Re: changes in meld 1.8 +

[andré <andr55 laposte net>]

Kai Willadsen a écrit :
> On 5 July 2014 03:04, andré <andr55 laposte net
> <mailto:andr55 laposte net>> wrote:
>
>     1) The most important, the ability to hide lines in directory mode
>     is lost.  This was an invaluable feature.  It allowed much more
>     reliable working through numerous changes to large sets of files,
>     particularly
>     for porting some changes across versions which will remain different.
>
>     Please note that the meld users manual » folder comparison »
>     filtering, under "explicit hiding" and "case sensitivity" says that
>     toolbar buttons are available for this purpose.
>     So maybe this was an accidental oversight ?
>
>
> No, this was deliberately removed due to low usage (yes, I realise some
> people used it) and it's extremely unlikely to come back. While there's
> no timeline, the replacement for stuff like this will be to add a plugin
> system that allows custom actions for people that want very specific things.

It would be really nice to get it back, even if as a non-default option. 
 After doing a directory comparison (several hundred files in each 
tree) for selective modifications, it becomes rather hectic without 
being able to hide the many subdirectories already processed.
I'm tempted to try to reinstall the old meld, or run it uninstalled if 
that will work.

>     2) The layout of the comparison page seems somewhat strange :
>     2a) The title of the tab is uselessly repeated.
>     2b) The large oversized icons take up a lot of screen space.  Small
>     icons would be as useful, if any are wanted.
>
> ...but we have nothing *but* screen space on this tab. There is
> literally nothing else here, so it's not like we're wasting a valuable
> resource. The point of this tab is to be clear (particularly for new
> users) and functional.

I was thinking of space for 3 extra lines for file names + third name 
check box.  There is not a lot of extra space in my usage, since I need 
to reference info in other windows.

>     2c) The entry of file/directory paths + names is limited to about 20
>     characters, grossly insufficient for many comparisons.  (Almost all
>     in my usages.)
>
>
> This could be made longer, but in 3.11.x it auto-expands to the longest
> name anyway.

That could work nicely if I had a much wider screen.  Stacking the file 
name fields, even if staggered, would better solve the problem.

>       The older layout of file name fields one above the other was much
>     more useful.
>
> The left-to-right layout is deliberate, to indicate correspondence with
> where the files end up.

The 3 lines could be staggered/indented if that is wanted.
Even with 2 comparisons, at often more than 50 characters in the 
path+name, the space currently available is far too small.

>     2d) Entering a second file/directory name does not take advantage of
>     the previous name entered.
>
> The file selectors remain in the location of the last selected file, so
> I'm not sure what you mean here.

That is what used to happen before my upgrade.  That is, the second 
directory selection started at where the directory was selected.  But 
not what happened in my tests with 1.8.2.  It always starts with what 
looks like the gnome3 selection list, pointing to ~.
Maybe related to how it got packaged on my distro ?  Only it seemed 
exactly the same on uninstalled mode on the 2 versions available on the 
download page.

>       Also, an entered name can not be copied to another name field,
>     very useful for paths that are very similar.
>
> This is just the GTK file chooser widget... not much we can do about
> that. You can in fact

So GTK has changed, or Meld is using a different widget ?
I just found a workaround.  Just selecting compare without entering any 
names, pressing the stop button, then entering the names in the 
selection fields there.
But that also suggests a solution.
Using the widget now inside the directory comparison page, in the 
initial file/directory selection.  That widget works like before.

>     3) The changes are not localized.  Hopefully that will come soon.
>
> You're using an old 1.8.x, so check the most recent for localisations.
> The Gnome translation team takes care of Meld translations, so you could
> always try to request support for Meld for your language if it's missing.

It is .po/.mo localisation, so I could help with that.  (For french.)
Has the newer parts of the code been internationalized ? (i.e. prepared 
for translations)

>     However there are some pluses, such as showing size + modification
>     date, and allowing comparing only by name/size/date instead of each
>     character.  Both very useful.
>
>     It is just that not being able to hide lines (the first point) is a
>     huge disadvantage in analyzing 2 directory trees containing many
>     hundreds of files.
>
> I appreciate this is a problem for some projects, but in most cases this
> is what file filters are designed for.

The problem is not being able to hide files/subfolders already 
processed.  It is a pain to keep track of everything without being able 
to hide that already done.
As far as conventional file filters, usually not useful in my usage.

>     A show-all button would be useful as well, making it easier to clean
>     up file sets with backup files, etc
>
> I don't understand what you mean here. What would the button do?

Same as all 3 identical/new/changed buttons selected.  I wasn't really 
thinking straight :/

> cheers,
> Kai


regards
--
André