Hi,
Currently, we can't use /$mylabel to point to a device or a drive in folder formats option. It automatically changes to an absolute path like [b]c:[/b].
I wish I could use label for that to stay consistent no matter the drive letter.
thanks
Sounds useful.
I would like to be able to use both aliases and environment variables, nad maybe global variables, as permanent elements of paths in the Format Manager. For example, I can't create a D: drive on two of the computers on my home network, so I have used an environment variable %@Data%, which has the value D: on the computers with a D: drive, and the value C:@Data on the others. Because the Format Manager would not retain the environment variable in the paths, I had to duplicate all the special path formats for my data directories. (With a new format, you can enter a path with aliases or environment variables, but it gets interpreted when the format is saved.)
Secondly, it would be really useful to have a "Duplicate" button in the Format Manager. It's not easy at the moment to specify the same format in two different subfolders. (I solved this problem by editing the .xml file directly — copy, paste, edit — but this is clumsy.)
Thirdly, could the "Edit" facility in the Format Manager allow editing of the path as well as of the format. (Again, I used direct editing of the .xml file when I rearranged some directories recently.)
Apologies if I have missed some functions within DOpus. And by the way, the defining of formats is for me one of the really wonderful things in DOpus.
Try right-clicking a format in the Preferences list. You'll find copy and paste options are there in the GUI to let you copy formats over each other. No need to edit XML for that particular one.
Thanks, Leo. That covers my second point above. But the procedure was too subtle for me, because the rightclick menus are confusing:
- I rightclick on a path format, and click "Copy". I also note that "Paste" is greyed out.
- I rightclick again on the path format. Now I note the "Paste" is not greyed out, so I click it.
- Nothing happens. After various attempts, I started editing the raw .xml file.
In response to your post above, I finally got the bright idea of rightclicking on the heading "Path Formats". Now when I click "Paste", the path-picking menu comes up as it should. I would suggest either a "Duplicate" button, or that righclicking anywhere within the path formats allow pasting. At the very least, "Paste" should be omitted entirely from the rightclick menu of the individual path formats.
This also solves my third point, except that one then has to go back and delete the original path format — editing the path of an already created format would be much easier. But my first point about aliases and environment variables is what relates directly to fred's original post.
[quote="Julianon"]Thanks, Leo. That covers my second point above. But the procedure was too subtle for me, because the rightclick menus are confusing:
- I rightclick on a path format, and click "Copy". I also note that "Paste" is greyed out.
- I rightclick again on the path format. Now I note the "Paste" is not greyed out, so I click it.[/quote]
You can't paste over a folder format unless there is a folder format in the clipboard, so the Paste option will be greyed out the first time you right-click a format, and then becomes available after you choose Copy.
If you right-click a format and choose Paste, it pastes what's in the clipboard over the format you right-clicked. So if you copy and paste on the same format both times, you won't achieve anything.
That is news, and very dangerous! I had no idea of that functionality, which is very useful, but could easily wipe a carefully written format — it needs at least a warning before such a paste occurs. I can't find the description of it by a quick search of the Help file, but even if I can find it, that's not how most people learn. Could I respectfully suggest that the functions within the Format Manager screen, and their presentation, be reworked to make it all much more intuituve and less dangerous to the non-techie user, and preserving aliases and environment variables. These path formats are a marvellous part of DOpus and they should be made really easy to use.
A Paste option, if available, pastes into/over the object you right-clicked. That's how it works in just about every context, and no different here.
This is all very off-topic now, so let's get back to talking about labels for folder formats, please.
What about a parameter like like "make": /$mylabel=makeN. This would try to assign the drive letter N to the device.
Any news about this feature request?
You could probably do it in a reasonable way now using a script, since scripts can be run whenever you change folder. The script could check if the folder matches the drive/label and then run a command to change the format if it needs to.
I uploaded v0.3.1 of OverrideFormats: Event: OverrideFormats (..or viewmodes on folder change)
It features an ifLabel() function from now on, so you can switch format/viewmode/columns etc. by drivelabel.
If you configure an expression like ifLabel("ExtDrive") && setView("details") e.g., OverrideFormats switches to details mode for you automatically for that drive/label.
I would be easier that OPus include the feature in folder formats so everyone can easily access to advanced setting such as columns, sorting, filter, background image.
It would be great folder formats include the use of the filters created by user (that we can currently only use in file selection, copy, etc operation). I still don't understand why one can't use those filters to hide or unhide files in a list view. It will make DOpus more consistent, in my opinion.
You can use the select command with the FILTER/FILTERFLAGS options to hide items in a lister by a predefined filter.
There's also an addin called FilterMenu, which makes the access to this functionality more easy. None of this is part of the folder format system of course.
Don't get me wrong, I'd also like to see some more features covered by the folder format system. o)