Filter new and old features

General Discussion
#1

Version 3.14b brought a great improvement to the Filter feature. However:

A] Under the triangle icon ▶ located on its right edge there is the Extended fields, Information fields and Functions sub-menu, but above them is the long list of tag fields. Firstly- I do not know from where entries for that list are taken from, but I can see that it has some new / fake fields that I have created. And secondly- it makes the new Menage history... option far away from the ▶ icon; and given that I personally never use entries from that long list, it it a very annoying [waste of time for repetitive unproductive mouse movements] for me

B] After clicking the right mouse button anywhere within the Filter box a context menu shows up, which has Undo for its very first entry. I would argue that the most used element of the reworked Filter will be the Menage history... - and thus it should be the top entry on this right click menu. Or alternatively this Menage history... should made [maybe additionally] available as a separate icon. Maybe the Filter: could be changed into a big button / icon evoking Menage history...?

C] There used to be the Remove all from history... option available under the ▶ icon, but it is gone apparently on the account of how the whole management of Filter feature has been reworked. In my opinion it is logical to not have such wipe-all button now, when the user is given a detailed control of history- because [an accidental] wiping would be mean a loss of a time invested by the user into adjusting the Filter. But not being able to quickly remove all of some [deemed as temporary] filter expression will result with the user having to periodically look manually through the list for the purpose of remaining it clear of clutter. And so, I propose such adjustment: similar to how under the Menage history... the user can select a check box of any expression in order for it to show up as an clickable entry available under the ▶ icon, the user should have also an option to mark any expression as a one not succumbing to the [now not existing] wipe-all-temporary-expressions button

D] For informative purposes, the [now already exiting] column with check-boxes should be given a name. I propose Menu. I know it would not be perfect and something like Menu List would be more informative, but then it would look weird, as this column would be relatively very wide and its content [i.e. check-boxes] narrow

E] Under the Menage history... the Filter column should be renamed Filtering expression. And also at the bottom of this window the Filter: between the Name and Description would be more informative to new users if it would be renamed to Filtering expression [but the Filter: name to the left side of the Filter box should / could remain as it is]

F] The Description seems to have a finite number of accepted signs. It also does not word wrap its content, thus making useless its mini triangle icons

G] The Description should have visible 2.5 or at least 1.5 lines of text visible, so that the user with a glance would know if there is a need to scroll the text down to reveal more of
Description

H] Can the Filter box be further upgraded, to accepts three left clicks for selecting all of its content [REQUEST: expand selection in the Filter box]?

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#2

I] It is impossible to remove filtering expressions without choosing some other expression [that the user wants to retain] because there is no OK button in the Menage history... window - there is only Apply which [you guest it] applies a highlighted filtering expression. And so just cleaning up of Filter forces the user to also filter files

#3

J] Right click menu of Filter should have the old Remove from history option added. This option could be used for small / quick clean-ups, performed by the user when a one-time filtering expression was used - in opposition to serious cleanups of Filter's history done with the usage of the new "Menage history..." window

#4

In the Manage Filters list, create a new filter, call it "Clear Filters" and leave the filter itself blank. Add a check mark so it appears in the list when you click on the arrow, and this "Clear Filters" is right there. I moved it to the top of my list so it is quickly accessible.

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#5

You can just close the window, click the "X" in the top-right corner

#6

But... it does nothing

when chosen it just shows empty box of the Filter - and my list is filtering expressions is still populated with other entries

#7

On the contrary, it does exactly what I said it would do. It blanks any filter that may have been previously used, effectively removing the filter so that all files in the current directory will show. In your second post, you claimed you could not escape from the filter manager without applying some other filter. I have provided two solutions for this.

#8

I did not know to which of my point you were responding. And as I deem lack of old Remove from history option a more profound issue and it was the latest one as described by me under J], I simply assumed you were talking about it, having somehow found some secret inner code of Mp3tag

So thank you for this workaround to the I] issue, despite it not being a perfect [on the account of alphabetical re-sorting of entries]

#9

Let me chime in on points I and J:

The OK button is available as long you don't select any filter expression to Apply. You can remove an existing selection by standard means: either click into the blank area of the list or, if there is no blank area, click on the selected item while holding the Ctrl key down.

There is still Shift + Del.

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#10

K] There is also a problem with cluttering coming out from unnecessary multiplication of filtering expressions. When the user has for example Yyy in the history of searches, but later writes YY in the box not finishing that expressions, the user sees suggestion in form of YYy. And now if the user chooses a file from the presented list in the main window, then a new version of that expression is added to the history: YYy. So now the user has in the history Yyy and YYy. So if Filter when showing results is ignoring differences between capitalized and lowercased signs, unless specified buy more complex expression, this behavior just not make sense. Could not the new history sub-feature of Filter somehow take notice of such unnecessary doubling - and simply ignore them i.e. not add them to history? If in such expression there are no words that are used by Mp3tag's syntax, but just ordinary signs, then it should not be a problem?

#11

Available in what form? Physical; i.e. an actual OK button?

#12

I still do not see a way of deleting of an entry in the Manage history... window and coming back to the exact list of files before opening of that window - except when before opening Manage history... a filtering expression that was chosen in the Filter's box was not deleted from Manage history... list and was chosen again but in it and clicking Apply

There is no simple OK option for telling Mp3tag to just maintain the cleanup results

#13

Please try what I've suggested. The Apply button changes to OK if no filter expression is selected.

#14

Oh now I understand / see it. And its working

However. When a user has long list, i.e. exceeding vertically the height of Manage history... window, one must scroll down to the bottom and aim at an extra empty line that has 4/5 height of normal line / button. So that is extra scrolling and aiming required right there

So, cannot just there be a separate OK and Apply buttons? If nothing would be selected then clicking Apply could either do nothing or just close the window, while OK would always close the window

#15

You seem to only read parts of what I write in my replies to you. Please see this part on how to circumvent scrolling and deselect a selected item:

#16

You seem to assume that everyone uses Mp3tag only when both their hands are on mouse and keyboard and not only one on mouse or keyboard

There are people with various physical disabilities, you know

#21

I don't assume that and I've outlined various options to handle the dialog in this topic.

#22

I am pretty sure that these persons know very well how to use the built-in functions in Windows to support them in everyday affairs, like pressing additional keys.

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#23

Of course I use virtual keyboard, even two of them. And a small wireless one with a touch pad. And had in the past a mechanical keyboard with a trackball instead if arrows

But this reminds me of the situation when I asked my bank, how are people using a wheelchair suppose to enter their building, if there is a step and then a heavy door, that when opened would sweep the wheelchair back to the level of the street. Their answer was: such person can make a call to the bank for assistance in entering the premises. To which I logically responded, that this means additional costs for disabled for using their services, as the info-line was not free; and that waiting in the rain outside when the line is busy might not be that pleasant. And only then did they realized how stupid was their answer and informed me that they will install a button reachable from outside for calling of an employee. And they actually did that

I am not calling here anyone stupid, but just asking to look from a perspective where every additional click is a drag

#24

The modifiers Ctrl, Shift, Alt Gr and Alt are absolutely common keys in the context of Windows. So I honestly don't understand what you are getting at as Windows has taken care of the use of these keys.

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