[Thunar-dev] Classic UI

[Brian]

Todd Schiller wrote:

> Hi, I'm new to the list and have a few comments about the current debate:
>
> ARGUMENTS FOR PATHBAR:
>
> (1) for novices, it looks a lot friendlier
> (2) it is easier to backtrack
>
> ARGUMENTS FOR LOCATIONBAR:
> (1) for novices, it is easier to be able to take a directory, and then 
> navigate quickly to that directory, say if they are reading a web 
> howto and would like to navigate somewhere
>
> (2) for others, it can be much faster to just type in the directory 
> name especially if there is name completion
>
> (3) when a directory is cluttered with other directories, name 
> completion may be easier than finding another directory
>
> Overall, I can think of situations in which I would like to use each 
> interface. This may be out of the question, but would it be create a 
> hotkey combo to switch between a location bar and the pathbar? That 
> would allow advanced users to be able the gain the functionality they 
> want when they want it and allow novice users to choose the design 
> that fits them the best. Or, I think it would be nice to have the path 
> bar on the bottom and the location bar on the top (I'm sure many will 
> object saying it would be too cluttered). You could kind of make it so 
> it is a seperate pane to the right of the short cuts pane and under 
> the folder view.
>
> As for the last comments about the difference between a manager and a 
> web browser, I'm not so sure if there is one (or a least a big one). 
> In both cases you are trying to navigate a structure that can often be 
> very complex... we can imagine a cluttered website full of links just 
> as we can a directory cluttered with folders and files.
>
> I am very interested in helping with the development of thunar. Though 
> I have little experience with interface design and programming, I 
> believe I could help with the lower level things such as hashing, etc. 
> I don't know quite who to contact with these aspirations, so I just 
> figured I'd post them here.
>
> Overall, I think its shaping up to be a great looking file manager.
>
> Just my $.02
>
> Todd Schiller
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> Thunar-dev at xfce.org
> http://foo-projects.org/mailman/listinfo/thunar-dev
>
After playing with the mockup a bit, I'm becoming less convinced that 
there is a problem having both. Currently, you can have either, both, or 
none.

Screenshot of both enabled at the same time:
http://members.cox.net/brian-schott/PathAndLocation.png

I think that a location bar with autocomplete is a must-have option.  
Preferably integrated with a find as you type system. (Just start 
typing, files are selected as matches are found, and the letters appear 
in the location bar as the keys are pressed. Tab key autocompletes in 
the location bar) Interestingly, I showed it to my younger brother and 
he thought that the path bar was a nice idea and hardly touched the 
location bar.

I think that it's just like the icon/list view debate. Include both and 
everyone wins. I'd personally use the location bar a lot, but making the 
path bar the default would be a good idea.

Brian J Tarricone wrote:

>
> Eh.  If you generalise more, it's not different.  In both interfaces, 
> you use the left button to open "something" in the current view, and 
> the middle button to open "something" in a new view, leaving the 
> current view alone.  I think it's a nice bit of cross-app 
> consistency.  It's like jazz: it just feels right. 

Exactly what I was thinking. Single middle click gets my vote.

Brian Schott