Instead of listing all the things I think awkward or just plain wrong about FreeCommander folder tabs... here is everything important to me for an "IDEAL" tab implementation in any file commander. Some of these are already available in FC, and FC has a couple more not listed below.
Merging the following schema with FC's existing settings should address nearly every user's tab-use preference out there. Note that the following does not address virtual folders in tabs, another important function of a tab implementation, and one which I also hope for.
Options for "All folder tabs" (via global Settings dialog)
- Global Folder Tab Appearance Settings
- Toggle: Tab row at top or at bottom
- Toggle: Tab row always on or tab row off if only one tab
- Toggle: Enable/Disable tabs on multiple lines
- Edit box: Tab "fixed width" setting (0 turns off)
- Toggle: Enable/Disable "New tab button" (as in IE 7)
- Combo box: "New tab button" displays..., 2 options
-> Option 1: Left side of tab strip
-> Option 2: Right side of tab strip (default)
- Combo box: "New tab" appears..., 3 options
-> Option 1: Left
-> Option 2: Right
-> Option 3: Adjacent to current tab (default)
- Toggle: Display close button ("x") on tab always (only on mouse-over otherwise)
- Toggle: Show drive letter in tab caption (only on mouse-over otherwise)
- Edit combo box: Mark locked tabs with character
- Global Folder Tab Behavior Settings
Option group: If navigating inside a locked tab (see below), 3 options:
- Option 1: "Start new tab"
- Option 2: "Go to tab:"
-> Combo box: Tab to activate if Option 2 (combo listing available tabs in profile + "First on left")
- Option 3: Do nothing
- Toggle: Enable/Disable "Save tabs on exit (Left panel)"
- Toggle: Enable/Disable "Save tabs on exit (Right panel)"
- Toggle: Activate panel when clicking tab
- Toggle: Keep open tabs if open layout
- Global Folder Tab Startup Settings
Option group: FC startup, 2 options
- Option 1: Restore tabs on startup
- Option 2: Always open following tab layouts:
-> Edit combo: Tab layout file to display on left when FC starts (list of layouts in default layout folder, with file browser button)
-> Edit combo: Tab layout file to display on right when FC starts (list of layouts in default layout folder, with file browser button)
- Edit combo: "New tab" default path left side (populated by Favorites, with path browser button)
- Edit combo: "New tab" default path left side (populated by Favorites, with path browser button)
- Toggle: Disable/enable folder tree in new tab panel
- Toggle: Tab's panel view persists (icons, thumbs, etc)
- Combo box: "New tab" default panel view (Details, List, Thumbs, etc).
- Toggle: Tab filter (*.doc, etc) persists
- Edit combo: "New tab" default filter (with recently applied filters and adjacent "New" button that opens Set Filter dialog)
- Toggle: Tab column profile / sort order persists between sessions
-> Combo box: Default Tab column profile / sort order (button to display profile designer))
- Global Folder Tab Miscellaneous Settings
- Edit box: Default Path location to save tab files, with path browser button
- Individual Tab Navigation Settings
- Toggle: Enable/Disable navigate "up" the folder hierarchy
- Toggle: Enable/Disable navigate "down" the folder hierarchy
- Toggle: Enable/Disable Return to tab root on activate
- Toggle: Enable/Disable Refresh on activate
- Individual Tab Appearance Settings
- Toggle: Display folder tree inside this tab
- Edit box: Path displayed by this tab, with path browser button)
- Combo box: Tab Pairing: Tab/path to display simultaneously in opposite panel (not sure how this would work)
- Toggle: Enable/Disable tab title lock (show current folder name by default)
-> Edit box: Tab title text if tab title lock enabled
- Toggle: Enable tab color
-> Value: Tab color picker
- Toggle: Enable/Disable tab icon
-> Edit box: Icon file (with file browser button)
- Toggle: Lock relative left/right position of tab when possible (such as always 1st tab on left or right)
- Toggle: Tab's panel view persists (icons, thumbs, etc)
- Toggle: Tab filter (*.doc, etc) persists
- Toggle: Tab column layout / sort order persists
- Toggle: Quickview persists (that is, restore pre-existing linked quickview when re-entering tab)
- Option group: Quickview Display, 2 options
- Option 1: Display Quickview in new tab in opposite panel
-> Edit combo: Vertical divider position in % for opposite panel Quickview with defaults
-> Edit box: Name of Quickview tab in opposite panel (defaults to new tab with filename)
- Option 2: Divide this panel and display Quickview inside this tab
-> Toggle: Display Quickview at top (default to bottom) if Option 2
-> Edit combo: Horizontal divider position in % for "in tab" Quickview
- - New tab, default folder
- New tab, selected folder
- Duplicate tab
- Duplicate tab to opposite panel
- Move tab left
- Move tab right
- Close this tab
- Close all tabs
- Refresh contents
- Save tab layout
- Save tab layout as...
- Open tab layout
- Tab properties...
- - Drag & drop tabs to rearrange
- Drag & drop tabs to copy/move to other panel (left button copy, right button move)
- Close tab with middle click
- Drag and drop file selection to tab (left button copy, right button move)
- Short cut key for new tab in current panel
- Short cut key for close tab
- When attempting to navigate in a locked tab (see above) either do nothing, start a new tab, or go to a predefined tab (see applicable settings, above)
- - Display Quickviews in new tabs
- Pair file display tab (on one side) with Quickview tab (on other side) and make the relationship persistable.
- Enable Quickview panel as additional viewer pane INSIDE a single tab
- Allow "standalone" persistent Quickview tabs
- Naturally all plugins should be available inside a Quickview tab.
- It would be great to have a second row of "Tab Layout" tabs for direct access to named tab layouts!
I know this is a lot of stuff, and most of you will think it is overkill. But a carefully implemented GUI to these settings will help simplify the complexity and make them more meaningful to the noobs.
Perhaps I have come down with Dopus disease. But... perhaps not.
