Friday, May 30, 2008

v7.10.0030 - 2008-05-30 11:53

  • + Info Panel | Find Files | Excluded: The excluded folders list uses a brand-new control class internally. Should work as before, with two enhancements:
      - supports touchpad scrolling
      - supports UNICODE rename box
  • + Scripting command enhanced:
      - status
        New syntax:
        ::status text, [color RRGGBB], [icon=ready|progress|alert|stop]
          text:  text shown in statusbar
          color: [optional] text color; default = marked text color #1
          icon:  [optional] choose among four icons; default = "ready"
        Examples:
          ::status "Whoops!", FF0000, alert
  • ! Some statusbar icons were not the right ones in the situation. Fixed.
  • + Tweak: Added tweak to display new List contents only after all items have been retrieved and sorted.
      [Settings]
      NoDisplayBeforeSort=1
    The factory default is 0: When a file list is large and takes longer to fill, then some preliminary contents are already shown before the list is complete and finally sorted.
    Note that Find mode is independent of this setting: It will always immediately display a found item while the search is going on, and sort/redisplay the final list when the search is through.
  • ! Info Panel | Properties: Buttons to apply/reset the changes (+ and x) at Attributes stamping did not disappear after deselecting file. Fixed.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

v7.10.0021 - 2008-05-27 22:15

  • + Scripting commands enhanced:
      - setting, settingp
        New named argument "autosynctree"
          = enable/disable Auto-Synchronize Tree
        Example:
          ::setting autosynctree, 0; msg "Look, the tree is grey!"
        As with all setting statements, the original state from before
        the script is automatically restored when the script is done.

      - box, highlight
        New optional argument path.
        Syntax:
          ::box [|rrggbb], [folder]
          ::highlight [|rrggbb], [folder]
            folder: [optional] if stated then the highlighting is
            applied to that folder, else it is applied to the current
            folder.
        Examples:
          ::highlight FF0000, C:\   = set red highlight to C:\
          ::highlight , C:\         = unset any highlight from C:\
          ::box BBDDBB, Desktop     = set green box to Desktop folder

    - Scripting command removed:
      - autosynctree
      Reason #1: it is replaced by
          ::setting "autosynctree", 0|1|r;
        respectively
          ::settingp "autosynctree", 0|1|r;
        for a permanent change of state.
      Reason #2: it is available in the main menu and hence has a
      function ID usable in scripting, namely #488;
  • + Menu Favorites: There's a statusbar message now for each of the highlighting commands.
  • ! Menu Favorites: Now all the highlighting commands work on the current path even if Auto-Synchronize Tree is disabled. It was a bug that this did not work before.
  • + The edit box in the multiline info/input dialog now supports UNICODE.
  • + The edit box in the Copy/Move/Backup To dialog now supports UNICODE.

Monday, May 26, 2008

v7.10.0020 - 2008-05-26 21:13

  • + Tweak: Added key to tweak the separator between RegExpPattern and ReplaceWith in Rename Special | RegExp Rename. The new default is " > " (use quotes to preserve left and right blanks). Before, it was hard-coded to ">", and any blanks around it were trimmed (see next paragraph for changes here).
      [General]
      RegExpRenameSep=" > "
    With the above separator a RegExp | Rename definition would look like "RegExpPattern > ReplaceWith".
  • * Rename Special RegExp Rename: Before, any blanks around RegExpPattern and ReplaceWith were trimmed; now, there's no trimming anymore. Mind your spaces...

Sunday, May 25, 2008

v7.10.0019 - 2008-05-25 08:29

  • + The InputBox (e.g. used for menu File | Copy Here As...) now supports UNICODE.
  • + Configuration | Thumbnails: Added button "Clear...", which allows you to delete all *.dat2 and *.dbits files from the thumbnails cache folder. Note that the thumbnails cache folder is the one that is defined in the "Cache folder" edit field on Configuration | Thumbnails in the moment you press "Clear...". But there's a prompt anyway, before the actual deletion takes place.
  • * Catalog: Now you can drop stuff on locations with a Quick Search (QS) attached. The QS is ignored in this case.

Friday, May 23, 2008

v7.10.0018 - 2008-05-23 10:55

  • ! Batch Rename: Using date variables in Scripting over more than one selected files at once did not work as expected because the variables in the pattern argument were resolved *before* passing the pattern to the rename procedure. Fixed.

    A note on file date variables in the pattern argument of scripting command "rename": To keep Batch Rename in Scripting (::rename bat, ...) in sync with Batch Rename in UDC and in the Rename Special menu, AND to keep old user code working, a file date variable like e.g. is NOT resolved to the modified date of the *current* item, but to the respective modified date of each of the *renamed* items. This makes total sense, is absolutely natural, and has always been like this. Only, in the context of a script, it is exceptional because in all other places, in a script argument is resolved to the modified date of the *current*
    item.
  • * Thumbnails Cache Folder: Now it is fully portable, i.e. you can define it in XY's portable path syntax, e.g.:
      Thumbs       : relative to app data path
      Thumbs\      : same as above (backslash is optional)
      ..\..\Thumbs : relative to app data path
      ?:\Thumbs    : relative to this XYplorer's drive
      F:\Thumbs    : absolute
    Tip: In Configuration | Thumbnails, the tooltip of the Thumbnails Cache Folder edit box now shows the resolved absolute path.
  • ! Tree and List: Inline Rename box was slightly misplaced depending on a number of parameters (font size, row height, Windows Theme). Fixed.
  • * Catalog: Now you can drop stuff on locations with a Visual Filter (VF) attached. The VF is ignored in this case.
  • ! Synaptics TouchPad Scrolling did not work as expected. Fixed.
  • ! POM could feature dupes if there were unnecessary quotes in the definition. Fixed.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

v7.10.0017 - 2008-05-21 15:42

  • + Rename Special Batch Rename: Using date variables in rename patterns got much more powerful:
    - You can use all the following variable types:
      <date>             : date now
      <datem>            : modified date of renamed item
      <datec>            : created date of renamed item
      <datea>            : accessed date of renamed item
      Kept for backward compatibility but deprecated:
      <dyyyymmdd_hhnnss> : date now
      <myyyymmdd_hhnnss> : modified date of renamed item
    - You can have any number of date variables simultaneously in one pattern, e.g. this pattern:
      *-ModYear=<datem yyyy>-Created=<datec yyyy-mm-dd hh-nn-ss>
    - You can mix date variables with other variable types, like
      <#...> (Increment).
    These enhancements also apply to User-Defined Commands (Rename) and Scripting (::rename).
  • * Menu File | Properties (Alt+Enter): From now on, when the List is focused but no item is focused AND selected then the properties of the current path are shown (before, it was the properties of the focused item).

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

v7.10.0016 - 2008-05-20 15:08

  • +++ Tree: Edit box (aka Inline Rename) now supports UNICODE!
  • + Configuration | Interface Colors: Now you can control the backcolor of the selected Tree item when the Tree is not focused, using the new color setting "Current Folder". Note that, when the Tree is focused, the global OS colors are used for highlighting the current folder (as it always has been before).

Monday, May 19, 2008

v7.10.0015 - 2008-05-19 11:51

  • + New variables that can be used in User-Defined Commands and Scripting:
      <date>        : date now
      <datem>       : modified date of current item
      <datec>       : created date of current item
      <datea>       : accessed date of current item
      <srcdatem>    : modified date of source item
      <srcdatec>    : created date of source item
      <srcdatea>    : accessed date of source item
    The first two and the fifth are synonyms to the following old versions:
      <dyyyymmdd_hhnnss>    : date now
      <myyyymmdd_hhnnss>    : modified date of current item
      <srcmyyyymmdd_hhnnss> : modified date of source item
    The old versions are kept for backward compatibility, but are officially deprecated!
  • * The up-to-now hardcoded filename "TipOfTheDay_user.htm" is now softly contructed from the official TipOfTheDay file name by appending "_user" to the file base. Examples:
    - TipOfTheDay.htm
      TipOfTheDay_user.htm
    - TipOfTheDay_br.htm
      TipOfTheDay_br_user.htm

Sunday, May 18, 2008

v7.10.0014 - 2008-05-18 12:58

  • +++ List: Now, FINALLY, the Edit box (aka Inline Rename) supports UNICODE! Tree and other controls will follow soon...
  • + Toolbar: Added button "Copy Path/Name" which does what menu File | To Clipboard | Item Path/Name does. The button's context menu is identical to the whole To Clipboard submenu. I thought long about the icon until I finally thought "Hey, why not take the international symbol for car parking?!" -- works for me (don't ask me why).
  • + Font Preview: The new UNICODE savvy Edit box now learned to Select All by Ctrl+A (or generally: listen to the master of the keyboard and follow his orders). Largely irrelevant for the Font Preview, but a giant leap towards finally adding the Edit box to all the places where it is urgently needed!
  • + Tweak: Added key to tweak the name of the TipOfTheDay file. Useful when you want to use translated versions of TipOfTheDay.htm with distinctive filenames.
    For example, this could be the name for a Brazilian version:
      [Settings]
      FileTipOfTheDay=TipOfTheDay_br.htm
    The default name for the file is and has been TipOfTheDay.htm

Saturday, May 17, 2008

v7.10.0012 - 2008-05-17 10:00

  • ! Configuration | Advanced | "Preserve permissions on move operation" was not yet connected to actually function. Sorry for the confusion. Fixed.
  • ! Shell context menu did not always work as expected since yesterday due to attemptive improvement. Fixed.

Friday, May 16, 2008

v7.10.0011 - 2008-05-16 10:20

  • + Menu View: Added toggle "Auto-Synchronize Tree". The functionality is identical to the SC autosynctree, but now has been raised to a more official/available level. Let me repeat parts of the description of SC autosynctree from v7.00.0053 - 2008-04-26 22:02:

    Ever since, the Tree shows basically the same path as the Window Title, the Address Bar and the List: If you change the current path by any of the numerous available ways, the Tree is automatically adjusted to the new location. Even, if you don't really need that service... Experimentally, you now can turn off that automatic syncing of the Tree via the new toggle "Auto-Synchronize Tree".

    With "Auto-Synchronize Tree" off, "Refresh Tree" (F4) will re-sync the Tree without changing the mode. Also turning "Auto-Synchronize Tree" on again, will instantly re-sync the Tree. The setting is remembered between sessions. When you startup with "Auto-Synchronize Tree" off, the tree will be initialized to a
    default state with only the top nodes shown.

    Here are some possible reasons for turning "Auto-Synchronize Tree" off once in a while:
    (1) It offers a uniform maximum browsing speed that's totally
        independent of the nesting depth of the target locations. For
        example, if you quickly need to check size and version of a
        particular system file, it is totally pointless to expand the
        tree down to system32, because all you need is a quick glance
        at that file in the file list. Or, if you have a script that
        needs to visit some location -- why should the tree get busy
        here?
    (2) It keeps the Tree in a stable state and position while
        browsing. For example, this can be valuable when collecting
        stuff from various locations via drag+drop into a couple of
        target folders -- no need to scroll the tree anymore: the
        Tree just sits there and waits.
    (3) It makes consequent use of XYplorer's many ways of going to a
        new place: Address Bar, Tabs, Catalog, Favorites, History,
        Hotlist, Breadcrumb, GoTo, UDCs, Scripts, etc. ... they all
        work flawlessly without the Tree, and if you just need to go
        somewhere to work with certain items, you may well be
        completely uninterested in their position in the file system -
        - no need for a Tree to show you.
    While the Tree is an ingenious interface element one must admit that it almost always shows much more information that you need to have at any given time. So, for the sake of informational economy, you now get a "stand-by" button with it.
  • + Configuration | Advanced: Added option "Preserve permissions on move operation". When checked (which is the default and was up to now the hard-coded behavior) then the security attributes of files are preserved when they are moved in the same volume. Uncheck it to have the moved files inherit the security attributes of their new folder.
  • * Configuration: Rearranged some checkboxes on and between tabs General and Advanced.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

v7.10.0010 - 2008-05-14 11:29

  • + Font Preview: Now the Edit box containing the sample text supports UNICODE. In other words: I finally managed to write a UNICODE compliant Edit Control -- a personal triumph :)

Sunday, May 11, 2008

v7.10.0005 - 2008-05-11 19:06

  • ! The last version (v7.10.0004) crashed under various conditions because of a quite effective little bug. Fixed.

v7.10.0004 - 2008-05-11 09:11

  • + Scripting: New command "run". Works (almost) identical to Windows Start | Run, i.e. you can start executables, open documents with the OS-asociated applications, open websites, and much more.

    Syntax: run command
      command: Anything that works in Windows Start | Run. Note that
        filenames containing blanks must be quoted to correctly
        separate filename and any parameters.

    The differences to the original Windows Start | Run are:
    - Different error messages in case of failure.
    - Quoting items with blanks slightly differs:
      ::run ""C:\With Blank.txt""
        Filename with blanks must be quoted.
        Note that the quotes have to be doubled here because an
        argument's outer quotes are auto-stripped by XY's
        script parser!
      ::run "C:\Program Files\Winzip32.exe" -min
        Here the "single" quotes are enough because the argument is
        not quoted as a whole (hence no auto-stripping will happen).

    Examples:
      ::run calc
        Registered apps are recognized via "Prog ID" which is usually
        the base name of the *.exe file.
      ::run winzip32 -min
        No blanks in the filename: No quotes nececessary...
      ::run "winzip32" -min
        ... but quotes are allowed.

      ::run www.xyplorer.com
        Open an URL.
      ::run control
        Show Control Panel.
      ::run charmap
        Show character map utility.
      ::run regedit
        Open registry editor.
      ::run winver
        Display the Windows verson installed on the computer.
      ::run mailto:support@xyplorer.com?subject=Wow!&body=Hi!
        Open email client with some fields prefilled.
      ::run "rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL timedate.cpl"
        Show Windows Time/Date dialog.
      ::run "rundll32.exe shell32.dll,OpenAs_RunDLL <curitem>"
        Open the OS OpenWith dialog for the current item.
        Note that in this case <curitem> has not to be quoted even if
        it contains blanks; rundll32.exe is smart enough to handle it.
  • ! Tree, List: Click on selected item, and shortly after on unselected item, would incorrectly invoke rename mode on the latter (if Rename On Slow DblClick is enabled). Fixed.

Friday, May 9, 2008

v7.10.0003 - 2008-05-09 11:42

  • ! An unpredictable crash could happen as a result of any of these operations:
    - use scripting command "copytext" with parameter "a" (append)
    - drag-drop text
    - use the <clipboard> variable
    Fixed.
  • ! Open Command Prompt Here: Failed on paths containing UNICODE characters. Fixed.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

v7.10.0002 - 2008-05-07 09:12

  • * Rename Special | Batch Rename: In v7.00.0023 - 2008-04-11 14:05 the mechanism of adding user-defined increments learned to avoid any collision with existing files by auto-increasing the increments as necessary. This smartness was a bit over the top in leading to results that were less expected than a good old collision. So now, the smartness has been made optional (get smart using the new switch "s" for "skip" or "smart") whereas the old way of allowing for collisions is the new default.
    Examples:
      Old   Pattern        New         If b-3.jpg exists
      a.jpg b-<#3>         b-3.jpg     collision!
      a.jpg b-<#3> /s      b-4.jpg     collision auto-avoided
      a.jpg b-<#3>.png /s  b-3.png.jpg no collision anyway
      a.jpg b-<#3>.jpg /e  b-3.jpg     collision!
      a.jpg b-<#3>.png /es b-3.png     no collision anyway
      a.jpg b-<#3>.png /se b-3.png     no collision anyway
    The last two example merely illustrate that the order of switches is irrelevant.
  • ! List: When a tab was pointing to a non-existing location (tab all grey), then an auto-triggered refresh on the current tree folder would refresh that tab's file list as if it would point to the current tree folder. Fixed.
    Also, tabs pointing to a non-existing location now have no icon anymore (this had been temporarily changed caused by some sub-intelligent thinking).

Sunday, May 4, 2008

v7.10.0001 - 2008-05-04 20:52

  • + Font Preview: Now it supports UNICODE. Currently (this situation will be improved soon) you have to enter wide characters using the *U+FFFF scheme. Try this for starters: *U+5C0A*U+656C (means "Respect" acc. to wikipedia).

v7.10.0000 - 2008-05-04 10:00

= NEW OFFICIAL RELEASE.
Main changes since last release:

  • +++ Portable Openwith Menu (POM). The v7.10 highlight! A single click or keyboard shortcut pops a context specific menu presenting an array of applications to open the currently selected file(s) with. This menu draws its contents from your Portable File Assocations setup, so it is portable as well, and utterly easy to manage.
  • +++ Flexible Width Tabs. Flexible width for named tabs saves precious screen space.
  • +++ Associate Files with Scripts. XYplorer's Portable File Assocations (PFA) learned to deal with scripts.
  • +++ Favorites with Captions. "Transparent PNGs" is a little easier to read than "E:\Development\TestFiles\Media\Image-Formats\trans\png\ARGB 32bit\", ain't it?
  • +++ New command "Copy Item UNC Path/Name(s)". Copies the full path of all selected items, using the UNC path for items located on a mapped drive. If your are working in a network you'll love this one.

v7.00.0078 - 2008-05-04 09:44

  • ! Menu File | Settings | Load Configuration did not work as expected. Fixed.
  • * Updated the help file.