Tab Groups update propositions

[Forez]

Top of the morning to everyone, it is me: Old MacNitpicker from the Naggling clan


Build 907 has this new feature available at

View > Tab Groups

but I suggest such updates to it:


#1] Currently the

View > Tab Groups > Save tab group...

has options [placed visually like this]

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● only active panel
● active and inactive panel

I suggest changing them to [also placed visually like this]

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● active panel   ● active and inactive panel
● left panel   ● both panels   ● right panel

or alternatively to

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● active panel   ● both panels
● left panel   ● right panel

#2] Second step [pop-up] window for

View > Tab Groups > Save tab group...

that shows up when with prompting text

Overwrite existing tab group?

when user re-uses the same name for a Tab Group should also have an option to either RENAME or GO BACK, so that a user could choose a different name without a need of going back to navigating in menu. Or alternatively in that second window there could be a field with the name of Tab Group which would allow users to adjust the conflicting name on the spot [similar to how not so long time ago it became possible to conveniently re-rename a file or folder when user tries to change its name to a one that already is present in given location]


#3] Currently the

View > Tab Groups > Load tab group...

has a pre-step showing selected and grayed out options

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☑ only active panel
☑ Ask about the decision

If those options are non-changeable then what is the sense in showing ticket boxes for them? Why not just show this as an info [i.e. ordinary text]?


#4] Second step [pop-up] window for

View > Tab Groups > Load tab group...

has options

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● Close all current tabs
● Close not locked tabs
● Keep all tabs

I suggest adjusting them to

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Existing tabs:
● Close all
● Close all not locked
● Keep all
□ Re-arrange them alphabetically - in ascending order
□ Re-arrange them alphabetically - in descending order

Loaded tabs:
☑ Disregard duplicates
☑ Place them after existing tabs
□ Place them before existing tabs
□ Re-arrange them alphabetically - in ascending order
□ Re-arrange them alphabetically - in descending order

i.e. if implemented then please make the two first of these new options being selected by default [but remember user's choice in case of de-selecting them]


#5] The

View > Tab Groups > Tab group edit...

does not allow for editing and thus I suggests changing this to

View > Tab Groups > Tab group manager

And going further, if it is suppose to be a real manager, then it should allow for more than just current ability to change names of entries and their vertical arrangement. Thus in my opinion it also should get:

#5A] Column for showing the numbers of tabs present in every saved / available entry. Preferably just the overall number but also [when eligible] with distinction between Left and Right Panel

#5B] Column with description field. Because users might want to have narrow names so that the sub-menu will not become ridiculously wide, but they also might need an extensive info about which Tab Group is for what exactly

#5C] Ability to place separators

#5D] Ability to place name tags [i.e. separators in form of empty entries, similar to how it is possible to place inactive button on a Favorite Toolbar]

#5E] Ability to have an individual icon

#5F] Option to clear out [for good] selected [saved] Group(s) from having duplicates

#5G] Option to rearrange tabs within selected Group(s) alphabetically

#5H] Option to enter editor which would then allow for: manual rearrangement of tabs, renaming them, changing their paths; plus the 3 previously listed options [E-G]

#5I] Somewhere in more distant future [after smaller adjustments are implemented, hypothetical bugs removed and some users start creating excessive numbers of Tab Groups thus creating for themselves long vertical sub-menu in their FreeCommander] also nested Tab Groups. For comparison users of Mp3tag were able for ~15 years to add Actions - and the longer I used them the longer my list of them was getting. Today I would not be able to use even half of them effectively because I relay on a quick access to many of them, which is possible only because I do not have to scroll dozens of them in order to go back and forth between them [thanks to the profound update that was made to them allowing for creating sub-sub-menus]. And yes: I know that Actions in Mp3tag are what their name suggest [i.e. a tasks / macros that will be performed] while Tab Groups are a static sets [for management purposes] - but I bet that once users will start to create group clusters / arrays [i.e. groups] of Tab Groups they will find new ways for their daily work to be performed [and thus they will clutter the current Tab Groups sub-menu]


#6] There should be a button in the row with Tabs that would unfold a list of stored Tab Groups, similar to how it has been possible to see a list of Tabs. Presence of this button should be configurable under the

Tools > Settings... > View > Folder Tabs > Tab Management

Icons [from #5E] should also be visible on that list


#7] It is worth considering if there should be a way to identify currently loaded thus used Tab Group that is stored in user's configuration. In theory there could be shown the chosen icon or name of a given Tab Group- but that second option would potentially require a lot of precious space to be used up. But the bigger issue would be with user removing later on Tabs from the Tab Bar or renaming them. So for now it seems that being able to ID what Tab Group [thus preset tasks user suppose / able to do is] a not feasible concept at the moment. Because implementing of such ID system visible not only in the menus would require a new option of locking a whole Tab Group. But then again- why not? Maybe such locked block of Tabs from an existing [i.e. saved] Tab Group could be contained within a border drawn with a color chosen by user individually for every Tab Group? All in all I think that this particular idea would need to be considered in a far more distant future, when we all get acquainted with current abilities of Tab Groups and maybe see some of the upgrades presented in previous points