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List: kfm-devel
Subject: Re: Review Request 126622: GSoC 2016 Project Idea: File Trays for Dolphin GUI Mockup
From: "Heiko Tietze" <tietze.heiko () gmail ! com>
Date: 2016-01-07 8:48:52
Message-ID: 20160107084852.6499.98982 () mimi ! kde ! org
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> On Jan. 4, 2016, 10:46 p.m., Heiko Tietze wrote:
> > Same impression like Thomas: Keep Dolphin's workflow as it is.
> >
> > What I understood from your first introduction was something like this \
> > http://i.imgur.com/v4B697l.png (no idea how to add an image here as non-OP). The \
> > file tray (the term "virtual" might help to understand what it is) is just \
> > another "place", with adjusted options (if necessary). The paste function is an \
> > example for a default menu entry, available everywhere else but not in the \
> > virtual tray (it's only an example). I added the column "origin" (would be \
> > "folder" in normal lists) that might be very useful for this type of file list. \
> > Plus an option to add/remove files to the virtual tray (+/- is not the best \
> > solution). Maybe there are more actions to add here. However, keep it simple.
> > Mockup for Balsamiq 2.2.28 (the latest running natively on Linux) can be found \
> > here https://paste.kde.org/pkzl2zfo7 (just use Balsamiq's import function to \
> > paste the xml).
>
> arnav dhamija wrote:
> Oh! This is an elegant solution since the main Dolphin toolbar can then populated \
> with all the File Tray specific features. However, I really want it to be possible \
> to have drag and drop between the active directory and the File Tray, as this was \
> the initial use case I was thinking of. Do you think I can get rid of the toolbar \
> in my mockup and move all the options to Dolphin's main toolbar and context meus \
> while retaining the split window?
> Heiko Tietze wrote:
> That's the next (actually first) step (aka requirements engineering): List all \
> required functions, at best with a priority. It makes sense to use some kind of \
> syntax for those **use cases** like "<Who> wants <what> for <which reason>". For \
> example: "Berna wants to collect a couple of pictures from different folders in \
> order to create a photo album." (that's the core functionality) or "Matt wants to \
> get a split view of the folder content next to the virtual tray content in order to \
> easily copy items from one to the other" (sounds rather like Krusader's workflow to \
> me). I believe there is no feature that cannot be done in the current workflow. So \
> nothing is needed to get populated- except the add/remove from tray function.
> arnav dhamija wrote:
> Got it then. So, removing the toolbar and populating the existing toolbar is \
> enough? If the split view is to be used - what about for features which are more \
> specific only to the File Tray such as the ability to search within files on the \
> Tray and renaming items? Should these be merged with the exisiting Dolphin Find and \
> Rename buttons? And, by removing the toolbar, all copy/paste file interactions from \
> the File Tray to a directory will happen with shortcuts and context menus, correct? \
> Thomas Pfeiffer wrote:
> What Heiko meant by talking about requirements engineering is: List all the the \
> things that users need to be able to do with Dolphin using your planned feature \
> _before_ thinking about the actual functions and interaction. When you know exactl \
> what it has to accomplish, then you can see whether it can accomplish that using \
> regular controls or if not, which controls have to be added. For example, searching \
> within the files in the staging area does not need new controls. Dolphin already \
> has the capability to search in the current location, so if you start a search in \
> the staging area, that's the current location. But again, let's not talk about \
> individual requirements before collecting all requirements.
> arnav dhamija wrote:
> Got it. I have made an edit to my post with some of the use cases I have thought \
> about with regards to this project.
> Should these be merged with the exisiting Dolphin Find and Rename buttons?
Absolutely yes. Keep Dolphin as it is, at much as possible. For example, I thought \
about to use the delete key to remove files from the virtual tray instead of moving \
them to the tray. This makes no sense since users would have to adopt to the changed \
interaction. Actually it could be a use case to collect large files that can be \
deleted but not before actually running out of time. Following this idea, people \
might want to have more than one VTF (if you can do that it should be accessible via \
the breadcrumb like "> Archive > VTF1" with the option to rename the VTF).
- Heiko
-----------------------------------------------------------
This is an automatically generated e-mail. To reply, visit:
https://git.reviewboard.kde.org/r/126622/#review90608
-----------------------------------------------------------
On Jan. 7, 2016, 7 a.m., arnav dhamija wrote:
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> This is an automatically generated e-mail. To reply, visit:
> https://git.reviewboard.kde.org/r/126622/
> -----------------------------------------------------------
>
> (Updated Jan. 7, 2016, 7 a.m.)
>
>
> Review request for Dolphin and KDE Usability.
>
>
> Description
> -------
>
> **The idea**
> Selecting multiple files in any file manager for copying and pasting has never been \
> a pleasant experience, especially if the files are in a non-continuous order. \
> Often, when copying files between devices we might find that we need to select only \
> a subset of the required files we have selected and this leads to the unwieldy \
> operation of removing files from our selection. Of course, the common workaround is \
> to create a new folder and to put all the items in but this is a very inefficient \
> process and can be very slow if large files need to be copied between devices.
> My solution to this problem is to add a panel/view in Dolphin where the links to \
> files and folders can be temporarily saved for a session. The files and folders are \
> "staged" on this panel. Hence, the user can add folders and files from several \
> different directories to this panel and can then collectively perform actions on \
> all the items in the tray such as copy, paste, cut, upload images in selection to \
> Facebook, upload files to Dropbox, etc. This makes complex file operations easy by \
> staging the operation before performing it.
> Files can be added to this tray by using a right-click context menu option or by \
> using the mouse scroll click or drag and drop. As an additional option, the session \
> for the File Tray Panel can be saved for later use.
> My initial idea was to have another split view mode with its button in the toolbar \
> in Dolphin. It will function similarly to the existing split view but with one half \
> of the screen dedicated to the "Files tray". This would make it neatly integrated \
> with Dolphin's existing toolset and it would make dragging and dropping easy. \
> Dolphin maintainer Emmanuel Pescosta suggested using Plasmoids to make the project \
> more cohesive with KDE and to make it usable with multiple applications (eg \
> Gwenview).
> **GUI Mockup**
> Attached with this Review Request is a Balsamiq mockup for my project idea, \
> building upon what already exists in Dolphin. The Tray panel is activated by a \
> toggle button on the Dolphin toolbar and behaves very similarly to the Split \
> feature. Dragging and dropping folders and files from the active directory on the \
> left and pasting directly from the clipboard will be supported.
> The File Tray gets its very own toolbar for implementing these functions on all the \
> files placed in the Tray.
> The "Destination Folder" dropdown has a list of recently accessed folders **and** \
> an option to choose the active directory on the left of the File Tray.
> "Cut" and "Copy" are self explanatory and will allow for files on the Tray to be \
> transferred to the "Destination Folder".
> The "Search in Files" button will use grep to find a certain string in the files \
> located on the Tray. A search bar drops down when this is clicked.
> The "Archive" button allows the user to compress and package the files in various \
> archive formats.
> The 3 dots menu hides more advanced features and prevents the toolbar from becoming \
> too imposing.
> "Create shortcuts" will create symbolic links for all the files in the Destination \
> Folder the user has chosen.
> "View Git version history" (I'm not sure if this will be useful) will display a GUI \
> with the Git revisions along with the Git log if a .git folder is found in a \
> directory.
> The File Tray will use the same zoom and icon/details/compact settings as the main \
> window of the file manager. While it may be technically possible to have a \
> distinction, I feel it may be too complicated for many users as there will be many \
> duplicate controls.
> Also, as the toolbar for the File Tray is quite large, I'm not sure how to design \
> the interaction when the window is scaled to a smaller size. Maybe the buttons \
> overflowing can dynamically move into the 3 dots icon but I am not sure if this is \
> a good practice.
> I will be much obliged to hear feedback from the usability and dolphin teams on \
> these GUI interactions : )
> **EDIT**
> After some more thought, I have decided to get rid of the File Tray toolbar. All \
> these actions can either be integrated with Dolphin's existing context menus. There \
> are some use cases I have thought of:
> Jerry has a large music collection on his computer and he has many devices such as \
> a tablet, smartphone, HTPC, and a USB drive for his car audio. He needs only a \
> subset of files from his extensive collection which he wants to keep on all his \
> devices. Hence, to avoid making the same selection over and over again for each \
> device, it's much more efficient for him to just create his list on the File Tray \
> and then copy the same list to each device.
> George is a student at university and he has a lot of unorganised files on his \
> computer from lots of different directories. By selecting these files and staging \
> them on the File Tray in a split view mode, he can easily discern where each file \
> should go. He can then easily move files by simply dragging and dropping them in \
> the directory they belong in. This makes the File Tray a helpful tool for file \
> organisation.
> Cosmo keeps forgetting where he keeps his important files as they are often hidden \
> deep within directories and sub-directories. The File Trays feature can come to the \
> rescue here by letting him stash the files in the File Tray and hence it will save \
> him time from drilling deep into directories for a file. Hence, the File Tray can \
> also be used for making quick shortcuts for files. For this I plan to add a feature \
> and user preference to allow the user to restore the Tray from the previous session \
> and to have the option of making the Tray retain the files stored in it across \
> sessions.
> Furthermore, by default, the File Tray will **not** retain the files added in it \
> across sessions, though I will add a button to restore files from the previous \
> session. I also plan to add a Save button (not sure where it should go) to allow \
> the user to save the selection of files they have made on the Tray.
> Another important note about the interaction model I have thought about is that the \
> File Tray should have its own shortcut such as ctrl+W (of course the keyboard \
> shortcut is subject to change). Invoking this shortcut on a selected number of \
> files in the Active Directory should immediately open the File Tray and add all the \
> Files in the selection there. Moreover, the Split view will be disabled whenever \
> the File Tray is active. If the split view is open when the File Tray keyboard \
> shortcut is activated, the Split view of the inactive directory will close and will \
> be replaced with the File Tray.
> Also, the File Open dialog will undergo some modification so users can select items \
> directly off the Tray for other programs.
> Finally, I also want to create a Plasmoid which will sync the same links as the \
> File Tray and will exist as a widget on the Desktop. This Plasmoid will benefit the \
> KDE desktop as a whole as multiple applications will be able to interact with the \
> Plasmoid for stashing files. However, the completion of this may or may not happen \
> with the GSoC timeline as it is completely dependent on how much QML I can learn by \
> the time the GSoC proposal period starts : )
> Also, there are a few more features I want to add to make the File Tray more \
> powerful. However, these features are probably a better fit for Dolphin in general, \
> and then the File Tray can use these functions from Dolphin: 1) The ability to \
> create symbolic links of a selection of files. Nautilus has been doing this for a \
> while. 2) Automatically create a music playlist file by selecting music files.
>
> **EDIT2**
> I made a new mockup by butchering the mockup a bit :S But, the new one is at least \
> indicative of what I want to achieve with this project.
>
> Diffs
> -----
>
>
> Diff: https://git.reviewboard.kde.org/r/126622/diff/
>
>
> Testing
> -------
>
>
> File Attachments
> ----------------
>
> FileTray Mockup (OLD).png
> https://git.reviewboard.kde.org/media/uploaded/files/2016/01/04/ec5ec185-0307-4579-afc4-567d2aafa220__FileTray_Mockup.png
> FileTray Mockup.png
> https://git.reviewboard.kde.org/media/uploaded/files/2016/01/07/e6e2accb-714f-45fc-a026-fd69574f6790__FileTray_Mockup.png
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> arnav dhamija
>
>
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This is an automatically generated e-mail. To reply, visit:
<a href="https://git.reviewboard.kde.org/r/126622/">https://git.reviewboard.kde.org/r/126622/</a>
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<blockquote style="margin-left: 1em; border-left: 2px solid #d0d0d0; padding-left: \
10px;"> <p style="margin-top: 0;">On January 4th, 2016, 10:46 p.m. UTC, <b>Heiko \
Tietze</b> wrote:</p> <blockquote style="margin-left: 1em; border-left: 2px solid \
#d0d0d0; padding-left: 10px;"> <pre style="white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: \
-moz-pre-wrap; white-space: -pre-wrap; white-space: -o-pre-wrap; word-wrap: \
break-word;"><p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: \
inherit;white-space: inherit;">Same impression like Thomas: Keep Dolphin's workflow \
as it is. </p> <p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: \
inherit;white-space: inherit;">What I understood from your first introduction was \
something like this http://i.imgur.com/v4B697l.png (no idea how to add an image here \
as non-OP). The file tray (the term "virtual" might help to understand what it is) is \
just another "place", with adjusted options (if necessary). The paste function is an \
example for a default menu entry, available everywhere else but not in the virtual \
tray (it's only an example). I added the column "origin" (would be "folder" in normal \
lists) that might be very useful for this type of file list. Plus an option to \
add/remove files to the virtual tray (+/- is not the best solution). Maybe there are \
more actions to add here. However, keep it simple.</p> <p style="padding: \
0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: \
inherit;">Mockup for Balsamiq 2.2.28 (the latest running natively on Linux) can be \
found here https://paste.kde.org/pkzl2zfo7 (just use Balsamiq's import function to \
paste the xml).</p></pre> </blockquote>
<p>On January 5th, 2016, 3:44 a.m. UTC, <b>arnav dhamija</b> wrote:</p>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 1em; border-left: 2px solid #d0d0d0; padding-left: \
10px;"> <pre style="white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: -moz-pre-wrap; white-space: \
-pre-wrap; white-space: -o-pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><p style="padding: \
0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">Oh! \
This is an elegant solution since the main Dolphin toolbar can then populated with \
all the File Tray specific features. However, I really want it to be possible to have \
drag and drop between the active directory and the File Tray, as this was the initial \
use case I was thinking of. Do you think I can get rid of the toolbar in my mockup \
and move all the options to Dolphin's main toolbar and context meus while retaining \
the split window?</p></pre> </blockquote>
<p>On January 5th, 2016, 7:58 a.m. UTC, <b>Heiko Tietze</b> wrote:</p>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 1em; border-left: 2px solid #d0d0d0; padding-left: \
10px;"> <pre style="white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: -moz-pre-wrap; white-space: \
-pre-wrap; white-space: -o-pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><p style="padding: \
0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: \
inherit;">That's the next (actually first) step (aka requirements engineering): List \
all required functions, at best with a priority. It makes sense to use some kind of \
syntax for those <strong style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: \
0;line-height: inherit;white-space: normal;">use cases</strong> like "<Who> \
wants <what> for <which reason>". For example: "Berna wants to collect a \
couple of pictures from different folders in order to create a photo album." (that's \
the core functionality) or "Matt wants to get a split view of the folder content next \
to the virtual tray content in order to easily copy items from one to the other" \
(sounds rather like Krusader's workflow to me). I believe there is no feature that \
cannot be done in the current workflow. So nothing is needed to get populated- except \
the add/remove from tray function.</p></pre> </blockquote>
<p>On January 5th, 2016, 8:18 a.m. UTC, <b>arnav dhamija</b> wrote:</p>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 1em; border-left: 2px solid #d0d0d0; padding-left: \
10px;"> <pre style="white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: -moz-pre-wrap; white-space: \
-pre-wrap; white-space: -o-pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><p style="padding: \
0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">Got \
it then. So, removing the toolbar and populating the existing toolbar is enough? If \
the split view is to be used - what about for features which are more specific only \
to the File Tray such as the ability to search within files on the Tray and renaming \
items? Should these be merged with the exisiting Dolphin Find and Rename buttons? \
And, by removing the toolbar, all copy/paste file interactions from the File Tray to \
a directory will happen with shortcuts and context menus, correct?</p></pre> \
</blockquote>
<p>On January 5th, 2016, 9:25 a.m. UTC, <b>Thomas Pfeiffer</b> wrote:</p>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 1em; border-left: 2px solid #d0d0d0; padding-left: \
10px;"> <pre style="white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: -moz-pre-wrap; white-space: \
-pre-wrap; white-space: -o-pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><p style="padding: \
0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">What \
Heiko meant by talking about requirements engineering is: List all the the things \
that users need to be able to do with Dolphin using your planned feature <em \
style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: \
normal;">before</em> thinking about the actual functions and interaction. When you \
know exactl what it has to accomplish, then you can see whether it can accomplish \
that using regular controls or if not, which controls have to be added. For example, \
searching within the files in the staging area does not need new controls. Dolphin \
already has the capability to search in the current location, so if you start a \
search in the staging area, that's the current location. But again, let's not talk \
about individual requirements before collecting all requirements.</p></pre> \
</blockquote>
<p>On January 7th, 2016, 5:24 a.m. UTC, <b>arnav dhamija</b> wrote:</p>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 1em; border-left: 2px solid #d0d0d0; padding-left: \
10px;"> <pre style="white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: -moz-pre-wrap; white-space: \
-pre-wrap; white-space: -o-pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><p style="padding: \
0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">Got \
it. I have made an edit to my post with some of the use cases I have thought about \
with regards to this project.</p></pre> </blockquote>
</blockquote>
<pre style="white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: -moz-pre-wrap; white-space: \
-pre-wrap; white-space: -o-pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><blockquote \
style="text-rendering: inherit;padding: 0 0 0 1em;border-left: 1px solid \
#bbb;white-space: normal;margin: 0 0 0 0.5em;line-height: inherit;"> <p \
style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: \
inherit;">Should these be merged with the exisiting Dolphin Find and Rename \
buttons?</p> </blockquote>
<p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: \
inherit;white-space: inherit;">Absolutely yes. Keep Dolphin as it is, at much as \
possible. For example, I thought about to use the delete key to remove files from the \
virtual tray instead of moving them to the tray. This makes no sense since users \
would have to adopt to the changed interaction. Actually it could be a use case to \
collect large files that can be deleted but not before actually running out of time. \
Following this idea, people might want to have more than one VTF (if you can do that \
it should be accessible via the breadcrumb like "> Archive > VTF1" with the \
option to rename the VTF).</p></pre> <br />
<p>- Heiko</p>
<br />
<p>On January 7th, 2016, 7 a.m. UTC, arnav dhamija wrote:</p>
<table bgcolor="#fefadf" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="12" style="border: \
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<td>
<div>Review request for Dolphin and KDE Usability.</div>
<div>By arnav dhamija.</div>
<p style="color: grey;"><i>Updated Jan. 7, 2016, 7 a.m.</i></p>
<h1 style="color: #575012; font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 1.5em;">Description </h1>
<table width="100%" bgcolor="#ffffff" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" \
style="border: 1px solid #b8b5a0"> <tr>
<td>
<pre style="margin: 0; padding: 0; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: \
-moz-pre-wrap; white-space: -pre-wrap; white-space: -o-pre-wrap; word-wrap: \
break-word;"><p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: \
inherit;white-space: inherit;"><strong style="padding: 0;text-rendering: \
inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: normal;">The idea</strong> \
Selecting multiple files in any file manager for copying and pasting has never been a \
pleasant experience, especially if the files are in a non-continuous order. Often, \
when copying files between devices we might find that we need to select only a subset \
of the required files we have selected and this leads to the unwieldy operation of \
removing files from our selection. Of course, the common workaround is to create a \
new folder and to put all the items in but this is a very inefficient process and \
can be very slow if large files need to be copied between devices.</p> <p \
style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: \
inherit;">My solution to this problem is to add a panel/view in Dolphin where the \
links to files and folders can be temporarily saved for a session. The files and \
folders are "staged" on this panel. Hence, the user can add folders and files from \
several different directories to this panel and can then collectively perform actions \
on all the items in the tray such as copy, paste, cut, upload images in selection to \
Facebook, upload files to Dropbox, etc. This makes complex file operations easy by \
staging the operation before performing it.</p> <p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: \
inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">Files can be added to \
this tray by using a right-click context menu option or by using the mouse scroll \
click or drag and drop. As an additional option, the session for the File Tray Panel \
can be saved for later use.</p> <p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: \
0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">My initial idea was to have another \
split view mode with its button in the toolbar in Dolphin. It will function similarly \
to the existing split view but with one half of the screen dedicated to the "Files \
tray". This would make it neatly integrated with Dolphin's existing toolset and it \
would make dragging and dropping easy. Dolphin maintainer Emmanuel Pescosta suggested \
using Plasmoids to make the project more cohesive with KDE and to make it usable with \
multiple applications (eg Gwenview).</p> <p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: \
inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;"><strong style="padding: \
0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: normal;">GUI \
Mockup</strong> Attached with this Review Request is a Balsamiq mockup for my project \
idea, building upon what already exists in Dolphin. The Tray panel is activated by a \
toggle button on the Dolphin toolbar and behaves very similarly to the Split feature. \
Dragging and dropping folders and files from the active directory on the left and \
pasting directly from the clipboard will be supported.</p> <p style="padding: \
0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">The \
File Tray gets its very own toolbar for implementing these functions on all the files \
placed in the Tray.</p> <p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: \
0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">The "Destination Folder" dropdown has a \
list of recently accessed folders <strong style="padding: 0;text-rendering: \
inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: normal;">and</strong> an option \
to choose the active directory on the left of the File Tray. </p> <p style="padding: \
0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">"Cut" \
and "Copy" are self explanatory and will allow for files on the Tray to be \
transferred to the "Destination Folder".</p> <p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: \
inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">The "Search in Files" \
button will use grep to find a certain string in the files located on the Tray. A \
search bar drops down when this is clicked.</p> <p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: \
inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">The "Archive" button \
allows the user to compress and package the files in various archive formats.</p> <p \
style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: \
inherit;">The 3 dots menu hides more advanced features and prevents the toolbar from \
becoming too imposing.</p> <p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: \
0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">"Create shortcuts" will create symbolic \
links for all the files in the Destination Folder the user has chosen.</p> <p \
style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: \
inherit;">"View Git version history" (I'm not sure if this will be useful) will \
display a GUI with the Git revisions along with the Git log if a .git folder is found \
in a directory.</p> <p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: \
0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">The File Tray will use the same zoom \
and icon/details/compact settings as the main window of the file manager. While it \
may be technically possible to have a distinction, I feel it may be too complicated \
for many users as there will be many duplicate controls.</p> <p style="padding: \
0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">Also, \
as the toolbar for the File Tray is quite large, I'm not sure how to design the \
interaction when the window is scaled to a smaller size. Maybe the buttons \
overflowing can dynamically move into the 3 dots icon but I am not sure if this is a \
good practice. </p> <p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: \
0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">I will be much obliged to hear feedback \
from the usability and dolphin teams on these GUI interactions : )</p> <p \
style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: \
inherit;"><strong style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: \
inherit;white-space: normal;">EDIT</strong> After some more thought, I have decided \
to get rid of the File Tray toolbar. All these actions can either be integrated with \
Dolphin's existing context menus. There are some use cases I have thought of:</p> <p \
style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: \
inherit;">Jerry has a large music collection on his computer and he has many devices \
such as a tablet, smartphone, HTPC, and a USB drive for his car audio. He needs only \
a subset of files from his extensive collection which he wants to keep on all his \
devices. Hence, to avoid making the same selection over and over again for each \
device, it's much more efficient for him to just create his list on the File Tray and \
then copy the same list to each device.</p> <p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: \
inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">George is a student at \
university and he has a lot of unorganised files on his computer from lots of \
different directories. By selecting these files and staging them on the File Tray in \
a split view mode, he can easily discern where each file should go. He can then \
easily move files by simply dragging and dropping them in the directory they belong \
in. This makes the File Tray a helpful tool for file organisation.</p> <p \
style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: \
inherit;">Cosmo keeps forgetting where he keeps his important files as they are often \
hidden deep within directories and sub-directories. The File Trays feature can come \
to the rescue here by letting him stash the files in the File Tray and hence it will \
save him time from drilling deep into directories for a file. Hence, the File Tray \
can also be used for making quick shortcuts for files. For this I plan to add a \
feature and user preference to allow the user to restore the Tray from the previous \
session and to have the option of making the Tray retain the files stored in it \
across sessions.</p> <p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: \
0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">Furthermore, by default, the File Tray \
will <strong style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: \
inherit;white-space: normal;">not</strong> retain the files added in it across \
sessions, though I will add a button to restore files from the previous session. I \
also plan to add a Save button (not sure where it should go) to allow the user to \
save the selection of files they have made on the Tray.</p> <p style="padding: \
0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: \
inherit;">Another important note about the interaction model I have thought about is \
that the File Tray should have its own shortcut such as ctrl+W (of course the \
keyboard shortcut is subject to change). Invoking this shortcut on a selected number \
of files in the Active Directory should immediately open the File Tray and add all \
the Files in the selection there. Moreover, the Split view will be disabled whenever \
the File Tray is active. If the split view is open when the File Tray keyboard \
shortcut is activated, the Split view of the inactive directory will close and will \
be replaced with the File Tray.</p> <p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: \
inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">Also, the File Open \
dialog will undergo some modification so users can select items directly off the Tray \
for other programs.</p> <p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: \
0;line-height: inherit;white-space: inherit;">Finally, I also want to create a \
Plasmoid which will sync the same links as the File Tray and will exist as a widget \
on the Desktop. This Plasmoid will benefit the KDE desktop as a whole as multiple \
applications will be able to interact with the Plasmoid for stashing files. However, \
the completion of this may or may not happen with the GSoC timeline as it is \
completely dependent on how much QML I can learn by the time the GSoC proposal period \
starts : )</p> <p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: \
inherit;white-space: inherit;">Also, there are a few more features I want to add to \
make the File Tray more powerful. However, these features are probably a better fit \
for Dolphin in general, and then the File Tray can use these functions from Dolphin: \
1) The ability to create symbolic links of a selection of files. Nautilus has been \
doing this for a while. 2) Automatically create a music playlist file by selecting \
music files.</p> <p style="padding: 0;text-rendering: inherit;margin: 0;line-height: \
inherit;white-space: inherit;"><strong style="padding: 0;text-rendering: \
inherit;margin: 0;line-height: inherit;white-space: normal;">EDIT2</strong> I made a \
new mockup by butchering the mockup a bit :S But, the new one is at least indicative \
of what I want to achieve with this project.</p></pre> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<h1 style="color: #575012; font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 1.5em;">Diffs</b> </h1>
<ul style="margin-left: 3em; padding-left: 0;">
</ul>
<p><a href="https://git.reviewboard.kde.org/r/126622/diff/" style="margin-left: \
3em;">View Diff</a></p>
<h1 style="color: #575012; font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 1.5em;">File Attachments \
</h1>
<li><a href="https://git.reviewboard.kde.org/media/uploaded/files/2016/01/04/ec5ec185-0307-4579-afc4-567d2aafa220__FileTray_Mockup.png">FileTray \
Mockup (OLD).png</a></li>
<li><a href="https://git.reviewboard.kde.org/media/uploaded/files/2016/01/07/e6e2accb-714f-45fc-a026-fd69574f6790__FileTray_Mockup.png">FileTray \
Mockup.png</a></li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
</body>
</html>
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