Re: Steps View - Miller Column View/Mode For Nautilus

[Brian Crockford <dosperm gmail com>]

> I don't think that is right. A new mode is something very basic in the
> user mental model of the app. Its not something you add to get a better
> alignment for some widgets.

I think you're right. I've got an idea of how I'd like it to look in
my head, but I'm more interested in having the functionality available
and having others able to get that functionality as well.

> I don't think removing it is a good idea either. The pathbar shows the
> full location, whereas the column view is based on some directory that
> may not be the toplevel folder. Its also how you know the directory
> names you're in, the ctrl-l quick go-to entry, etc.

The reason I'm reluctant about the pathbar is that the horizontal
separation of root folder and active folder blurs which should be
displayed. However, for lack of a decisively better alternative,
sticking with list view's method of displaying the root directory will
be the best option. At the very least it's consistent, and that's
worth a lot.

> I agree that the switiching view type when entering a subdirectory in
> column view is bad. But I don't think not doing this is really
> inconsistent. In fact, we already more or less do the same in the list
> view when you expand subdirectories. The way to see it imho is that the
> column view is a view of a whole subtree, starting in the viewed
> directory (much like the list view) and that navigating into a (direct)
> subdirectory isn't really moving away from the view.

The only issues I see from this are when you have multiple windows
open to the same root directory. Then again, the main reason to use
this view is to work from within one window rather than many, so it's
essentially a non-issue.

I got in touch with Mark and he's sent me the fruits of his labour.
It's a widget which implements the interface of GtkTreeView using a
different visual style (the stepped view style), or most of one at
least. Theoretically it acts as a drop-in replacement for the
GtkTreeView widget used for Nautilus' list view. With a solid base
this will take less time, so I'll be back when I've got code.

Thanks for the feedback,
Brian