Ave!

Started this topic because I know that there is some features of the current Ambient, what the average user doesn't even know about, and I wanted to know if I know all or not :). It's a great place also for developers to tell us these tricks :)

So what I know (some is in readme too, but not everybody reads it):

- Jump to a file: You can jump to a file starting with e.g. 'ch', when you simply start to type it.

- Open path directly: When you press '/' in a window, a string gadget appears, where you can type the path.

- Open directory in a new window in browser mode: You can doubleclick on a drawer with the middle mouse button to open it in a new window (in icon view) or double click on it while pressing ALT key (in list view).

- Inline rename in list view: Just press middle mouse button on the file!

- Change an icon: Open info requester, and just drop the new icon onto the displayed one.

- Copy tooltypes: You can smiply drag'n'drop tooltypes from an info window to another.

- Rearrange icons on a panel: Select the panel (by clicking in it's border) and move the icons with the middle mouse button.

- Displaying directory sizes: There is a popup menu in list view in the table header of the list, when you can select "Get Directory Sizes".

- Moving files in list view to the parent directory: Is the parent directory not opened? No problem: just drag'n'drop files on the button of the drawer in the top of the window.

- Going to parent directory in browser mode: Just press Backspace key.

Enough for now :). If you know more, don't hesitate to share us! :)


[ Edited by GK_LKA on 2006/6/5 10:32 ]

i thought most of these features were already available a long time ago, i can't see anything really new here.

Hi,

Well, the thing is some people doesn't seem to know about functions, or dont know how to use them. Guess its really needed more documentation about features and functionalities.

I posted this at pegasos.org. Maybe some functions are very funny Some feature below are new, some not.

Advanced.conf in Ambient have become more advanced

There is now 16 different functions that You can set too Your own taste. Here's a list of the functions.

# mymorphosicon = off

Controls the display of the My MorphOS icon on the desktop. Default is on.

# mymorphosname = "My MorphOS"

Overrides the localized default name for "My MorphOS".

# desktopdoubleclick = on

Double click on Desktop background opens a Listview. default is off

# hci_conformity = true

Changes the behaviour of file drag'n operations. Normally drag'n'drop will always copy the file and ALT+drag'n'drop will always move the file unrelated if the target is same volume or not. (default: false)

# commodityfilter = "~(Newstring.mcc)"

Allows to filter which Commodities are shown in Exchange. This is useful to hide programs which announce themself as Commodity, but aren't real Commodities.

# trapmultiview = true
# trapmore = true

Allows you to trap certain default tools and use ambients internal views instead. (default: false)

# powerstatus = off

Changes if computer power status is showed in System Monitor (default: on)

# iconfade = on

Eyecandy that makes new icons to slowly fade in on the desktop. (default: off)

# iconhover = on

Highlight icons when moving the mouse over them (default: off)

# popuprename = false

Use a popup window for rename options instead an inline string gadget (default: true)

# ghostdeficons = false

Icons of files without own .info file shows ghosted (default: true)

# arrowforshortcuts = off

Shortcut icons on desktop have a small arrow so they can be better differentiated from appicons, etc. (default: on

# sfx_boot = "Media:mp3/music.mp3"
# sfx_panelzip = "sys:Prefs/Presets/Sfx/wush.aiff"
# sfx_panelunzip = "sys:Prefs/Presets/Sfx/wushreverse.8svx"

Plays a sample on the named event. sfx_boot for instance plays the sample each time You start Ambient.

Grab You daily build of Ambient at: www.ambient-desktop.com

Hey Gunne, does the team plan to make these options available in the settings menu in the future or will they remain in a text file?

Some of these options have been moved from gui settings to the text file actually. And there will be more and more new options prolly. Some team members are kinda mad reagarding some option to be in gui settings... If you ask me, I would put all them into gui. Text config is nonsense imo.

i would actualy remove most of them from advanced conf too, and make default, unchangable settings. for some things it really makes little sense (or complicates implementation) to provide configuration.

anyway, in some future these options should be changable with some simple gui (varname, type, value columns - like), on 'hidden by default' page in prefs.

just my opinion

Hi,

Hmm, well, I think I agree with kiero on this matter. What he writes make much sense. The thing seems people do seems too have very different opinions, and different taste.

Some people wants advanced GUI's, and Yes GUI's makes sense. However GUI's should not be too complicated to use either. In all systems there is things you cant do using a GUI, but it might be needed to bring up a configuration text in a text editor and manually create the wanted configuration.

Changing things in advanced.conf is not so very complicated. Its just about to remove a ';' at the beginning of the line for the choosed item. Some will be changed in real time, some needs reboot.

For instance to turn of the My MorphOS icon just remove the ';' on that line and save. This change needs reboot, and My MorphOS is still accessible by 'desktopdoubleclick = on' if this is activated. Desktopdoubleclick change doesn't need reboot.

In today build there is a new context menu option considering snapshot.

i also agree with kiero, too much features for the end user often goes to much confusion. It's better to have advanced features in a text file. And as Ambient is GPL i suppose we could have some third party ambient tweaking software with a GUI for geeks.

Advanced features are not changed often (mostly once in the life time) i.e. it is not expected that users fiddle with 'mymorphosicon=on|off' setting every second boot. They either keep it on or switch it off but that is it.

Some ooptions could be indirectly modified by the gui, though. I.e. my morphos icon could support rename and so on.

Hmm... in fact it seems that context menu doesnt work on my morphos icon at all. Lot of work to do

What's the problem of having an "advanced options" in prefs, with a
long list of checkmarks/string gadgets? I don't understand arguments
that it would be confusing. It's only confusing if you mix them with
more frequently used/beginner type options.

I appreciate the rundowns btw, I didn't know all of this. Many of
these options seem really good to me. The only things I'd keep as
default according to what gunne writes is hci_conformity (maybe, don't
understand what it would do else) and popuprename.

On an unrelated note, is the "mymorphos" thing also an assign? The
same things could be achieved with cli command "info" of course, but I
think it would have some advantages to have such a "root".

@ GK_LKA
Inline rename in list view

Oh Gosh! Just like in Window$! I hate this feature in it. It allways activate itself while I try to open a directory etc.
Thank You guys for giving me a choice

My take on this is that if there is something which can be changed, then do it by GUI and god help, NOT by making the user to edit some textfile. I see no problem in having lots of option, as long as they are grouped in understable fashion.

EVEN if you do it one or twice a year.

Well, there's a simple solution for the problem wheter to have a GUI or not. Simply program a small app that scans the advanced config file, and then have it create checkboxes for on and off etc. Someone outside the morphos team could easily do this himself.

Then the users that wants to edit it by GUI can download and run that app, and the rest of us can go on with edititing the textfile itself.

@merko @desolator

didn't you read what i wrote few posts earlier?

@r-tea

it doesn't work like in windows with delayed doubleclick. you use middle mouse button to activate it (or choose rename ofcoz)

kiero: sure, but you wrote two completely contradictory things.

"Oh Gosh! Just like in Window$! I hate this feature in it. It allways activate itself while I try to open a directory etc.
Thank You guys for giving me a choice"

But it works much better in Ambient, not that horrible delayed double click thing found in Windows, that's pure hell. But it's just fine with MMB or some other way... like many people have used to use with Magellan.

About advanced settings, I was just happy with those in Ambient settings GUI. It was called as advanced and doesn't that tell pretty well what it is? Who doesn't need them, does not need to click on it :)

Kiero: if you can define them that they are ok for everyone ;) At least now the default settings are all but what I want :) But ok, there might be one or two which could be non changable.

"Advanced features are not changed often (mostly once in the life time) i.e. it is not expected that users fiddle with 'mymorphosicon=on|off' setting every second boot. They either keep it on or switch it off but that is it."

Well.. I have changed more advanced prefs than those others in Ambient settings :) Or what other settings do you fiddle every second boot? Background maybe, but at least I have touched only once to "Icon display", "CLI launching", "Lister" and "Window"... and never touched to "Misc" settings.


"Well, there's a simple solution for the problem wheter to have a GUI or not. Simply program a small app that scans the advanced config file, and then have it create checkboxes for on and off etc. Someone outside the morphos team could easily do this himself."

I'd think that it would be better Ambient team to make those GUIs and include them with Ambient. There's too many bad examples of 3rd party GUIs for settings... they never keep up with the product, if there's changes. And even if they do, then there comes problems when user doesn't update the config program.


And with Advanced GUI in Ambient settings user notices the new settings (which would be quite nice at this point, when Ambient is evolving all the time). It's harder to find out what new settings there is with text files.

[ Edited by jPV on 2006/6/7 11:47 ]

[ Edited by jPV on 2006/6/7 11:52 ]

@merko: personaly i would remove them and set my defaults:), but i know how much whining that would cause so gui is the way to go. but very simplistic gui and one that adapts to textfile and doesn't need maintance.

Ah, I see. Well that sounds just great. Such settings certainly don't
have to look pretty or be very self-explaining.

@ kiero

Yes, great solution to MHO.

geez... :) Can't you wait with whining until a full release? Advanced.prefs is just here so it works, there is stuff on my todo which will solve all this problems.

And it's not like moving less important prefs, experimental things, developer things or substitute things until the real things are done (e.g. in case of MyMorphos name, which like iti already said should be done by ContextMenu >> "Rename") is a big design fault like the "revert" crap. ;)

[ Edited by tokai on 2006/6/7 18:39 ]

@Tokai

Come on, this is good..people are giving valuable information and hints HOW to do it when will be done eventually :)

Interesting all this...how about this obtion in Ambient, Change Wallpapers after time to time like in MacOSX,its possible or exist some script to make this feature?
In OS3.9 i use this also in Magellan.

Just select a directory with all your Wallpapers of choice and there you go every reboot MOS will change the Wallpaper randomly.