selecting multiple files for copy/cut/delete

[MajiKool Dragonâ„¢]

i was reading this thread about and undelete and a recycle bin in rb, and something was being said about saving clicks, and i thought... why not just make it possible to select multiple files. that would save clicks.

[AlexP]

Yes, a way to mark files to perform a common action on them would be handy.  It'd still be on the context menu I imagine, so would still require a few clicks per file, but at least you wouldn't need to confirm or each one too.

[gulak]

Yes, a way to mark files to perform a common action on them would be handy.  It'd still be on the context menu I imagine, ...

This depends on the implementation. I implemented something like this as a plugin where you can select files and folders with a button click. I use the context menu only to start the plugin.

I doubt something like this will ever make into rockbox. I implemented it in my build about 2 years ago and the the times I used it, I can count on one hand.

[AlexP]

It depends on the implementation.  I would think it has a pretty good chance of getting into core Rockbox - if done as a plugin, then an even better chance.  It depends on the implementation, but I wouldn't be so pessimistic

[nls]

I would like this feature, but i see no reason for it to be implemented as a plugin.
Also i could imagine 3 dufferent context menu actions.
* Select (selects this item for a future multi action)
* Start multi select (selects the first item in a span)
* End multi select (selects the last item of the span)

so if you want to select item 1 and 4 through 8
you "select" 1 and then start a multi select on 4
and end on 8
select and start multi could even be  merged.
Another place where this could be useful id the playlist viewer for moving or deleting items and the database and filebrowser for inserting into playlists, etc.

[gulak]

I would like this feature, but i see no reason for it to be implemented as a plugin.

Only to list some reasons:
The more you put into the core the more complicate the code will be and the more difficult it will be to maintain it. It's also hard to remove a functionality cleanly from the core when it becomes obsolete or not wanted. It's always better to implement things as module, where the user has the choice to put together what he wants.
But these are not the reasons for me to implement it as a plugin. For me it's the simple reason that I was looking for way to implement features I want without having to resolve conflicts after each svn update.

select and start multi could even be  merged.

Or leave Select but merge Start and End multi select into one. I called it "auto-select". Applied on your example it means, when the cursor is at the 4th element, you can turn on auto-select, go down to the 8th element - every element you've passed is automatically selected - and turn off auto-selection at the 8th element.
Auto-Selection is something I implemented but have never used.

[[Saint]]

gulak,


Does this plugin of your exist anywhere?
I mean, obviously you have it , but is it posted anywhere?
I actually think this *would* have a pretty good chance of making it into SVN.
Especially if it was opened up to the rest of the developer community to further improve on (if needed).
Just my two cents worth...

[St.]

[gulak]

Does this plugin of your exist anywhere?
I mean, obviously you have it , but is it posted anywhere?

I can put it online again, if you have a sansa e200 and know how to patch and compile. Just give me a PM and I'll PM you the url where you can download it. In this forum it's not allowed for us user to share codes or discuss about codes which are not in svn.

I actually think this *would* have a pretty good chance of making it into SVN.

This feature has as much chance as every other feature idea proposed in this forum.
As long as no Rockbox developer implements it, it won't get in.

Especially if it was opened up to the rest of the developer community to further improve on (if needed).

Zero comments or "Please read the coding guideline" is the best feedback that you can get as an external developer if you put a patch on the tracker. You can't even edit/correct your own posts there.

[Llorean]

This is an extremely negative attitude. Plenty of features have come from patches on the tracker and nearly every developer currently coding Rockbox started off as an "external" developer.

If you receive many comments of "please read the coding guidelines" maybe you should consider that they're taken seriously and attempt to meet them. Other than that, follow through with your patch - find out why nobody's making comments (is there no interest in the feature from developers?) and try to find a single developer who's actually interested in it.

[saratoga]

Zero comments or "Please read the coding guideline" is the best feedback that you can get as an external developer if you put a patch on the tracker. You can't even edit/correct your own posts there.

Have you even looked at the patch tracker?  Theres literally several thousand counter examples. 

[JdGordon]

gulak, I do understand the sentiment a bit, and if you have done this patch as a plugin then it is probably accurate here, but in general there is no way a feature will get in unless *someone* puts in the effort and either hits up IRC or the tracker (both usually).

multi select is something which everyone wants but implementing it properly isnt easy. It pretty much has to be done inside the standard list code so it can be usable just about everywhere. It doesnt make sense to put this sort of thing anywhere else (especially a plugin)

[gulak]

This is an extremely negative attitude.

This isn't an attitude. It's a fact. What [St.] stated there is just wishful thinking. It isn't possible with only a handful of active Rockbox developers.

If you receive many comments of "please read the coding guidelines"

There's someting wrong, when someone gets more than one of such a comment...

maybe you should consider that they're taken seriously and attempt to meet them.

Reformatting a well formatted code is a waste of time, although it's maybe a question of some minutes or even seconds. Some of the guidelines are really questionable.

Have you even looked at the patch tracker?  Theres literally several thousand counter examples. 

The counter doesn't tell how much comments a patch has. When the same guy who opens the patch posts 10 updates/resyncs, the counter of comments is 10. The number of real comments is still zero.

Again, it's not a critic on you or anyone involved in the Rockbox development. You're guys are doing good work. I see it as a result of the limited resource.

multi select is something which everyone wants but implementing it properly isnt easy. It pretty much has to be done inside the standard list code so it can be usable just about everywhere. It doesnt make sense to put this sort of thing anywhere else (especially a plugin)

Maybe one day you'll find a good solution. Good luck!
Just remember the filetree is a tree and it doesn't have much in common with a list.
 

[Llorean]

Reformatting a well formatted code is a waste of time, although it's maybe a question of some minutes or even seconds. Some of the guidelines are really questionable.

Surely you understand that "well formatted" is subjective. Rockbox isn't your project, and it's got established code guidelines - if you don't want to submit code you don't have to. But you can't really say "here's my code, but you have to accept it on my unacceptable terms" then blame the project for not meeting your external conditions.

If you want your code to be accepted, meet the requirements.

If you think the guidelines are bad, bring up a discussion of it, but don't blame them if you choose not to meet them and then don't get your code accepted when you know that they're a requirement for code acceptance.

[safetydan]

I can see multiselect being feasible within a single list view, but across list views I'm not so sure. So would a limited multiselect be acceptable? That is, you could only multiselect within the same folder. Once you navigated away, you would lose your selection.

[JdGordon]

I can't see it working any other way, so yeah, only allowing selection in one folder/view makes sense.