How to keep folders always on top, but also make .exe files sort above other non-folder items (while still sorting by name within each group)
Easiest way is probably to make an evaluator "Is exe?" column, then do a multi-column sort with that as the first column and Name as the second.
It’s a little difficult for me.
This is suboptimal and a little ugly but you could group using something like the following script. I use many categories but i deleted them for this example. I wouldn't add the column itself, rather i would group according to doc category in folder format settings.
// DocCategory – fixed group order, easy category edits, optional auto-collapse
// Language: JScript (Directory Opus Script Add-in)
// J.Fourie
var SETTINGS = {
autoCollapseOnFolderChange: false,
// Column name/label (change if you make variants).
columnName: "DocCategory",
columnLabel: "Doc Category",
// Define your categories here, in the order you want them grouped.
// 1) "Folders" is handled automatically (item.is_dir) — keep it first.
// 2) For simple extension-based categories, just add to `exts`.
// 3) For logic-based categories, supply a `match(item, ext)` function that returns true/false.
categories: [
{ name: "Folders", special: "folders" }, // reserved; handled by item.is_dir
{ name: "Exe", exts: [".exe", ".shortcut"] },
// NOTE: "Other" is the catch-all. Keep it last.
{ name: "Other", exts: [] }
]
};
// ---------- INTERNALS (you generally don't need to touch below this line) ----------
// Build a quick lookup from extension -> category name for fast classification.
var EXT_TO_CAT = (function buildExtMap(){
var map = {};
for (var i = 0; i < SETTINGS.categories.length; i++) {
var c = SETTINGS.categories[i];
if (c.exts && c.exts.length) {
for (var j = 0; j < c.exts.length; j++) {
var e = ("" + c.exts[j]).toLowerCase();
map[e] = c.name;
}
}
}
return map;
})();
// Build the explicit group order string for the column (semicolon-separated).
function getGroupOrderString() {
var names = [];
for (var i = 0; i < SETTINGS.categories.length; i++) {
names.push(SETTINGS.categories[i].name);
}
return names.join(";");
}
// Return the category name for an item.
function classifyItem(item) {
if (item.is_dir) return "Folders";
var ext = (item.ext || "").toLowerCase();
if (EXT_TO_CAT.hasOwnProperty(ext)) return EXT_TO_CAT[ext];
// Fallback to any function-based category rules (rare case)
for (var i = 0; i < SETTINGS.categories.length; i++) {
var c = SETTINGS.categories[i];
if (typeof c.match === "function") {
try {
if (c.match(item, ext) === true) return c.name;
} catch(e) {
// ignore match errors; fall through to Other
}
}
}
return "Other";
}
// ---------------- Opus Hooks ----------------
function OnInit(initData) {
initData.name = "DocCategory";
initData.version = "1.4";
initData.desc = "Custom document category column with fixed order and folders on top (auto-collapse optional)";
initData.default_enable = true;
initData.min_version = "12.0";
initData.group = "Column";
var col = initData.AddColumn();
col.name = SETTINGS.columnName;
col.method = "OnDocCategory";
col.label = SETTINGS.columnLabel;
col.justify = "left";
// We supply explicit group order and group labels; no auto-grouping.
col.autogroup = false;
col.grouporder = getGroupOrderString();
col.autorefresh = true;
}
function OnDocCategory(colData) {
var label = classifyItem(colData.item);
colData.value = label; // visible cell text
colData.group = label; // group header text
}
// OPTIONAL: Auto-collapse groups on folder change (so "Other" begins collapsed).
// This affects all groups (Opus limitation). Toggle via SETTINGS.autoCollapseOnFolderChange.
function OnAfterFolderChange(data) {
if (!SETTINGS.autoCollapseOnFolderChange) return;
try {
var cmd = DOpus.Create.Command();
cmd.SetSourceTab(data.tab);
// Collapse all groups in this tab. There is currently no official way
// to collapse a single named group (e.g., "Other") only.
cmd.RunCommand("Set GROUPCOLLAPSE=Off");
} catch (e) {
// swallow; nothing critical
}
}
Leo's idea in a few easy steps:
- Create a column (we show the name because it looks nicer)
operation == "sort" ? ext == "exe" : name
XML
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<evalcolumn align="0" attrrefresh="no" autorefresh="no" blurrable="no" customgrouping="no" foldertype="all" keyword="IsExe" maxstars="5" namerefresh="no" nocache="no" reversegroups="no" reversesort="no" supportmarkup="no" title="IsExe" type="0">operation == "sort" ? ext == "exe" : name</evalcolumn>
- Show the column in the FD
Set COLUMNSTOGGLE=eval:IsExe
- Multi-sort by new column and
name
Set SORTBY=eval:IsExe,name
Thank you very much to Leo for the guidance and to lxp for the answer. It's already being used, and I'm very happy about it.