From kfm-devel  Fri Jul 06 15:21:20 2007
From: "Kimberly Lazarski" <kim () biyn ! com>
Date: Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:21:20 +0000
To: kfm-devel
Subject: Re: Dolphin with tabs
Message-Id: <1183735280.30575.9.camel () kimp4 ! biyn ! local>
X-MARC-Message: https://marc.info/?l=kfm-devel&m=118373539531723

On Fri, 2007-07-06 at 09:04 -0600, Aaron J. Seigo wrote:
> On Friday 06 July 2007, K N wrote:
> >     I have talked with several individuals some which say tabs should be
> > allowed. Others are saying that tabs shouldn't be allowed. I think the best
> > compromise and solution to making everyone happy is to make a setting for
> > tabs and by default the tab feature is disabled keeping dolphin simple.
> > Then if the user wants a more advanced feature like tabs, the user simple
> > enables it.
> 
> i don't know.. the solution to every question of difference is not "make it an 
> option!"
> 
> there are such things as "design decisions". the question here is: what is the 
> benefit of tabs in a file manager? what is the use case target for dolpin? do 
> the two answers there overlap?
> 

IMHO, tabbed file management is amazingly powerful. I use konqueror as a
file manager primarily, and only very rarely as a web browser. I'd like
the left tree to be improved so that it can display hidden directories,
and to optionally switch focus in the tree when I switch tabs, but aside
from those nits I think that konqueror is as close as anything comes to
being the perfect file manager. I can have multiple directories open in
multiple tabs, and if I am doing something which requires side-by-side
viewing of directories, I can split the view. I can open a shell prompt
right in that directory and run scripts on the current working
directory. 

While I do see some value in a project such as dolphin, by splitting it
from the web browser to avoid the criticism gnome advocates sometimes
toss in KDE's way, I'd hate, hate, HATE to see KDE's file managers as
crippled and dumbed down as Gnome's Natilus, even as crippled as
Windows' file explorer. 

So yes; make it an option please, ESPECIALLY if the long-term roadmap is
to cease development of file management in konqueror (note: I do not
know if this is the case since I am not a mind reader so I am NOT
attempting to FUD here; this was what-if speculation).

Whatever you do, AVOID the Gnome treatment; don't assume the end user is
a moron and eliminate the option altogether. Give the user the power,
even if it is disabled by default. Worst case, sysadmins will have to
enable the options and deploy it to new accounts via /etc/skel,  but at
least it won't be the crippled, condescending piece of crap environment
that Gnome has become. 

Always empower the user if there is a decision to make; just disable it
if there is question whether or not it will make the user experience
more complicated for newbies, but make that option configurable via a
GUI, or make sure it is WELL DOCUMENTED in the help if the user MUST
touch config files (this is a sore spot for me in KDE: the lack of
documentation. One of you might say "Well, document it youself" but
that's a catch 22 situation since I'd have to learn the project before I
could document it, right?)

Anyway that's 2¢ and then some, coming from a power user.

Thanks.

--Kim

> imho, no.
> 
> konqueror is there for file management with tabs. keep dolphin simple. 0.02
>