I find that the default behaviour of Directory Opus when clicking a file that is already highlighted is different to Windows Explorer and other file managers that I have used.
If a file is highlighted in DOpus and I click the file's icon, it goes into rename mode. With Explorer and others, I have to click the file name, not the icon, of an already highlighted file to rename it.
Is there any way to emulate the Explorer behaviour? i.e. the name and not the icon must be clicked to rename.
I find the behaviour of DOpus (where the file icon or the file name can be clicked to rename the file) is confusing and prone to errors. Many times I have clicked on a highlighted file's icon, only to have it unexpectedly go into rename mode when this is not what I intended.
What do you lose if clicking on the icon also takes you to rename mode? Meaning what else were you going to do by slow-clicking on the icon of a highlighted file?
Can't really remember what I was doing. I do remember that it caught me by surprise when the file went into rename mode. It happened a couple of times. I think that maybe it's just a matter of getting used to it.
If this is the biggest problem I can find with DOpus then I'm very happy with it. It's awesome!
I was more irritated by the fact that a double click seems to start the rename mode. When the program (.exe files etc.) has started or the file has been loaded in the application it belongs to, everything's as expected again.
Some extra details from the thread: It doesn't affect Details/Power modes and it only happens when the application that is launched by double-clicking doesn't take the input focus away from Opus (which is rare).
Sorry, since it is not a problem for me, as I said, I didn't search for an existing thread. I just thought it would fit in here.
Hm, when I double click on a file that is loaded into an editor (just as an example), the editor does take the focus. But just before the program starts and the application window pops up in front of DOpus, I can see that DOpus is in rename mode. This is what I meant. When I switch back to DOpus, everything's normal again.
Feel free to move this posting into the other thread, if you like.
It's no problem. There's so much activity here right now it's hard to keep up.
That makes sense. I think it usually happens too fast to notice but it make sense, what you've said. Just to confirm, you're seeing this in List/Thumbs/Tiles mode, correct? (i.e. Not Details or Power.)
I can confirm this, it does always happen, not just when an application does not steal focus. It's harder to notice when something steals focus because the focus stealing cancels the rename mode, but it still happens briefly. You can see it if you open a file in an application that takes a long time to load (adobe reader for example, usually takes a good couple of seconds). The rename mode will start for a second or too, and then be canceled when the application finally steals focus.
Back to my original issue at the start of this post i.e. when I click on the icon of a file that already has focus, the file goes into rename mode.
This behaviour is different to Explorer and many other file managers. The default behaviour of Explorer is that the file name, not the icon, of an already highlighted file must be clicked to rename the file.
I've figured out why the DOpus default behaviour is such a pain in the A. I usually use 2 listers tiled horizontally. If I click on a file in the top lister, for instance, and then click on another file in the bottom lister and then decide that I want to delete the already highlighted file in the top lister, I must click on that file to give it the focus before I hit the delete key on my keyboard.
Problem is, as soon as I click on it, it goes into rename mode and then when I hit my Delete key, I delete the file name and not the file itself.
This is extremely annoying. In my humble opinion, DOpus should follow the behaviour of Windows Explorer in this respect i.e the file name should have to be clicked to rename a file and not either the icon or the name as is currently the case.
Same deal if I left click on an already hightlighted file's icon to drag it somewhere and then change my mind. The file goes into rename mode. This just doesn't make sense.
I'm still trialling DOPus and I love it, but I find this issue so annoying that it would probably put me off purchasing it.
I'm not arguing against changing the behaviour but as a workaround you could either:
[ol][li]Click the file display border (the thing with the path and back/forward/parent/close/etc. buttons) to activate the other file display
or[/li]
[li]After clicking the file (and triggering inline rename), click on the delete button in your toolbar instead of pressing the Del key (since your hand is on the mouse anyway). That will delete the file even if inline rename is active.[/li][/ol]
What I can't understand is why the default behaviour was designed to go against the status quo of Explorer and many others, for no apparently good reason. It seems to have lots of drawbacks and no advantages.
[quote="cqdigital"]Problem is, as soon as I click on it, it goes into rename mode and then when I hit my Delete key, I delete the file name and not the file itself.
[...]
Same deal if I left click on an already hightlighted file's icon to drag it somewhere and then change my mind. The file goes into rename mode. This just doesn't make sense. [/quote]
I strongly second that impression. Happens to me about 50 times a day as well, no kidding. I'm like already intimidated and tense, at times, about when the next horrifying unwanted rename might strike me... It's like I'm always starting to ponder "how could I go about to highlight that file without having to click on it?".
Actually, my proposal is to get rid of the "second click rename mode" (what is "inline rename" anyway?) altogether, as an option. All the time I find that for different reasons it is necessary to click on a file that already has focus -- whereas each and every time I find myself in the Þ†¢Ə¿Ÿ unwanted rename mode.
If I really really do want to rename a file, I still always can hit F2. Or an option could be created that you enter rename mode by holding the left mouse button down for like 200 milliseconds or something. Middle click rename could be another option.
Again, this issue is a major annoyance and needs urgent attention from my point of view.
You do all realise that if you hit the DEL key whilst in inline rename - you can just hit ESC to bring back the filename. That way at least you don't have to retype the name.
I doubt the behaviour is different on purpose. It's just something that Jon presumably didn't realise that Explorer did and nobody pointed out was different until now. It's probably been like that in Opus since 2001.
I filed a request earlier to ask for it to be made consistent with Explorer.
I've only been using DOpus for a couple of weeks and this is the only major annoyance that I've come across. Then endless tabs that get created when I access different folders is an annoyance, but not in the league of this one.
Yes, Tanis, I did realise, but thanks for the tip anyway.
Nudel, any ideas when a patch might be released to fix the rename problem?
