Attributes management in general (and of icons in particular)

[Spliff]

1. Also from the help, I don't understand the respective uses of Tools - Attributes, and Tools - Options - Attributes.


2. For formatting the entries in the tree, I very extensively use flags (without displaying the flags themselves), together with their functionality to format the "flagged" entry's text appearance; in some cases though, I additionally want to change the entry's icon, icons being displayed all the time.

Now I don't find any quick way to do that, and in particular, there is no special dialogue "change icon" or the like; not wanting to display the "Item Attributes pane" all the time, I thus have to display them, have to change the icon in there, manually, from a big list with the mouse (I just need a single other icon than the standard "text item" icon), have to press Enter, and have to close the "Item Attributes" dialogue again, which is really unwieldy; a macro would be possible but somewhat unreliable since it would need mouseclicks, in order to access the "Icon" entry to begin with.

Have I overlooked a more "direct" way for changing the icon of the current tree entry, or could you consider to make any icon change easier than it currently is, perhaps just for changing the current (standard or whatever) icon to just ONE, pre-selected "target" icon, instead of browsing an extensive list each time?

(To say it all, I use the "folder" icon for any entry having a corresponding file system folder, for additional content.)

[Spliff]

Sorry, I inadvertently posted this in "Suggestions", so I didn't get any reaction.

Unfortunately, the problems I have with attributes and "columns" are multiplying.


1. Also from the help, I don't understand the respective uses of Tools - Attributes, and Tools - Options - Attributes.


2. [For formatting the entries in the tree... (see in "Suggestions).]
Have I overlooked a more "direct" way for changing the icon of the current tree entry, or could you consider to make any icon change easier than it currently is, perhaps just for changing the current (standard or whatever) icon to just ONE, pre-selected "target" icon, instead of browsing an extensive list each time?


3. Even more problems: My "columns" settings VANISH. (see number 1, perhaps I don't do something right)

I understand I must set the "columns" for each database, one-by-one (that's not so easy for about 30 databases), but of course, I'd then expect my settings to remain persistent for each database, separately.

One of the things I don't understand, is why in "Templates - Search", "Choose Columns" is greyed-out; this does not seem to be logical to me, since I want to set a persistent column display for all searches within that database.

Thus, I set them after doing a search, and when the "Search Results" pane has been populated by results.

Now, doing another search, within the same database, and without switching to any other database, these settings are GONE, and I'm back to some ancient "default" setting, just the item titles, and without lineage, tree order and flags.

I speak of the very next search here, just some seconds after the previous one, not even of a search after closing down the program and reopening it. Do I really have to select the whole tree (30,000 items), and then set the "columns" for them all, and then they will be persistent for searches, within that database?

After about 9 months now with UR, and more than 300,000 items in it (import cost me a month though), I can firmly say that I'm very pleased with the basic functionality of UR, including search: immediate results for any search, even in DB's with 30,000 or 50,000 items. It's just the "settings' user-interface" which costs me, again and again, so much time and nerves, I would like so much to do my settings, and then have "smooth operation".

Please help by explaining these attributes / columns problems!

[kinook]

Originally Posted by Spliff

1. Also from the help, I don't understand the respective uses of Tools - Attributes, and Tools - Options - Attributes.

Tools | Attributes is for configuring properties of an attribute. Tools | Options | Attributes is for configuring the visibility of system attributes.

[kinook]

Originally Posted by Spliff

3. Even more problems: My "columns" settings VANISH. (see number 1, perhaps I don't do something right)

I understand I must set the "columns" for each database, one-by-one (that's not so easy for about 30 databases), but of course, I'd then expect my settings to remain persistent for each database, separately.

One of the things I don't understand, is why in "Templates - Search", "Choose Columns" is greyed-out; this does not seem to be logical to me, since I want to set a persistent column display for all searches within that database.

It is not enabled because there are no search results (or columns). Click Start to initiate a search, then the columns will display and View | Choose Columns will be enabled.

[kinook]

Originally Posted by Spliff

Now, doing another search, within the same database, and without switching to any other database, these settings are GONE, and I'm back to some ancient "default" setting, just the item titles, and without lineage, tree order and flags.

I speak of the very next search here, just some seconds after the previous one, not even of a search after closing down the program and reopening it. Do I really have to select the whole tree (30,000 items), and then set the "columns" for them all, and then they will be persistent for searches, within that database?

I wasn't able to reproduce this -- any customizations persist in my tests. If you right-click on the column header of the search results, you can choose Set as Default to make these customizations apply to all items of that type (otherwise, the customizations apply to the current item only). You can also choose Restore Defaults to set the current item back to using the default (template level) column settings.

https://kinook.com/UltraRecall/Manua...tomization.htm

https://kinook.com/UltraRecall/Manua...ersistence.htm

[Spliff]

Thank you for your kind reply, Kyle!

ICON

That's understood. I had just thought that a distinct routine, to be implemented for that purpose, could override it, but that would then be specific for icons, and then for a pre-selected icon, pre-selected by the user: 1) user sets such an icon as their "target" one, from the icons list, in a special dialogue, under "Tools", just as for "Flags" in there (i.e. scope, as for "Flags", the current DB (I personally would prefer it for US in general, but that is just me); 2) shortcut (shortkey) for changing the current icon to that pre-set "target" one, for the current item.

Alternative (much simpler to implement indeed): 1-key for the icons-drop-down-list, i.e. avoiding to open it from the attributes pane (with all the fuss which accompanies the latter way, described over there).

In this respect: 1-key (or key-combi) shortcuts are available for all 6/7 flags, even one-by-one, but neither for one special icon, nor for the drop-down to quickly choose an icon from (then, a reliable macro would be possible: 1) open the drop-down; 2) send {home} to get to the very first item, and send {down} "n" times, in order to get to the icon in question; 3) send {enter}; or more easily: the drop-down would remember its last choice, then: 1) open the drop-down, 2) send {enter} (if the user always uses this drop-down for the very same icon).

SEARCH COLUMNS

I fully understand your "no columns visible yet" argument, and for then arranging the columns, without them being visible yet, that would technically not be possible yet, I had overlooked this aspect indeed. But my argument - selecting the columns from the list already - was motivated by my wanting to be certain about scope, i.e. "default for the DB in question" (as for the other "Templates" in each DB). See my "scope" thread.

NUMBER 3 ABOVE

(i.e. "Search" columns not even persistent for the very next search within the same DB, without doing anything else in-between)

I'm positive about it, would never invent anything and wrote my question immediately after having seen it, so error on my side excluded. On the other hand, and if it's not a (not-recurring) "bug", the SCOPE problem might have played into it (can't remember this early morning, was late in the evening): Me second search (where the columns were lost again) might have been without "Limit search to selected item", whilst I might have done the column settings with that check-button checked, or vice versa. (This morning, and for the same DB, it's different again, but that might come from my not correctly closing my DBs in-between, see my SCOPE thread.)

[kinook]

Originally Posted by Spliff

2. For formatting the entries in the tree, I very extensively use flags (without displaying the flags themselves), together with their functionality to format the "flagged" entry's text appearance; in some cases though, I additionally want to change the entry's icon, icons being displayed all the time.

Now I don't find any quick way to do that, and in particular, there is no special dialogue "change icon" or the like; not wanting to display the "Item Attributes pane" all the time, I thus have to display them, have to change the icon in there, manually, from a big list with the mouse (I just need a single other icon than the standard "text item" icon), have to press Enter, and have to close the "Item Attributes" dialogue again, which is really unwieldy; a macro would be possible but somewhat unreliable since it would need mouseclicks, in order to access the "Icon" entry to begin with.

Have I overlooked a more "direct" way for changing the icon of the current tree entry, or could you consider to make any icon change easier than it currently is, perhaps just for changing the current (standard or whatever) icon to just ONE, pre-selected "target" icon, instead of browsing an extensive list each time?

You have not, there isn't a more direct way. I'm not sure how it could be changed to just one "target" icon -- how would the system know which one is the target?