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curious if i should use this or an IDE for a custom file manager

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balala
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Re: curious if i should use this or an IDE for a custom file manager

Post by balala »

Yincognito wrote: March 11th, 2022, 8:16 pm Well, since that would be about reinventing the wheel (of which I'm not that much of a fan of, obviously), I'd need an incentive to satisfy your curiosity, apart from my particular preference for 'impossible' challenges that you guys are well aware of. Say, you could commit to never say "it can't be done" again, LOL. What do you say? :sly:

Joking aside, bar the 'bonus features', a file manager is not that much of a big deal, to be honest. On a basic level, it must have:
- one or more visually scrolling lists of files (the FileView plugin checks almost all boxes here, the rest would be Container meters or dynamic scrolling)
- the ability to create, copy, move, delete and select folders and files (possible via simple mouse actions, Lua scripts and its table arrays)
- the ability to view or edit text files (via executing Notepad for the simple variant or using an integrated file viewer or editor, roughly similar to this)
- the ability to access the local network (now that I think about it, I'd be curious if the FileView plugin can do that, since network paths are still paths)
- various other file or folder features like setting attributes, zip files or folders, etc. (possible via batches or PowerShell scripts ran by mouse actions)
And that's about it. Other bonus features can be added via scripting as well, or RunCommand measures, etc. The key here is to actually try to do it, or think of ways to do it, before rejecting the possibility - my opinion, like you said as well. ;-)
Still say: some functions indeed might be created, a basic file manager could work, however a very good such skin is extremely hard to be created in Rainmeter. Doesn't worth for sure. Keep in mind that Rainmeter is not a programming language, it definitely is not. Never wanted to be.
If anyone would like to try to create, I'd be curious to test the result. But me personally still say and believe, it's practically extremely hard (close to impossible) to create a real file manager in Rainmeter.
I refuse to argue anymore on this question. If anyone creates a such skin, would be delighted to test it.
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Re: curious if i should use this or an IDE for a custom file manager

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While I was taking a shower I recalled that I actually saw an explorer imitation before. Here it is.
https://www.deviantart.com/qwopjoans/art/RainExplorer-587532138
Especially I like that it is possible to sort lists by name, size, type, and date.
EDIT: It is also possible to create new folders and text files from context menu.
Capture.PNG
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Yincognito
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Re: curious if i should use this or an IDE for a custom file manager

Post by Yincognito »

Active Colors wrote: March 11th, 2022, 10:53 pm While I was taking a shower I recalled that I actually saw an explorer imitation before. Here it is.
https://www.deviantart.com/qwopjoans/art/RainExplorer-587532138
Especially I like that you can sort lists by name, type, and date.
Capture.PNG
Yep, that's more or less what I was talking about (though I had the 2 panes layout in mind for such a thing, due to my Total Commander usage). And without any Lua script at all (not that would be absolutely needed, of course, since FileView can already sort and scroll without having to handle this dynamically via Lua tables) - nice work there.
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Yincognito
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Re: curious if i should use this or an IDE for a custom file manager

Post by Yincognito »

balala wrote: March 11th, 2022, 9:08 pm Still say: some functions indeed might be created, a basic file manager could work, however a very good such skin is extremely hard to be created in Rainmeter. Doesn't worth for sure. Keep in mind that Rainmeter is not a programming language, it definitely is not. Never wanted to be.
If anyone would like to try to create, I'd be curious to test the result. But me personally still say and believe, it's practically extremely hard (close to impossible) to create a real file manager in Rainmeter.
I refuse to argue anymore on this question. If anyone creates a such skin, would be delighted to test it.
That's too bad that you keep having the same belief even after either me or others prove it not to be the case, time after time - but it is what it is. :confused: Something I noticed from life is that it doesn't matter what X or Y is "thought to do" by either authors or experts, it's much more important what X or Y does in practice in the hands of someone seriously pursuing an objective. That's how limits are broken everywhere, even if you're right that it's harder than just choosing the easy way, but yeah, doubters will always exist even so...

If you want an analogy, is like someone says that he will never be able to manage working with TransformationMatrix. You know he's wrong, I know he's wrong, even ActiveColors knows it's wrong although I don't think he's so much into TMs, yet still that hypothetical user says it's too hard or imposssible. Same with regex, same with the early steps in Rainmeter, etc...
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Re: curious if i should use this or an IDE for a custom file manager

Post by Active Colors »

Yincognito wrote: March 12th, 2022, 1:44 am That's too bad that you keep having the same belief even after either me or others prove it not to be the case, time after time - but it is what it is. :confused: Something I noticed from life is that it doesn't matter what X or Y is "thought to do" by either authors or experts, it's much more important what X or Y does in practice in the hands of someone seriously pursuing an objective. That's how limits are broken everywhere, even if you're right that it's harder than just choosing the easy way, but yeah, doubters will always exist even so...

If you want an analogy, is like someone says that he will never be able to manage working with TransformationMatrix. You know he's wrong, I know he's wrong, even ActiveColors knows it's wrong although I don't think he's so much into TMs, yet still that hypothetical user says it's too hard or imposssible. Same with regex, same with the early steps in Rainmeter, etc...
"All things are difficult until they are easy." — Chinese proverb
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Yincognito
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Re: curious if i should use this or an IDE for a custom file manager

Post by Yincognito »

Active Colors wrote: March 12th, 2022, 11:51 am "All things are difficult until they are easy." — Chinese proverb
Yup...
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balala
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Re: curious if i should use this or an IDE for a custom file manager

Post by balala »

Active Colors wrote: March 11th, 2022, 10:53 pm While I was taking a shower I recalled that I actually saw an explorer imitation before. Here it is.
https://www.deviantart.com/qwopjoans/art/RainExplorer-587532138
Especially I like that it is possible to sort lists by name, size, type, and date.
Yes, this indeed looks like a real file manager. Very good catch. But...
Can I copy a file between two folders using this skin? Or can I move it? Or delete a file? Or rename one? Generally is possible the file manipulation? :confused:
Maybe I'm missing something, however I couldn't find a way to do these things.
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balala
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Re: curious if i should use this or an IDE for a custom file manager

Post by balala »

Yincognito wrote: March 12th, 2022, 1:44 am That's too bad that you keep having the same belief even after either me or others prove it not to be the case, time after time - but it is what it is. :confused: Something I noticed from life is that it doesn't matter what X or Y is "thought to do" by either authors or experts, it's much more important what X or Y does in practice in the hands of someone seriously pursuing an objective. That's how limits are broken everywhere, even if you're right that it's harder than just choosing the easy way, but yeah, doubters will always exist even so...

If you want an analogy, is like someone says that he will never be able to manage working with TransformationMatrix. You know he's wrong, I know he's wrong, even ActiveColors knows it's wrong although I don't think he's so much into TMs, yet still that hypothetical user says it's too hard or imposssible. Same with regex, same with the early steps in Rainmeter, etc...
Yes, I know you think everything is possible in Rainmeter, but I don't share your opinion. Even if as always there probably are some features which i don't know about (for sure there are), not everything is possible. Not even with a programming language. And Rainmeter is not a programming language.
I definitely don1t want to underestimate Rainmeter. It definitely is a great tool, I love it and using it extremely much. I think I created over time some better or worst codes. But I still don't think everything can be done using Rainmeter codes.
I hope the developers don't mind me because of my opinion. Sorry if they do...
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Re: curious if i should use this or an IDE for a custom file manager

Post by Active Colors »

balala wrote: March 12th, 2022, 7:13 pm Yes, this indeed looks like a real file manager. Very good catch. But...
Can I copy a file between two folders using this skin? Or can I move it? Or delete a file? Or rename one? Generally is possible the file manipulation? :confused:
Maybe I'm missing something, however I couldn't find a way to do these things.
Yes it can do it, simply by right clicking which will show the same context menu that you see in Explorer. But this is quite a simple feature because FileView plugin supports showing the system context menu https://docs.rainmeter.net/manual/plugins/fileview/#ContextMenu
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Re: curious if i should use this or an IDE for a custom file manager

Post by Active Colors »

balala wrote: March 12th, 2022, 7:23 pm Yes, I know you think everything is possible in Rainmeter, but I don't share your opinion. Even if as always there probably are some features which i don't know about (for sure there are), not everything is possible. Not even with a programming language. And Rainmeter is not a programming language.
I definitely don1t want to underestimate Rainmeter. It definitely is a great tool, I love it and using it extremely much. I think I created over time some better or worst codes. But I still don't think everything can be done using Rainmeter codes.
I hope the developers don't mind me because of my opinion. Sorry if they do...
"It always seems impossible until it's done." — Nelson Mandela
;-)