... Three dots while column resizing

[Stamimail]

When resizing and reducing the width of the column, the text inside the column, at the end, is "hidden" and gets 3 dots.
There are situations where the user will prefer that the hiding direction of the text will be from the beginning of the text instead of at the end.
That is, the 3 dots will be at the beginning of the text and not at the end.

For example: Shrink the Path column:

‭‪C:‬\‪Program Files‬\‪Windows Sidebar‬\‪Gadgets‬\‪Weather.Gadget‬\‪images‬\‪120DPI‬‏‬‏
C:‬\‪Program Files‬\‪Windows Sidebar‬\‪Gadgets‬\‪Weather.Gadget‬\‪images‬\‪120DPI‬‏‬‏
C:‬\‪Program Files‬\‪Windows Sidebar‬\‪Gadgets‬\‪Weather.Gadget‬\‪images‬\‪120DPI‬‏‬‏
C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\Gadgets\Weather.Gadget\images\144DPI
C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\Gadgets\Weather.Gadget\images\144DPI
C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\Gadgets\Weather.Gadget\images\144DPI‬‏‬‏

instead of:
C:‬\‪Program Files‬\‪W...
C:‬\‪Program Files‬\‪W...
C:‬\‪Program Files‬\‪W...
C:‬\‪Program Files‬\‪W...
C:‬\‪Program Files‬\‪W...
C:‬\‪Program Files‬\‪W...

will be:
...\‪images‬\‪120DPI‬‏‬‏
...\‪images‬\‪120DPI‬‏‬‏
...\‪images‬\‪120DPI‬‏‬‏
...\images\144DPI‬‏‬‏
...\images\144DPI‬‏‬‏
...\images\144DPI‬‏‬‏

Now the Path column does not take up much space, and also see the difference between the paths.
This is true for any column, not just the Path column.

Can this be added to the context menu of a column header
OR
alt/ctrl/shift while resizing

[void]

I have had a path ellipsis option in development for sometime.

I'll try and include this in the next alpha update.
Thanks for the suggestions.

[Stamimail]

I thought about further than that:
In Context Menu of Column Header will be:

Column alignment >
ABC...
...ABC
⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ABC...
⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀...ABC


further than that:

Column View⠀>⠀Column width
⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Column background color
⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ Column alignment >

[void]

I will consider a Column alignment / Column view context menu.
Thank you for the suggestion.

I will support alignment with ini options.

Everything 1.5.0.1286a adds an experimental path_ellipsis ini option.

To enable path ellipsis:

• In Everything, type in the following search and press ENTER:
  /path_ellipsis=1
• If successful, path_ellipsis=1 is shown in the statusbar for a few seconds.

instead of:
C:‬\‪Program Files‬\‪W...

will be:
...\‪images‬\‪120DPI

C:\Program Files is too important to hide.
With path_ellipsis enabled the following is shown:
C:‬\‪Program Files‬\Win...\120DPI


Everything 1.5.0.1286a also makes some experimental changes to alignment for right to left reading:
Only the name column will show as RTL. (ellipsis on left)
All other columns will be shown as LTR. (ellipsis on right)

[raccoon]

/path_ellipsis=1 is very attractive!

D:\The\rain\in\Spain
D:\The\rain...\Spain
D:\The\r...\Spain
D:\T...\Spain
D:\...\Sp...

[Stamimail]

Thank you void.
I tested in Everything 1.5.0.1286a, and now realize that probably what I meant can't be achieved by "column resizing", and need to find another idea.
I will try to explain by another approach:
Click the Path column header and drag it towards the Name column header.
Now imagine that the text in the path column moves below the name column, so that the name column hides part of the path column.

When you are dealing with long paths you don't want all the left side (the beginning) of the paths in the display. It takes a respectable place in the current display. You want only the right side (the end) of the paths in the display.

[raccoon]

It really kind of depends on what you're working with for a directory structure, as to where the important information resides. Consider too that a lot of folder layouts are just repetitive trees that each belong to a different user or project.

C:\Users\ALPHA\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
C:\Users\BRAVO\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
C:\Users\CHARLIE\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
C:\Users\DELTA\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

C:\Users\ALPHA\AppData\Roam...\Start Menu
C:\Users\BRAVO\AppData\Roam...\Start Menu
C:\Users\CHARLIE\AppData\Roa...\Start Menu
C:\Users\DELTA\AppData\Roami...\Start Menu

[Stamimail]

That's right, but I think still the common case is that the important information resides at the end.

It's like to create a horizontal scroll bar just for path column.
MiddleClick+Dragging on paths for scrolling horizontally the Path column?

[void]

I will do some tests with middle click scrolling and a horizontal scrollbar in the path columns.

Thank you for the suggestions.

[Stamimail]

Test if it will be more convenient using Alt+LeftClick:

Alt+LeftClick on column header = Reset = Size Column to Fit
Alt+LeftDragging on column header RightBorder = push the column text to the left
Alt+LeftDragging on column header LeftBorder = push the column text to the right
Alt+LeftDragging on column header = Scroll horizontally the column

(Alt+LeftDragging = Alt+LeftClickDragging)

[adamantine]

Alt+LeftClick on column header

only as an option, please (so that i could turn it off). because:
i had been using the Alt+LeftClick combination for more than 10 years to perform the following action: move any window by any part
i still use this combination thanks to the ahk-code, and i plan to use it always

 
i also have its alternative version which doesn't even require a key press, just 2 special clicks:
1) left click and hold
2) right click
3) while the left button is still not released: i may move any window (or any sub-window) by its any part

the difference between these 2 versions/approaches is:
Alt+LeftClick doesn't even activate a window/sub-window (if it's not active)

 
on the other hand, i also have the special keyboard key (again, thanks to the ahk-code): the left 'win' key
(i don't have the right 'win' key, unfortunately: "thanks" to the 'steelseries' company which made my 'apex' keyboard)

so in my case this left 'win' key allows to do this:

a) press the left 'win' key (so that my special 'alt' mode got activated)

b) simply move any window (or any sub-window) by its any part to a desired position: just using the left button
(a movement is possible even beyond the screen: partially or nearly completely)
- a window/sub-window stays active (if it was active before)
- a window/sub-window stays inactive (if it was inactive before)

c) after i finished to move a window/sub-window, i release the LMB (of course)
and then i also have to press the left 'alt' key (just once) (so that my special 'alt' mode got deactivated)

this special mode just makes the 'alt' key stay pressed
so this my old idea reliably makes it possible to have this 'alt' key pressed (while physically i don't have to hold it)
the 'alt' key is pressed at the software level (as long as i need it to stay in a ''pressed'' mode)

 
there's even another similar key in my keyboard (again, thanks to the ahk-code): the left 'shift' key
the idea/sense is the same, but this time the left 'ctrl' key may be used as ''pressed'' key

so quite often it is very convenient to just press the left 'shift' key, and have a temporary special mode
during which i may select, for example, multiple folders/files/lines (without having to hold the 'ctrl' key all the time)
when i finish to select some items, i have to press the left 'ctrl' key (just once) (so that my special 'ctrl' mode got deactivated)

[raccoon]

(Side post) @void, would this be worth trying out for visual aesthetic?

C:\Users\ALPHA\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

C:\
\Start Menu
Users\ALPHA\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows
"..."

Users\ALPHA\AppData\Ro
swodniW\tfosorciM\gnima

Users\ALPHA\Ap
swodniW\tfosor
Users\ALPHA\Ap...rosoft\Windows

C:\Users\ALPHA\Ap...rosoft\Windows\Start Menu
C:\Users\BRAVO\Ap...rosoft\Windows\Start Menu
C:\Users\CHARLIE\...crosoft\Windows\Start Menu
C:\Users\DELTA\Ap...crosoft\Windows\Start Menu

[Stamimail]

(Side post) @void, would this be worth trying out for visual aesthetic?

C:\Users\ALPHA\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

C:\
\Start Menu
Users\ALPHA\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows
"..."

Users\ALPHA\AppData\Ro
swodniW\tfosorciM\gnima

Users\ALPHA\Ap
swodniW\tfosor
Users\ALPHA\Ap...rosoft\Windows

C:\Users\ALPHA\Ap...rosoft\Windows\Start Menu
C:\Users\BRAVO\Ap...rosoft\Windows\Start Menu
C:\Users\CHARLIE\...crosoft\Windows\Start Menu
C:\Users\DELTA\Ap...crosoft\Windows\Start Menu

Can you please explain more, how you want things to work.

[void]

I will experiment with three dots in the middle.
Thanks for the suggestions.

With some rules I would like to enforce:
The root must always be shown. (eg: C:\ or \\server\share)
The last path part should always be shown.


A current issue I don't like is when the last part part is really long, for example:
C:\$Recycle.Bin\S-1-5-21-438361397-3594685762-2030727714-500
C:\$Recycl...\S-1-5-21-438361397-3594685762-2030727714-500
C:\...\S-1-5-21-438361397-3594685762-203072771...

In this case I would prefer:
C:\$Recycle.Bin\S-1-5-21-438361397-3594685762-...


It depends on the context and sometimes the end of the last path part is really important.
for example:
C:\folder\...\abc (old)
C:\folder\...\abc (new)



I will trial limiting the last path part to half the column width.

[Stamimail]

I believe it is a matter of trial and error to achieve the best results.

Another idea I was thinking of is to make a small scroll button, that will appear when ellipsis is present.
Hovering over the scroll point, the cursor will change - scroll indication, then you will be able to drag it to the left/right for horizontal scrolling.
(IMHO, this is a less good idea than the "Alt+LeftDragging", but here it is:)

[Stamimail]

Alt+LeftClick on column header = Reset = Size Column to Fit

I just found a mouse shortcut to this that I was not aware of (and it also works in Windows Explorer):
DoubleClick on column header RightBorder = Reset = Size Column to Fit

If void decides to add mouse shortcuts to Everything, I wonder what the settings will look like...

[meteorquake]

I didn't spot it mentioned but when your search itself contains a folder clearly any items are going to be in that or subfolders and the path only needs to be a relative path relative to the root search, so the root can safely be omitted (option somewhere?), I don't think the need to present Program Folders etc applies in such situations where the search itself implies it.

The old Explorer /root option in windows XP was fantastic for focus and productivity until they removed it resulting in the mental clutter that is there today for anyone with lots of folders..

David

[raccoon]

Do you mean to say "try to make bold match text not hidden by dots"? That's what I think you mean to suggest.

(To me the current behavior is splendid. Just trying to understand your question.)

[void]

I think what meteorquake is saying is:

When searching for "C:\Windows\System32\"

Instead of the path showing:

C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

Just show:

drivers\etc

(relative from the searched path)



I will consider an option to do this.
Thank you for the suggestions.