How To Stop Lister Columns From Changing If Has .mp3 File In Directory?

Help & Support
1

Hi, DO 12 user here,
I have been stumped for Years on how to turn off the lister changing when the directory (or sub directory) has an .mp3 file in it.
I use custom columns for verifying backups and I can't have the lister changing.
I've tried these Forum posts without success:
https://www.gpsoft.com.au/help/opus12/index.html#!Documents/Prefs/Folder_Formats.htm

I'm at my wit's end.
Fortunately, after this is solved, there is only one more significant frustration left with using DO at work...
Thanks for the fix in advance!

2

Turn off Preferences / Folders / Folder Behavior / Enable Folder Content Type detection for...

3

Thanks Leo for the assistance.

However, "Enable Folder Content Type detection for" was not enabled. That option makes no difference whether enabled or not enabled.

I use a saved layout I made years ago that is "Dual display, dual trees" that has (among others) the columns "Size" in bytes, Files (total), Folders (total), and Path Length.

This layout is Perfect. I use DO more times in a day than all other programs combined in that day. It is how I can quickly verify restored files from computer backups on the company NAS.

Since your suggestion I've been testing some different scenarios and discovered that the problem is, at least in my situation, related to Path Length.

If the last character of the Path (directories + file name) is 287 chars or less, then the Lister does NOT change, regardless of the types of file in the last directory (.mp3, .mov, etc.).

However, if the Path Length is 288 or greater, then DO Always changes the Lister, regardless of the file type.

This is repeatable with both my backup software test suite of files and directories, as well as creating from scratch a test situation.

One note, though, sometimes clicking on a directory over the 287 Path Length for the First Time, the Lister shows a “normal” listing. But always, if you click on a directory up one or two levels, then click back down, the Lister will now change.

It turns out, at least in my situation, that it “seemed” (coincidentally) that the Lister change trigger were .mp3 files. After deleting the .mp3 files, the Path Length trigger of 287 chars remained.

Can you reproduce this?

Any thoughts on a fix?

4

Path length should not affect which folder format is used (unless you've set up an unusual wildcard/regex format that matches things based on length).

Hovering (not clicking) the mouse over the format lock icon in the status bar will tell you where the current format came from, which should reveal what's happening.

5

If I am at 1 sub-dir Above a problem sub-dir, hovering over the Format Lock icon says:
"The current Folder Format comes from:
Default Format"

When clicking on the next sub-dir below it (and it has the change in Lister layout) there is NO Format Lock icon, nor the Disk Space used indicator.

I appreciate you working through this. It has been this way for years and I've always found some work-around to get to the file Size in bytes.

Now, I want to fix this. I'm sure it is just some setting somewhere. Thank you again for your patience...

6

Could you post a screenshot of the window in that state please?

7

Please note that if you use a Flat View, the Content Type format will not apply. Flat View only displays according to the Flat View setting/configuration.
I use Flat view a lot, so I created Favorite Folder Formats. When I open a folder in Flat View, I then select the Favorite Format I want from the Folder Formats drop-down menu.

8

From the screenshot you sent, there's something unusual about the folders where the status bar goes blank: It's not Opus displaying those folders but the Windows shell.

That would usually only happen if something has installed a shell extension which takes over how those folders are displayed. That kind of shell extension is very rare these days, but there is still software that does it. (I think some backup tools still use it to let you go inside of backups.)

It can also happen if the folder's real name is a numeric {GUID} string. If you open a Command Prompt in the parent folder (the "2014..." one) and type dir, it should reveal if the name you see in Opus (and Explorer) is the folder's real name, or if there's something unusual going on with it.

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