0.84: Folder tree: Copy & Paste using keyboard doesn't work

[helmut]

XnView: MP 0.84
OS: Windows 10 - 64bit

Copy & Paste via keyboard (Ctrl +C / Ctrl+V) don't work

Effect: Known shortcuts / workflows not supported

To reproduce:
1. In XnView select a folder in the folder tree. The folder should be a folder with few contents.
2. Press Ctrl+C
3. Select another folder in the folder tree.
4. Press Ctrl+V
Actual behaviour (bug): Nothing happens

Expected behaviour: Ctrl+C should have copied the selected folder to the clipboard and Ctrl+V should have copied the folder.

Note: "Del" key doesn't work in the folder tree either but I'm a hesitant to ask to support this dangerous shortcut.

[vertigo]

Ctrl+V does work. If you right-click and copy, then you can paste with Ctrl+v. Ctrl+c actually seems to be doing something that clears the clipboard. If you copy something, you can paste it multiple times, but if you select something and do Ctrl+C then try to paste nothing will happen again. So it's just Ctrl+c that's broken, and it's not even that it's just not doing what it's supposed to, but it's doing something else.

[vertigo]

Cut (Ctrl+X), Copy To (Alt+C), and Move To (Alt+M) also don't work.

Also just discovered the hard way there's no undo/redo feature, which would be a huge feature request Good thing I keep backups...

[m.Th.]

Take care, take care...

Context sensitive decisive actions (see Vertigo's „huge feature request” ) are tricky. In complex GUIs many times is not very obvious where the focus really is (which is the folder which we will move?) and many times we do actions about which we repent after. (Vertigo we love you! )

Much better would be to have these actions as keyboard assignable actions. In this case I would see a little problem in their name: „Move to... (Folders Pane)” ?

WRT to Undo: Forget it. I say it with love. Very hard to implement. Remember that there isn't a log of on-disk actions to revert but also a whole bunch of committed database changes. Yes, I would want it too.

[vertigo]

The reason I needed undo wasn't anything too drastic, like deleting a directory. I simply clicked on a folder and did the Alt+M shortcut, without realizing that when I clicked on the folder it actually activated the rename functionality (all too easy to do accidentally), so when I did Alt+M it renamed the folder to "m" which was a problem because I didn't know the name before. So I just pulled up a backup and looked at the name. As I've said before, my programming knowledge is quite limited, but I guess I wouldn't have thought it would be THAT hard to undo something like that or even something like deleting files to the recycle bin or moving or copying files. If it is, so be it, but the lack of such a function would definitely make me very unlikely to use XnView as anything more than a viewer.

[helmut]

Thank you, vertigo and m.Th. for checking and your comments.

I summarize:
- Undo would be nice but pretty difficult to implement --> Suggestion (if really wanted)

- Currently, the standard shortcuts for cutting and copying to clipboard Ctrl+X and Ctrl+C do not work on the folder tree. m.Th. has some concerns that supporting these buttons might cause trouble. I don't think so because only by clicking into the folder tree the folder tree gets focus. With "Del" key I'm also hesitant, I think that "Del" key shouldn't be supported at all or only with a special setting.

Agreed?

[vertigo]

Can't get into much trouble by copying something. Worst case scenario you have to delete the copy you accidentally made. Pretty much the same for cutting, except you have to put it back where it came from. Seems unlikely either of these would be used accidentally in a way that would cause problems. As for delete, well, with an undo and if the program wouldn't permanently delete without warning, I'd say why not, but with either of those being the way they are, and especially both, I'm also very hesitant to allow del to work on the tree. If the user really wants to delete something there, they can/should do it through the context menu.

[helmut]

m.Th. (and other): Do you agree to add keyboard support for Ctrl+X and Ctrl+C to folder tree? ("Del" key remains unsupported.)

[m.Th.]

m.Th. (and other): Do you agree to add keyboard support for Ctrl+X and Ctrl+C to folder tree? ("Del" key remains unsupported.)

Hmmm... Ctrl+X implies a "delete", no? But I tend to agree because you will "paste" it somewhere... Also, Windows Explorer supports it.

[helmut]

m.Th. (and other): Do you agree to add keyboard support for Ctrl+X and Ctrl+C to folder tree? ("Del" key remains unsupported.)

Hmmm... Ctrl+X implies a "delete", no? But I tend to agree because you will "paste" it somewhere... Also, Windows Explorer supports it.

Thank you for your reply, m.Th..

A different approach that cme to my mind. What about a new setting on "Keyboard" tab:
[x] Support Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+C, Del in folder tree
By default, this settings is deactivated. Experienced users may activate it. Then, shortcuts are available including "Del" key.

[vertigo]

If deactivated by default, I can pretty much guarantee people will think it's broken.

[helmut]

If deactivated by default, I can pretty much guarantee people will think it's broken.

Right, but if you support Cut, Copy, Paste but no Delete, I'm pretty sure that people will also complain. Perhaps some feedback for the user to indicate that the action is surpressed?

[vertigo]

That was my thought, but was in a hurry earlier. Maybe a popup if they try to perform the actions when they're disabled?

[m.Th.]

I like a lot the DSA dialogs for such advanced features - Outlook/MS Office ...aaaaand FastStone Viewer use them a lot and provides a very good UX:

Outlook-DSA-Capture.JPG (19.6 KiB) Viewed 1066 times