RFE: "Open" file from command line, or: specify file as "directory" on command line

[Moritz Barsnick <moritz barsnick net>]

Hi,

[I've posted here before, years ago; I do appear in the ChangeLog. ;-)]
[I am not subscribed to the list, sorry.]

RFE = request for enhancement:
There's a feature I'm really missing in Midnight Commander:

Instead of specifying a directory to open (in the panels) from the
command line, I would like to specify a file.

With "open"ing, I do not mean viewing; I mean opening as if I selected
that entry to open from within the panel (with <RETURN>, do_enter()).

I know it can be done like this, with my desired result:
PROMPT> mc mc-2006-09-18-21.tar.gz#utar

Yet the shortcoming is: I prefer not to have to know the appropriate
VFS to append with '#vfs'. So I would like to do:
PROMPT> mc mc-2006-09-18-21.tar.gz
or
PROMPT> mc -o mc-2006-09-18-21.tar.gz

(Of course, it would be neat to be able to do this with a file on any
VFS, such as
ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/utils/file/managers/mc/snapshots/mc-2006-09-18-21.tar.gz
but I think restricting this to a local file suffices for the moment.
;->)

Simple reason: I have directories full with hundreds of tar.gz or rpm
archives, and don't want to have to navigate to the file within the
panel. Selecting it using my shell's expansion would much easier.
Really a killer feature for me, browsing within compressed archives! :)

In short, could the '#vfs' be automated?

I had a look at the sources, and thought something like an abstacted
do_enter_on_file_entry() operating on a filename might be the right
thing, but it still needs to open in a panel (so needs to be combined
with the processing of the panel directory argument).

Any hints? Any takers? I couldn't get it implemented with a short stab
I made. (And I don't know the side effects.)

Thanks a lot,
kind regards (and thanks for the ever improving, excellent tool!),
Moritz