settings sets (aka workspace settings)

[mazy]

this is the other one of the two productivity features i would use *a lot*.

what:

settings sets (maybe it would be best to call it 'workspaces' or 'workspace settings'). not the best name for it - simply put, beefed-up custom views. more precisely - switchable subsets of configuration settings related mostly to panels / gui.

inspiration:

i often use multiple instances of salamander. like one for general work - mostly with my download path in right panel, sorted by time.

then for my multimedial data, i prefer alphanumeric sort, bigger window. when i work on my master thesis, i use detailed view, alphanumeric sort, one panel pointed to my source files, other one to documentation / papers etc.

changing all these settings is cumbersome. i can either run multiple instances and set each according to the task i would like to use it for, or change the settings in just one or two as i need. it takes time and repeating the same operations over and over.

of course you could export your settings to reg file and then create shortcuts for starting salamander with these configurations, but again - it takes time; when you want to change something in the settings not related to that, you would have to do it for all your configurations again and again etc.

i know altap is planning to support ini files for configuration, which would speed things up, but still ...

how it works:

you could select your settings sets for example from 'change drive' menu, left / right menu or options menu (that would be probably best location as these sets contain specific settings for both the left and the right panel. i can imagine there could be icon with pop-up menu for users to put on top / middle toolbar.

there would be other menu items for creating new set from current settings, deleting / renaming / managing sets etc (in a way like views or hot paths).

when you create a set, it would store multiple settings like:
- window size, panel ratio (i.e. their relative width), panels' maximize state (left/right/none)
- per panel sort, view and maybe even filter and path
- possibly even stuff like which toolbars are visible etc.

some of these settings could be selected not to be included - like path for example (when creating the set or maybe in options dialog when managing them).

when applying set, salamander would simply read settings included in the set and apply them.

it would be handy to have command line setting to start salamander with specified set.

advantage:

huge time saver. plus you won't have to use multiple instances (and in case you would want to, it would be easier for you).

just work with salamander. imagine you want to do downloads oriented work - select appropriate set and you instantly have salamander in the state you prefer to start from for that job. now there's something different, like you want to browse some of your graphic files with thumbnails view, maximized panel - nothing easier, just select the set. do whatever you want until you realize you want that 'general' set back. done.

i can see this feature would be extremely useful for users who do different tasks in salamander which require (or are better to do with) specific gui settings. and of course
you could use it for simply setting both panels to specified paths (like to your 'download' folder and your 'sorted' folder; 'development':'backup'; 'movies':'burnt movies' ...).

----

again, i'm interested in others' opinions on subject ...

[jis]

Mazy, you are right. Thread Saving configuration on exit / multiple instances and your feature request here are in some ways related to each other.

[Jan Rysavy]

I really LIKE these ideas, I have thought about such functionality several times. Mazy, thank you for your time!

It would be easy to implement. If there will be demand (other SS users, please let us know in this thread), we can implement it to version 3.0.

[jis]

I usually use two instances of SS. Only for really simple task I use only one instance. But with more than one SS running simultaneously I must carefully think about potential problems with saving configuration on exit in different instances.

Tabbed SS will be definitely helpful. And Mazy's idea of subsets of configuration settings related to panels/tabs will be really great.

I use as my primary web browser Avant Browser. I can say, that there is no way back, when one habituate to tabbed browsing.
Analogically to so called groups of favorites in Avant Browser I can imagine groups of tab sets in SS. With groups it will be possible invoke with only one click to chosen group my favorite set of tabs for needed task.

[KNUT]

this is the other one of the two productivity features i would use *a lot*[...]

Thanks for this essay - excellent
"Workspaces" are indeed the reality: Each project has it's own "paths", "views" and so on!
The current way is to start another Salamander task with paths in command line. But a complete "Workspace" with more settings would be nice (great!!).

[mazy]

Jan, jis and KNUT, thank you for your support and responses . now, we would need more users to demand this ...

in the meantime, what about my other requests, persistent selections and user menu enhancements?

[murphy]

My vote to workdesks and multiple config support

[roger]

No need for saving views for different folders, because I do not use anything but the detailled view. But tabbed panels would be great.

[JohnFredC]

No need for saving views for different folders, because I do not use anything but the detailled view. But tabbed panels would be great.

Yes... but wouldn't you like different column layouts (assuming more columns are on the way some day)? It should be possible to save column layouts, filters, and sorts for the individual folders you choose. Some of SS's competitors already have that. There are several approaches to implementation, though.

I have no problem with Salamander leaving a small "layout" file in each folder (such as "SS.lo"). To my way of thinking, that is a superior approach to a centralized /cached layout repository.

One SS competitor allows the user to define folder "types" and then automatically switches detail columns to the correct type using rules. For instance, it detects when a certain % of a folder's files are jpg's and exposes image-related columns automatically. Same for mp3's etc. All of which are user configurable.

Also a good idea!

[roger]

Yes... but wouldn't you like different column layouts (assuming more columns are on the way some day)?

No, not really. The available columns are enough for me and I do not know, which information should be added. I use Salamander for managing files, for viewing I use external apps which were built for the special tasks.

It should be possible to save column layouts, filters, and sorts for the individual folders you choose. Some of SS's competitors already have that. There are several approaches to implementation, though.

Maybe, but I'm happy that I do not have to use them. If Salamander starts to become bloat like Total Commander or strange like Explorer2 I will most probably switch to another one again.

I was always happy that stability was the highest priority for Salamander, but when I read this forum I'm afraid, that satisfying the featurities will change this.

I know, that I'm getting old.

[mazy]

well, my original proposal wasn't about making ss bloated. it was merely a way to make working with ss faster by providing means to quickly change some ui settings suitable for different tasks ...

[Stefan von Allmen]

I like this proposal.

I frequently have several SSs running. When I need to reboot my machine I often have to think about, which instance I should close last so as to preserve at least one setup.

To keep it lean, I could imagine just to provide a menu of saved configurations to load (and streamline the configuration export prompts).

I could well live with the getting all aproach of saving/loading configurations as it is now.

[KNUT]

[...]quickly change some ui settings suitable for different tasks ...

That's the great advantage for productivity of your idea