Re: Kmail 1.9.1 (KDE 3.5) 'save attachments' productivity loss
On Monday 23 January 2006 10:17, Derek Broughton wrote:
[snip]
> OK, so you're not the person who presumably chose to use this widget in
> the first place,
You're right, that wasn't my decision. And my opinions below represent what
I _think_ the thought process is, not necessarily that I agree with it. ;-)
> but can you offer any insight into why _anybody_ would
> choose to use a non-standard file dialog?
Yes, because it's not a custom file dialog. It's a directory dialog. It's
purpose is different; to choose a directory. Seeing existing files (that
you can't select) in a directory gets in the way, so only directories are
shown.
> It bugs the heck out of me
> when I go into a "Save" dialog and discover that it can't do all of the
> normal features - view the files, change between view modes, _delete_
> files or directories if I choose (I very often do this in a standard file
> dialog - I delete junk when it comes to my attention, which is frequently
> only when I'm saving something else there).
Viewing files you can't select makes it hard to find the directories you can
select. I would guess the rationale behind not having the delete files
capability is that directory choosers are not file managers. If you want
to delete files, you should be using a file manager, not a file or
directory chooser.
As for changing view modes, I can't say. Perhaps the widget base class
doesn't support hiding files in an icon view (or whatever) very easily.
But I'd have to agree, changing views could be useful when selecting a
directory.
Now, why this sort of capability (rename or delete existing files) exists in
a file chooser but not a directory chooser is a bit weird to me. If the
programmer is going to stress that a directory chooser should only be for
selecting a directory, why allow files to be deleted or renamed in a file
chooser? I don't know the answer to that. Like you, I like that ability
in a file chooser, so I'd like it in a directory chooser, too. And if, for
some reason, those capabilities can't be included, then why not have a
button to launch a file manager that opens to that directory?
Justin
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