only default inside the user's home directory.

Another things:

  * Multithreading -- browsing a lagging remote filesystems locks whole
mc, so it's currently unusable for slow ftp's.

  * Auto refreshing of "active" directories, e.g. when in terminal you
do "touch core" being at ~/.gnome-dekstop/ dir, the nice yellow bomb
appears on the desktop automagically :)

> Now, that being said, my plans are to start doing pieces of code that
> can be reused off-the-shelf for the new file manager Ettore is
> designing/writing.

Any screenshot of it, so everyone could look how this thing will look
like? And what will happen to current gmc?

Regards,

-- 
Kuba Winnicki - BlackWine - bw@idc.com.pl