Tabbed vs anchored panels?

[W1tchseason]

Hi - sorry if I'm being stupid here.
I want to show the 'Categories' and 'Catalog filter' panels anchored to the right-hand side of the XNViewMP window as single vertical columns, but I can't seem to be able to do that.
I can grab the title bar and have them float, but when I drag a title bar to the edge of the window the only options I seem to have are to anchor it above another panel or as a tabbed panel on top of another one. So I don't seem to be able to view the Categories and Catalog filter panels side-by side.
Am I right in thinking that XNViewMP is limited to one columns of panels either side of the central list view?
Also, if I click on a category to filter the view, how do I 'uncheck' the filter so that I see all files again?
Finally, it would be nice to be able to view multiple columns in the categories panes - I have 120+ categories and have to keep scrolling to find the one I want.

Thanks

[jkm]

No, you’re not being stupid at all.

You seem to be accurately understanding what’s going on with layouts: there are some limitations. You can have them above and below in a single column, but not side by side in two columns that are the full height of the window. It would be nice if the layout were more flexible.

Also, if I click on a category to filter the view…

Click in which pane? With this, do you actually mean click on a (any) node in the Catalog Filter pane, as opposed to “click on a category” (as in the categories pane, where you can actually check/uncheck as you mentioned)?

[W1tchseason]

Hi jkm
Yes, I mean in the filter pane.
Thanks

[jkm]

You don't really "unselect" the first item clicked in the Catalog Filter. (Maybe you should be able to, but that's not how it works).

To understand this, it's helpful to consider the concept of state: are you viewing a folder, or the catalog.

Normally, to start with, you're browsing in XnViewMP; you're switching between folders in the Browser or Folders Pane. You're viewing a folder.

Your first click in the catalog filter activates it. Prior to that, the "filter" was inactive: you were just browsing some folder, whether in the folders pane or browser.

So when you first click in the Catalog Filter, you activate it, and you are no longer browsing folders: you are now using the Catalog Filter instead. The Catalog Filter is a view of the entire database, constrained by the Scope and what nodes in the filter you select.

Accordingly, there are a couple of approaches you can take after clicking on a Category in the Catalog filter to effectively "unclick" it, but it depends on how you have your scope set (Global or Current Folder):

If your scope is set to Current Folder:
- You could click on "All", which is in Special Items. This will effectively remove any "filtering" and show you all items in the folder you were in before you activated the Catalog filter
(But if your scope is Global, then clicking All will show you all items in the database; definitely not the same as when you were in a folder.)

OR (in any case, or especially if your scope is Global):
-Just click the folder you were in before in the Folder pane. This will deactivate the Catalog Filter.

Hopefully this helps...