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favorite directories drop down or tab for image browser
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These pages are a copy of the official truespace forums prior to their removal somewhere around 2011.
They are retained here for archive purposes only.
favorite directories drop down or tab for image browser // Feature suggestions
Post by Jack Edwards // Oct 1, 2006, 10:29am
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Jack Edwards
Total Posts: 4062
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I find I lose a lot of time traversing directory structures everytime I want to load an image.
It'd be great to be able to add a current directory to a list of "favorite" directories when using the image browser.
I've used apps (GIMP for example) that have this feature and it really speeds up workflow.
-Jack. |
Post by spacekdet // Oct 1, 2006, 3:32pm
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spacekdet
Total Posts: 1360
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You can right click on the image name in the Material Editor and it will pop up a standard Windows file requestor, with standard Windows behavior, like starting in the last used directory. You won't have the image preview, but you can set your Windows settings to use thumbnails. I like the idea of an visual image browser, but the tS one runs like a dog and could use some improvments. |
Post by Jack Edwards // Oct 1, 2006, 4:29pm
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Jack Edwards
Total Posts: 4062
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You get better performance from the tS image viewer if you click on the hammer icon then uncheck the "include subfolders" box. I still don't keep my highres textures in the tS/textures directory which it defaults to. ;) That can get real painful real quick.
-Jack. |
Post by Alien // Oct 4, 2006, 8:47pm
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Alien
Total Posts: 1231
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I find I lose a lot of time traversing directory structures everytime I want to load an image.
It'd be great to be able to add a current directory to a list of "favorite" directories when using the image browser.
I think I suggested this some time ago, as I'm used to using PSP9 which has a similar feature. In lieu of a solution from Caligari, I'd second Spacekadet's suggestion & add that as it uses standard Windows Open/Save dialogues [though sadly not standard XP 1s], you can create shortcuts to folders you regularly use. For example, in my trueSpace7\ts\ folder I have a shortcut to where I save my tS stuff, which is on a different partition, & clicking the shortcut instantly redirects the dialogue to the folder I want. |
Post by trueBlue // Oct 4, 2006, 9:40pm
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trueBlue
Total Posts: 1761
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I just recently noticed that Caligari released their Thumbnails so you can view thumbnails of scenes, objects etc... within Explorer.
http://www.caligari.com/Download/trials.asp?Cate=Content&Subcate=Downloads (http://www.caligari.com/Download/trials.asp?Cate=Content&Subcate=Downloads) |
Post by Alien // Oct 4, 2006, 11:35pm
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Alien
Total Posts: 1231
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I just recently noticed that Caligari released their Thumbnails so you can view thumbnails of scenes, objects etc... within Explorer.
It would be nice if they'd update it to cope with the new .Rs* files for 7.x. |
Post by Jack Edwards // Oct 5, 2006, 2:45pm
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Jack Edwards
Total Posts: 4062
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Yeah, I've created shortcuts for a lot of my working directories and threw 'em on my desktop for other apps, but it'd still be nice not to have to clutter things up like that...
Eventually you're hunting through enough shortcuts that sometimes it's easier to just navigate the directories.... *sigh*
The windows dialog box does give us thumbnail capability. I just need to add a TGA viewer extention and re download the cob/scn view extension. It's not the same though.
The feature we're all looking for would be as simple to implement as an icon with a popup menu listing previous directories with and "add current directory" at the bottom.
What's that? A few entries in the resource editor to create the popup menu, a few lines of code to save the current directory in the registry when the add menu option is clicked, and some code to respond to the other menu clicks reading the data from the registry to change the current directory data member of the dialogbox... sigh.
Like 10 mins worth of work.
-Jack. |
Post by Jack Edwards // Oct 6, 2006, 1:55pm
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Jack Edwards
Total Posts: 4062
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Came across a TGA plugin for explorer today.
Here's the link:
http://greggman.com/pages/thumbplug_tga.htm
-Jack. |
Post by spacekdet // Oct 6, 2006, 5:18pm
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spacekdet
Total Posts: 1360
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Nice find!
I've been waiting for this for a long time.
Now excuse me while I browse my texture and renders folder and smile. |
Post by spacekdet // Oct 9, 2006, 5:39pm
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spacekdet
Total Posts: 1360
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All that being said, I would like to see some improvements to the tS image browser.
It seems to have to repopulate itself with thumbnails each and every time I open it- regardless if I have 'unload when close' option checked or not. (checking/ unchecking this option doesn't seem to make any difference in speed.)
If it saves a tmp file of the thumbs shouldn't they already be 'there' and not have to be regenerated when I open or scroll the image browser?
It saves a large ibrowser.tmp file in each browsed directory- I assume these are all the image thumbnails. The browser loads just as slowly with or without the presence of this tmp file.
I also compared the size of the temp image browser file that PSP creates to the tS tmp file- tS's ibrowser file: 20 MB--- PSP's tmp file: 2.5 MB---for the same directory. Surely this is a sign that there's room for improvement in the tS image browser.
I would like to see some changes- like the dropdown list of recently used directories, and maybe a couple more tools in the 'Browse for Folder' dialog- an 'Up' or 'Back' function. A resizable browser window would also be slick.
Don't get me wrong, I like the image browser, but I could like it a lot more if it was tuned and tightened up. |
Post by Jack Edwards // Oct 9, 2006, 6:17pm
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Jack Edwards
Total Posts: 4062
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Here! Here! :D
Yeah, don't want to leave them with the impression that we "solved" the problem. LOL!
Most professional apps I work with have these features... heck many free apps I work with have these features...:p Though I must admit that Photoshop had to be shamed into it by Jasc's lower priced Paintshop Pro. ;)
Wonder if one of the Toms can give us a hint if we might be getting this in 7.5?
-Jack. |
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