Changing Folder Formats in saved lister layouts?

Help & Support
4

Okay, I started from scratch.
Made a couple of changes to preferences. Wasn't fully uptodate (now am) so rechecked everything

Settings
I have no tab groups
None of the Styles have format ticked (so presumably they should have no influence on universal format)
Preferences, Folders, Options, Enable Folder Content Type detection is OFF
Settings -> Preferences -> Listers -> Options: Ignore folder format of Default Lister is ON
Default lister is not set to be opened by any of the methods in Settings -> Preferences -> Launching Opus
Default lister is (now) set to update automatically

What I've tried

  1. I right-click on the tray-icon and select "Open new Lister" (I wasnt sure at first but this seems to be the default lister)
  2. I change the columns displayed and their positions (making sure to click 'Apply') and save as described above ["Save the current folder format" ... - I chose "For all folders" and "Replace All" in the next dialogue box]
  3. I close & reopen lister the same way - all changes are gone
  4. I repeat step #2 - change the columns etc & save again
  5. I open a new tab - changes not reflected here
  6. I closed all tabs but one in the default lister, repeated steps 1 to 5 with same results

XP SP3 DOpus 9
I've read the manual, the help file and the related FAQ

Am I somehow missing out on something here - or should this work... ?

5

If the Default Lister is not what anything is set to open then it's irrelevant.

What is set to be opened?

6

If the Default Lister is not what anything is set to open then it's irrelevant.

What is set to be opened?[/quote]
Nothing is actually set to be opened - I dont have default lister selected to be opened (anywhere) in preferences.
But if I change the settings (to double-click opens default lister) I see it is the default lister that opens - it's the same one that opens when I right-click taskbar icon & select "Open new lister" (as would be expected). So that comment of mine was incorrect & just complicating things (sorry about that).

But default lister still should not affect things anyway as: "Options: Ignore folder format of Default Lister is ON"

  • as suggested in the FAQs page...
7

Clarification:
I mean I had all options to double-click to open dopus disabled - I avoid double-clicks due to dodgy mouse arm - it was pretty superfluous to change the settings but I had changed them anyway.

8

This is hard to follow... Let's concentrate on one thing, understand that, then worry about anything that's left over.

[ol][li]How are you physically opening the lister window? (i.e. What is being clicked on.)
[/li]
[li]What is that physical action configured to do in Preferences?
[/li]
[li]What actually happens? (A screenshot of the window would be good here.)
[/li]
[li]What do you expect to happen instead?[/li][/ol]

9

[quote="leo"]This is hard to follow... Let's concentrate on one thing, understand that, then worry about anything that's left over.

[ol][li]How are you physically opening the lister window? (i.e. What is being clicked on.)
[/li]
[li]What is that physical action configured to do in Preferences?
[/li]
[li]What actually happens? (A screenshot of the window would be good here.)
[/li]
[li]What do you expect to happen instead?[/li][/ol][/quote]
eh, I think we're going off on a tangent here (I know, I know, I started it!) hopefully this will clear it up:-

[ol][li] I right-click taskbar icon, "Open new lister"[/li]
[li] it is not in preferences as an option[/li]
[li] it opens the default lister (which is logical). Me changing the settings above was simply to check/confirm that this was the default lister. Screenshot simply would show the last closed lister on dopus close (as Default lister is set to automatically update). So screenshot is not necessary or helpful.[/li]
[li] originally I didnt know what would happen instead (hence the confusion).[/li][/ol]

I hope that all now makes sense to you.
I think this not important (in relation to my problem with formats) - I was simply trying to explain in detail how I was doing things (as that's usually important) and because I was confused by the whole slew of info/settings, I threw in that sentence you quoted that confused you etc., etc.

10

Uh... I'm really confused now.

What is the actual question that needs answering here?

What are you doing, what is happening when you do that and what is it you expect to happen instead?

Or is there no longer any question and everything is resolved now?

11

Okay, from a different angle:

I want to change folder formats for all folders and for all new tabs.
I thought the FAQs page HOW TO: Understand and Configure Folder Formats covered this.

I was under the impression that saving folder formats "For all folders" in Tools ->Folder Options and selecting "Replace all" [existing saved formats] would mean that this would apply to a new tab but maybe this is where I'm going wrong?

From the FAQs page:

[quote]Quick Guide

If you don't want to read this entire FAQ and just want to use a particular folder format for all folders, without it ever changing, then you only need to do these two things:[/quote]
I followed those two instructions there - and also checked the long list there of things that could cause this to not work (which is why you have gotten this glut of info - explaining all that). So basically I can change the folder formatting within a tab but not for a new tab.

This has been complicated by the fact that initially I thought my problem was just within saved listers (hence the thread title) but now I realise it is universal. Also I understand the problem clearer now myself - so hopefully this post will make more sense (?)

thanks, Tom

12

So you're not getting the format you expect when you open a new tab?

How are you opening the tab?

13

[quote="leo"]So you're not getting the format you expect when you open a new tab?

How are you opening the tab?[/quote]

Keyboard shortcut.
Double-click in the space beside the current tab gives the same result (i.e. no new formatting)

14

I have found a solution - under:
Options: Folders ->Folder Formats -> Default Formats

  • if I go through each of them and click "Reset to Custom" in the context menu, my newly saved options are applied. New tab shows the new format.
    This doesnt seem to be the proper way though - or if it is, it isnt documented anywhere (that I could find).

Should it work as I thought above ??[quote="tomos"]I was under the impression that saving folder formats "For all folders" in Tools ->Folder Options and selecting "Replace all" [existing saved formats] would mean that this would apply to a new tab...[/quote]

15

Which format was it that you had to change manually?

What kind of folder was opening in the new tab?

16

Which format was it that you had to change manually?

I not fully sure what you're referring to. I did say that when I opened a new tab the columns etc were not as expected so I changed them manually again. None of the changes I made were reflected in a new tab.
I had changed number and position of columns, I hid file extensions, and I had ticked 'Sort folders alphabetically' and 'Auto-Size columns'.
I can post a screenshot of settings if you want.

What kind of folder was opening in the new tab?

Same as in the currently displayed tab.
As per Options: Listers -> Folder Tabs: Double click to open new tab showing/Current folder

17

[quote="tomos"]> Which format was it that you had to change manually?

I not fully sure what you're referring to.[/quote]
You just said that to get the result you wanted you had to reset (i.e. edit) some of the Default Formats. So which format was it? You can tell by editing them one by one to change some detail (e.g. add an extra column), then see which one the change happens on. There are only a few formats so it won't take long and it'll be a lot easier to reason about what's happening once we know that.

[quote="tomos"]> What kind of folder was opening in the new tab?

Same as in the currently displayed tab.
As per Options: Listers -> Folder Tabs: Double click to open new tab showing/Current folder[/quote]

Same as the current displayed tab... Okay, so what kind of folder was in the currently displayed tab? What was the folder? C:, Desktop, something else?

18

you had to reset (i.e. edit) some of the Default Formats. So which format was it?
The format that made the difference was the local drives (and that's where I'm usually working, I'm not in a network)

what kind of folder was in the currently displayed tab? What was the folder? C:, Desktop, something else?
I see what you're getting at - no the desktop was not included, I almost never use it. I tried many times with different locations always with the same results.

I take it from your questions that you also think that the method I originally used should work for a new tab too?

[quote="tomos"]I was under the impression that saving folder formats "For all folders" in Tools ->Folder Options and selecting "Replace all" [existing saved formats] would mean that this would apply to a new tab...[/quote]-
If you do think that, then something definitely isn't working right here - does it work there ?

19

[quote="tomos"]I take it from your questions that you also think that the method I originally used should work for a new tab too?

[quote="tomos"]I was under the impression that saving folder formats "For all folders" in Tools ->Folder Options and selecting "Replace all" [existing saved formats] would mean that this would apply to a new tab...[/quote]-
If you do think that, then something definitely isn't working right here - does it work there ?[/quote]
Can anyone clarify this?
i.e. if you change the folder format settings as described in the quote, does/should a new tab open with the newly saved settings?

20

I've read through this thread twice and I still can't understand exactly what it is you're trying to do. I'm guessing you could do what you want with a Style or Layout instead of a folder format, but then again I don't understand what you're trying to actually do.

21

Change folder format for a new tab. Universally.

At this stage I have figured one way to change folder format for a new tab - see this post. But I still dont know, do I have a bug, or am I just misunderstanding the dialogues

[quote="tomos"]I was under the impression that saving folder formats "For all folders" in Tools ->Folder Options and selecting "Replace all" [existing saved formats] would mean that this would apply to a new tab...[/quote]I can contact Support directly with that question -
maybe no-one wants to try it out as it will mean changing any saved custom styles - but it seemed to me to be the logical way to change folder format for a new tab.

I have found the documentation to be confusing here - that's partly why this thread is so confusing - I did what was suggested in the linked FAQ thread and I listed it all here - next time I'll keep it simpler :wink:
Maybe I have misunderstood the title of the FAQ (I mean I thought it covered the format of a new tab but this is not clear on rereading it)

[quote="tomos"]I want to change folder formats for all folders and for all new tabs.
I thought the FAQs page HOW TO: Understand and Configure Folder Formats covered this.[/quote]

22

Hello...

I have no clue if this will help you or not but I thought I'd at least try.

I tend to use the "List" view most of the time so I, too, had to update my settings to adapt to this change. Also, since I've chosen not to hide system files, I added all "desktop.ini" files to the "Hide Filter" section in the "Filters" tab via the "Folder Options" settings. For whatever reason, I hated seeing those files all the time. :slight_smile:

There's a few things I did to make sure Dopus started - or opened new tabs - in the proper customized view. I'll list them for you but, keep in mind, I'm going by memory right now so I may miss something - and - you may already know this info. With that in mind:

[ul]
* In "Folder Options", I updated the settings the way I wanted them and then selected "Save" followed by "For this folder and all sub-folders."
[ul]Note: Since I use the Dual Display mode (2 listers), I finally figured out that I had to make the same change for both listers within the "Folder Options" area. Prior to that, I was only seeing my changes in one lister.[/ul]
* Once that was done, I added a couple more tabs to each lister (for a total of 3 tabs in each lister) so my most-used directories were always just a click away in a separate tab. Once I had the correct directories opened in each tab, I saved them as a "Folder Tab Group" so I could open all 3 tabs in one click when/if needed.
[ul]Note: In my setup, these tabs are visible immediately upon starting Dopus. That's because I used the "Save Layout" feature described next.[/ul]
* After making changes to the "Folder Options" settings, and creating my custom "Folder Tab Group", I navigated to "Settings > Lister Layouts > Save All Listers" and saved my entire configuration as a custom layout.
* From there, I navigated to the "Preferences" screen, followed by "Launching Opus" and "Startup." I changed the drop-down in the "Open a saved lister layout" setting to reflect the custom layout I created in the last step. That way, whenever I open Dopus, I know all my settings/preferences/tabs, etc. will be loaded.
[ul]Note: Since I usually leave Dopus open throughout the day, I also changed the setting found in "Launching Opus > From the Taskbar icon" to "Bring the last active Lister to the front (new Default Lister if no Listers open).[/ul]
[/ul]
Now - whether or not this info has anything to do with your issue, I don't know. I just thought I'd put it out here in case it helped in some small way. Other than what's mentioned above, the only other items I can think of would be:

* Remember that any changes made in the "Folder Options" area need to be made to all open listers (not all tabs - just listers) in order for them to take effect in each one. You must save the changes for the current folder and all sub-folders in each lister. If you're not using a dual lister display - or several individual listers at the same time - then this may not apply to you.
* Remember to save your layout under "Settings > Lister Layouts > Save All Listers (or Save This Lister)" to retain your settings going forward.
* Ensure "Ignore folder format of Default Lister" isn't checked in "Preferences > Listers > Options > Default Lister." It's been so long since I made these changes that I don't recall if this option is selected by default or not. It may, or may not, have an impact on your problem.
* Look through your "Preferences" settings again as it seems like there's something creating a conflict with your changes. It took me a while to get things right. Prior to that, I experienced similar inconveniences, too.
* BACK UP your settings and layouts once you've got them just right via the "Settings > Backup & Restore" option. You may want to back up your File Types settings when/if you make changes as well via "Settings > File Types > File > Export." I'm a fan of backing up data if you can't already tell. :smiley:

Good luck with getting your issue sorted out for good. I hope this info helps you along the way. If not, oh well. I tried, right?

23

Thanks a lot Uradodah :wink:
I'll really have to study that a bit and work my way through the steps.
It certainly show how complex the whole thing is....

I've contacted support to see if my query above is a bug or not.