I have read this thread carefully but it is not helping me. Locking the format is not working for me, and changing the folder format is not either.
In a lister window, my default is to sort by name. I change the sort to "size"/decending, then lock. When I go to a subfolder or up to a parent folder, the sort order returns to name.
Please help.
What are you aiming to do? Change the default, or just change the window/tab until it is closed?
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I'm aiming to temporarily change the format for the current lister window session only.
It seems that when I go down to a subfolder, the lock does not work.
When I go up to a parent folder, the lock works but in fact even if the lock is not on, it works anyway - i.e. the sort column holds.
Hmmm....
Because of some work that I'm doing, I am going through hundreds of folders all over my network. It seems that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't... and I cannot see a pattern.
Are you clicking this lock icon, below the file display, or another one?
The lock should be closed, as shown above, if you temporarily want to prevent the folder format from changing on that side of the lister. (There are separate locks for the left and right sides, if using a dual-display lister to show two folders/tabs at once.)
There are some other locks in the program (e.g. Navigation Lock) which do other things.
After changing folders, is the lock still clocked?
If changing folders unlocks it, have any scripts been installed? (Preferences / Toolbars / Scripts)
Download this screen capture I just made. I think it will answer all your questions.
There are no scripts.
(You can upload images and videos direct to the forum, either by clicking the Upload button above the editor (or below it if on a phone) or by dragging them to the editor. No need to use Dropbox or any external hosts. Dropbox didn't work because it was serving an HTML file instead of a video file, but even if it did it's better to use the forum to store files so that old threads don't break when the external hosts decide to delete old data. I've fixed the posts above and tidied things up.)
Looking at the video, the format appears to be locked and behaving correctly to me. The same columns are being displayed in every folder you go into, as far as I can (sometimes they go off the side of the window but it looks like the same columns in every case).
If you are expecting the column widths to be locked, then you would need to edit the format to use fixed widths. The widths look like they are set to auto at the moment.
If you're expecting something else, let me know what it is as I may be missing something that is changing in the video between folders.
I've further annotated the video - hopefully this helps you see the problem. It's not about column size nor which columns are displaying - that should and does remain the same throughout. It's only about the sort - it should sort by size of folder/file, descending, in every folder I navigate to. Does that help?
It looks like you've got the "Keep folders sorted alphabetically" option turned on in the folder format.
Yes, because that's what I want for almost all uses. But occasionally I want to to sort by size, in which case I try to use the lock, the understanding of which is that it will temporarily override any folder formatting so that the format I temporarily apply will hold until the window session is closed. Isn't that right? And how come it is working for some folders and not others as I navigate up and down the tree?
You would have to turn "Keep folders sorted alphabetically" off, as well as sorting by size. The lock isn't really relevant I don't think - it's just that that option overrides the sort column for folders.
I don't really understand this response. As I've said, it works sometimes and sometimes it does not - this suggests that what I'm trying to achieve is doable. Your response seems to suggest that I need to change the underlying format and that this will solve the problem, but doing that will mean that I will not get the sorting order I need most of the time, right? It also implies that the lock does not work in the way I am trying to get it work, but it DOES most of the time.
I am confused.
Please guys, I could really use some help here. Maybe it's something I am not understanding but the fact that it's currently not working is not my imagination. Please help.
I'm not sure what is happening here yet. We need to investigate it further.
(I don't think Jon's idea is correct, looking at the video, as sometimes it sorts by name and sometimes by size. Unless there is a script changing the "always sort folders alphabetically" setting on folder change or something unusual like that.)
Any news, Leo?
Heeelllllooooooooo...?
There is no news yet. When there is we will post it here.
Was unaware of the padlock button's function. This fixed my problem (formats not applying automatically)!