Unified way for creating file list

[xnview]

@Pierre:
If you really intend to implement something, please make sure that you provide an alpha to discuss things. Perhaps XnView MP is the right place to put this in. Later, XnView Windows may follow.

Yes, i'll make that in XnView MP

[helmut]

@Pierre:
If you really intend to implement something, please make sure that you provide an alpha to discuss things. Perhaps XnView MP is the right place to put this in. Later, XnView Windows may follow.

Yes, i'll make that in XnView MP

Had this on my mind for years, good to see this implemented in near future.

[Dreamer]

- Pierre, do you plan also Batch Processing and Batch rename in the single dialog (2 tabs?) as suggested elsewhere?

- Helmut - it's all a bit confusing to me - do you want "Input" tab for all dialogs? What about Batch Processing and Batch rename - do you agree with 3 tabs (input, batch processing, batch rename)? If Pierre plans to implement it in MP it should be perfect there. If those 2 options will be merged into one, then both keyboard shortcuts / menu items / toolbar buttons should be preserved - just, for example Ctrl+U should open Batch Processing tab and F2 (while more files are selected) should open Batch rename tab.

- My suggestions:

1. Drag the files / folders from explorer/file managers into the dialog.

2. View options on "Input" tab - list / details / thumbnails / thumbnails and details.

The last one would be useful to sort the images quickly, but a dialog must be large enough (or resizable).

3. Standard Windows keyboard shortcuts would be very useful to toggle the tabs quickly (Ctrl+Tab, Ctrl+PageDown - next tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab, Ctrl+PageUp - previous tab).

[helmut]

- Pierre, do you plan also Batch Processing and Batch rename in the single dialog (2 tabs?) as suggested elsewhere?

I also think that batch rename and batch processing should become one. Perhaps there could be tabs:
- Input/Output
- Transforming
- Renaming

- Helmut - it's all a bit confusing to me - do you want "Input" tab for all dialogs? What about Batch Processing and Batch rename - do you agree with 3 tabs (input, batch processing, batch rename)? If Pierre plans to implement it in MP it should be perfect there.

Until now I've intended the "Input" tab in some cases, but not everywhere. But the standard input "control" should be used everywhere.
But perhaps the "Input" tab could be applied everywhere with some additional changes:
I think it's important that the user has an idea how many files are currently in the "Input". Without this information you may happen to convert thousands of files without wanting it. So the number of files should be made generally available - for example in a status bar or the header of the "Input" tab (e.g. "Input (43)" would indicated that there are 43 files). Also, if renaming or transformation operation is active, there should be an indicator on the tab (e.g. "Transformation (!)" and "Renaming (!)".

If those 2 options will be merged into one, then both keyboard shortcuts / menu items / toolbar buttons should be preserved - just, for example Ctrl+U should open Batch Processing tab and F2 (while more files are selected) should open Batch rename tab.

Fully agree.

- - My suggestions:

1. Drag the files / folders from explorer/file managers into the dialog.

2. View options on "Input" tab - list / details / thumbnails / thumbnails and details.

The last one would be useful to sort the images quickly, but a dialog must be large enough (or resizable).

3. Standard Windows keyboard shortcuts would be very useful to toggle the tabs quickly (Ctrl+Tab, Ctrl+PageDown - next tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab, Ctrl+PageUp - previous tab).

Good suggestions which I also support. Perhaps the various views (see 2.) could even replace the preview. But I guess not.

[helmut]

Just noticed that Olivier_G made a very similar draft for choosing files:

[Dreamer]

What about the "Script"? It would be useful also for Batch rename, but there should be a possibility to select what will be saved to script because it might be very confusing, for batch rename the transformations and conversion should be disabled. Perhaps the options - checkboxes (on tabs, if possible, or with the indicators on tabs at least) would help - to select what will be done and what will be saved to script.

Predefined scripts would be also very useful. Just few examples:

- batch rename - <Date Taken [Y-m-d_H-M-S]>, case - ext. lowercase (for photos with EXIF)

- batch rename - <Filename> ###, replace "_" with " ", case - ext. lowercase

- batch processing - jpg, quality 75%

- batch processing - jpg, quality 75%, resize to 1024x768 (for wallpapers)

- batch processing - jpg, quality 75%, rename, resize to 160x120 (for thumbnails)

[JohnFredC]

I have been watching this thread and am Johnny-come-lately to post, but:

My initial reaction was that Helmut's dialogs were good but didn't go quite far enough. I started listing all the things (functionality and info) that I personally wanted to see in the "Input" file list portion of the dialogs and quickly realized that all those things already exist in the browser. Then oops66 wrote to say that very thing.

In addition to getting me to rethink how I use the browser with categories, oops66 also put me on to thinking about how to best integrate the browser with the batch rename/batch conversion/slideshow/webpage etc dialogs.

I'm a non-modal kind of guy. Anything that can be implemented in a non-modal way is better than modal (except for general ledger accounting applications and on-line banking/ticket booking, of course). Non-modal implementations are notoriously difficult to design, however, so in the short term I am in favor of as much "unification" in the current dialogs as possible and would favor Helmut's changes.

In the long term, though, in my opinion the best approach would be to attempt to move away from the dialogs toward a solution that uses the browser plus sidebar panels.... which is I guess very similar to an implementation where the current dialogs would be non-modal and the file lists linked in real-time to changes made in the browser.

There are several benefits to this approach, including reduced modality and the fact that improvements to the browser would automatically accrue to the batch/slide show/etc. functionality.

A parallel improvement which I think would be important, however, would be implementing multiple browser tabs. This would make switching between different projects much more convenient. Each browser tab could be set to show it's own sidebars.

[xnview]

There are several benefits to this approach, including reduced modality and the fact that improvements to the browser would automatically accrue to the batch/slide show/etc. functionality.

You means to make batch convert dialog non modal, or only the 'Input' tab as panel in the browser?

[JohnFredC]

I mean the whole dialog. I think.

In this daydream of mine, all dialogs that depend on the file list for input could be non-modal. Changes made in the selection and sequence of files in the browser (via categories, filters, sorting, etc) would be immediately communicated to the dialog input section or tab (whichever). And vice versa. Without closing the dialog.

I think the need for the availability of file list organizational tools in the slide show/batch rename/conversion/etc dialogs is partly the reason for this thread.

Making the existing dialogs non-modal and having bi-directional communication between the input section and the file list might address that...

I was thinking that might be easier to implement than redesigning the dialogs??????

Or would that approach be too confusing to the average user????

[oops66]

...
Or would that approach be too confusing to the average user????

Not for me, I fully agree with this approach (a temporary(or not) file list interface between all dialogs, with the possibility to import, export to an other function this list, with also the possibility to save this list in a test file and/or a new category ), so a kind of interopability between xnview functions !
But both ways are not incompatible...

[helmut]

Very good ideas! What you have proposed above sounds like an "Image basket" which can be filled with files and then you can apply actions on it. This is a new concept and I wonder how well this works. Perhaps worth while refining this idea, but I think this really needs a functional prototype to see how well this works.

Personally I think we should first enhance the current dialogs with "Input" tab and/or the standard input control. Once using this we gather more information about "multi" processing and can then move to the "Image basket".

[XnTriq]

What you have proposed above sounds like an "Image basket" which can be filled with files and then you can apply actions on it.

Image basket

[Dreamer]

What about dual pane view - as option, then second pane might be used as another pane, as "image basket", but also for categories. It would be useful also to move images from one category to another, or to copy images from one category to another folder easily, for example.

[xnview]

Yes i think that 'Image basket' will be great! I think to add it in XnViewMP.
A new pane, the user can add, reorder files.
Perhaps better than a new tab 'Input'

[oops66]

Yes i think that 'Image basket' will be great! I think to add it in XnViewMP.
A new pane, the user can add, reorder files.
Perhaps better than a new tab 'Input'

The 'Image basket' for me should be a new category (usually more efficient) with the possibility to import/export/save to/from a .txt file or an other category so to others XnView functions.
New pane , new tab or new XnView instance, it doesn't matter for me.Why not as Dreamer said above, "What about dual pane view (tree,categories/favorites)- as option", I think it's a good idea, or maybe better, a new instance management function like Johnfredc said here: topic "XnView Hypervisor"
http://newsgroup.xnview.com/viewtopic.php?t=15713