agreed.
it is very uncomfortable to work, the way to handle the filters and thumbnails is terrible
I think you should add a way to revert it using the user preferences, today it is like a incomplete feature.
I prefer use the system browser instead
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The floating window needs to stay on top. An option to be in modal mode would be nice too.
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View modes in a popover is a no go, yeah. They should be directly accessed in the header.
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It should remember the last view mode. And maybe the window size and position.
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The +/- buttons to increment/decrement needs to go back.
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The giant “Options” button on the bottom left needs to go.
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We should be able to click on an empty space to deselect.
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The “Open/Cancel” buttons shouldn’t change size when resizing the window.
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We should be able to resize the “columns header”
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???
5 Likes
It would be nice if when the file browser is open if you press the “+” key you increase the number of the version you want to save, regardless of whether the mouse is over this new floating window or not. When this dialog is open I think the “+” key should do this by default, right now I have to make sure the mouse is always inside the pop-up window and it’s a nuisance.
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This new file browser is SO much better than the old system. Thanks dev team.
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The one thing that I have hated most about the old file browser is that I could not simply expand the area for the file name. I typically have somewhat long file names, and the inability to expand the file name area to an arbitrary length meant that I sometimes did not have an easy, quick way to know which was the file that I wanted, because the differences in the file name(s) was/were hidden. If the filebrowser redesign has not made it so that you can drag out the file name area to see the whole name of a file with a long name, that would be a major oversight. I have not tried the file browser redesign, but @billrey and @julianeisel , if @TheRedWaxPolice is right, please give us the ability to increase the size of the ‘name’ column simply by clicking in the vertical area between ‘Name’ and ‘Date Modified’ and dragging out the column size.
I have not tried out the experimental build yet with the new file browser, but I want to post this here where I commented an issue with the 2.80 file browser related to icons and icon placement. Not sure if it still applies, but it’s important.
The popups is a bad design, but the remove of the “+” button is a really big mistake. Was always easy to understand and useful, I don’t know why to remove it.
2 Likes
I just tried it and it is absolutely an improvement. Still a little clunky when it comes to resizing and stuff, but I am sure those bugs will be worked out before release. I disagree with most of OP’s points, like claiming double-click is wrong for opening folders, as these are standard things in Windows Explorer and the like.
One small bug, I can’t tell if it’s due to my laptop’s track pad or if it would also happen with a mouse, but when I move my mouse to a folder and then double tap to click, it does not open the folder. (Instead, sometimes, it moves the hover-highlight to another line.) If I select a single folder (so its background turns blue), then I can open the folder by double clicking. But if I have a folder selected and then I go double click another folder, it opens the original selected folder not the one I now have my mouse over.
I also am not really a fan of the right sidebar. It sort of makes sense to fit it in as an N-panel for that type of window, but it also looks visually confusing. I feel like it would work better as a menu similar to the “last operation” panel in the 3D viewport. Or even better, as a second step after the file browser. So you select your file to import/open or export/save and then it brings you to the next step with those import/export options. It is just too visually cluttered and thus confusing to have two vertical sidebars sandwitching the small file browser inside.
Can we also simplify the content of the left sidebar by removing the resizable list containers (with that resize handle at the bottom of each list), and instead just list every one automatically with the necessary height to show everything? Then the entire left sidebar could scroll instead of making each list container scroll independently. Doing it that way would be a huge clutter-reducer that makes it less visually confusing.
I also would really like to have the up-one-level (..) entry back at the top of the file listing.
With this littles changes I think that mayotiry of people will be happy…
-Go back of the “plus” button
-Go back of the icons for view mode
-Put all the options of the filebrowser in the top right popover
The popover could be redesign a few to be more constant in the design with blender popovers and more clear. The short options don’t have reason when the users have the option to click the column.
5 Likes
The favorite place for the old file browser is to embed the current window and click to open the folder by default, which makes people feel very comfortable, I think this setting is very advanced.
The only thing that confuses me with the old file browser is that he can’t save the current settings, such as sorting by date.
The new version of the file browser floating window and double-click to open is completely backward design, floating window is so small, I have to maximize each time.
The function of quickly returning to the virtual folder of the parent directory is gone, so the convenient function is gone.
There is also a small bug that does not automatically complete the saved file extension.
Sorting and various settings require multiple clicks is also a bad design. If you can automatically save the current settings,
this screen space saving design may be useful, but the file browser does not lack screen space, What it needs is to do what I will do with fewer operations.
Since the filter options are not an enum - you can filter by more things at a time, that part would be less clear with those suggested changes.
Here you can see you can enable several filters:
Presume you mean sorting. Yes, for the vertical list it’s redundant, but not for thumbnail view or the horizontal list.
Not 100% sure what you mean by this. If you are referring to the + and - buttons to increment the file name numbering, we’ll add them back but in a different way:
4 Likes
I don’t understand why will be confusing the list, when is like actually works blender 3D view popovers. And like by default we have 2 of them highlighted the use is clear.
I don’t see them in my “Save as” windows
It’s not, because it isn’t an enum. They are individual options that can be toggled normally, and don’t require you to hold Shift to enable multiple Filter options.
Implicit in ‘we’ll add’ is the word will, meaning it will be done for the 2.81 release.
1 Like
Sorry, I see the image and read a few of the message I though that it was actually implemented. I’m busy and doing 4 tasks at same time.
It’s not possible made that control work without shift?
Pretty much that…
By the way, forward/backward buttons on mice that have those buttons (like for browsing forward/backward through history in a browser or file explorer) should also work in this file browser.
Just go to Preferences / Keymap / File Browser. Add new keymap items that connect “file.next” to Button5, and “file.previous” to Button4.
Nice to hear that’s possible. But it should definitely be mapped by default for 2.81 with the new file browser!
Is it useful? I mean that seriously. I’m not sure that I’ve noticed that my mouse even had those buttons on the side. LOL. Do we map any extra mouse buttons anywhere else? Would they useful anywhere else?
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Yes it is 100% useful. And more importantly, it is a crucial component in the set of small details that collectively compose a robust, user-friendly, native-feeling, “complete” user interface. Forward and backward buttons are on most non-basic mice and many users are completely used to them functioning as native extensions of their fingers in the process of interfacing with their computer via their mouse, or even touchpad— on my laptop, I have a four-finger gesture set up to also trigger forward/backward movement; this is an easy customization in the Windows 10 settings app (or maybe it’s even default? I don’t recall) and I would presume it is very common for people to use. For web browsing, it is a life changer to swipe or tap the mouse thumb button to instantly navigate, and likewise in Windows Explorer and even VS Code.
The buttons are a natural, native function that is expected functionality from any history-based navigation interface. If it’s lacking, it feels incomplete and mildly frustrating. I won’t quit Blender for the developers’ negligence in omitting it, but it’s one of the many features that will make me dislike how un-native the Blender file browser feels. I am also too lazy to bind those keys myself, and I would go on living without those buttons doing what I expect from a native implementation. But it will continue to be a small annoyance that, with many other small annoyances, add up.
If the goal is to polish up the file browser and make it feel complete and native, then this is a must-add detail. Better yet, it requires no feature development, it just requires setting a default keymap for all users. Comprehensive sane defaults are the first step in building good user experiences. This wouldn’t clash with any other feature, it wouldn’t unexpected change up any functionality, it wouldn’t have any controversial affects on workflows. There is literally no reason not to wire this up by default so it behaves expectedly for any and all users.
1 Like