OneFinger
Various KDE 1.-4. Improvements
Source (link to git-repo or to original if based on someone elses unmodified work): Add the source-code for this project on opencode.net
OneFinger is a file manager and a general-purpose GUI (graphical user interface) for Linux.
There were some major UI changes with version 5: "tab widgets" are now used extensively in order to minimize clutter, and the "popup menus everywhere" idiom, introduced in version 4, has been abandoned. Other usability improvements were also added. If you don't use OneFinger, this might be the right time to give it another shot.
The screenshots page has been rewritten to accurately describe the new version.
15 years ago
New in 5.0
----------
* Major usability, learnability: the user interface has been
completely redesigned making heavy use of tab widgets. This results
in less clutter (for example, now you only see two panels at once)
and a more understandable structure.
* Major usability: the "popup menus everywhere" approach introduced in
OneFinger 4 has been dropped, due to user's complaints. We are back
to the interaction style used in 3.X.
* Usability: It is now easier to copy and move files (one click
less). The "paste files here" action is selected automatically.
* Usability: the status bar now shows the free disk space in the
current folder. (previously you had to show the folder properties
dialog to see the free disk space).
* Usability: the current working directory for shell commands is now
automatically synchronized with the currently visible folder in the
file browser. So you don't need to set the working dir explicitely
anymore. This was error-prone as you would often forget to do so.
* Usability: OneFinger's "flexible listbox" widgets now use the more
standard light background. As a bonus, the list can be distinguished
more easily from the rest of the UI.
* usability: the status bar calculates the overall size of selected
files more accurately.
* fixed bug: text in some special widgets (truncating buttons and
labels) was not being centered vertically.
* fixed bug: the go-to-parent button was not setting the correct sort
mode for the parent dir.
15 years ago
New in 5.0
----------
* Major usability, learnability: the user interface has been
completely redesigned making heavy use of tab widgets. This results
in less clutter (for example, now you only see two panels at once)
and a more understandable structure.
* Major usability: the "popup menus everywhere" approach introduced in
OneFinger 4 has been dropped, due to user's complaints. We are back
to the interaction style used in 3.X.
* Usability: It is now easier to copy and move files (one click
less). The "paste files here" action is selected automatically.
* Usability: the status bar now shows the free disk space in the
current folder. (previously you had to show the folder properties
dialog to see the free disk space).
* Usability: the current working directory for shell commands is now
automatically synchronized with the currently visible folder in the
file browser. So you don't need to set the working dir explicitely
anymore. This was error-prone as you would often forget to do so.
* Usability: OneFinger's "flexible listbox" widgets now use the more
standard light background. As a bonus, the list can be distinguished
more easily from the rest of the UI.
* usability: the status bar calculates the overall size of selected
files more accurately.
* fixed bug: text in some special widgets (truncating buttons and
labels) was not being centered vertically.
* fixed bug: the go-to-parent button was not setting the correct sort
mode for the parent dir.
Support-Box
OneFinger is part of KDE Themes and Extensions, which is supported by the following people:
Other Various KDE 1.-4. Improvements:
athleston
16 years ago
I really only use a small subset of my files at any time, and repeatedly too. It might be nice to keep these in front of me when I need them.
Presumable Onefinger also knows how to get out of the way when I am ready to work?
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Superstoned
16 years ago
http://docs.blacktree.com/doku.php?id=quicksilver:what_is_quicksilver
looks like these guys have something like your app workin' a bit. maybe you can have a look, get some ideas? Because this IS a great idea, so please don't give up...
maybe apple's scripting-automator-whatever the thing is called can be inspiring?
and the gnomes seem to be working on something like this, too...
http://eminor.antrix.net/2005/01/11/gnome-launch-box/
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DarkStalker
16 years ago
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seguso
16 years ago
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piranha2001
16 years ago
That hurts my eyes!
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seguso
16 years ago
If you tell me, I can fix it.
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Superstoned
16 years ago
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seguso
16 years ago
This may sound strange at first, but after a while you will love it: it is more immediate than the traditional UP button, because you click directly on the target directory.
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SynTruth
16 years ago
This had to be a heck of a code job, even in python. (w00t for the python!)
However, I can't see the usefulness of it; I type faster and with bash-completion, I can do commands much more faster than I can with point-n-click. If the purpose was to teach CLI commands, etc, I might see the use, but like you said, you still have to know the CLI well.
I just can't see people being fast enough on the mouse to make this exceedingly useful.
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seguso
16 years ago
1. Click on a program. You get a history of the most recent arguments to that program, followed by a history of the most recent argument used with any program.
2. You can have a list of bookmarks (=favourite dirs).
3. bash completion is IMO uncomfortable, but I talked about that in another post.
4. select a file: you get a list of programs that can manage it.
There are more advantages (and disadvantages as well, granted), but it's easier to try it than describe them.
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SynTruth
16 years ago
Hit Control-R sometime in a bash prompt. It allows searching of past commands, type a few letters and it'll match them automatically.
For example:
In my konsole window, I hit ^R and type 'nano':
(reverse-i-search)`nano -w': nano -w .ssh/known_hosts
I'm not saying this app isn't nice or anything. For me at least, and I suspect others as well, I can type and use the built-in bash CLI commands faster. :)
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seguso
16 years ago
However, it is much more limited than waht OneFinger does. Suppose you want to move the file "/usr/bin/source", which you are seeing in the current directory, to the destination directory
"/dat/backup/disk1/pub dir/very long name with spaces and boring to type"
. You remember you have used the destination directory recently. So in OneFinger, you first click "mv" from the program panel and, as a consequence, a list of recent directories used with mv appears in the rightmost panel. Then you click "/usr/bin/source" from the leftmost panel, then click the destination directory from the rightmost panel. Then you click "execute".
I'm not sure how bash could help you with that.
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SynTruth
16 years ago
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seguso
16 years ago
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john81
16 years ago
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testerus
16 years ago
http://www.caliban.org/bash/index.shtml#completion
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seguso
16 years ago
IMHO the usage of a program should be obvious. If it isn't, then I failed somehow. Please let me know if it isn't obvious.
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testerus
16 years ago
Personally I do not see the advantage of using OneFinger.
If I want to start a programm I use the K-Menu or use Alt-F2 if I know the name. If I want to use comand line tools I use bash with bash-completion. Bash remembers the commands I typed (Ctrl-R) and bash-completion completes almost everything including command options.
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seguso
16 years ago
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[1] bash is not comfortable for many reasons. For one: bash completion is terrible when it asks you to disambiguate: you have to parse filenames with your eyes many times, to find the character taht is causing the completion to stop. This is even worse when the file name contains spaces: in this case the disambiguating character is "\ ", which I personally hate to type.
Also, with bash can you have a list of options recently used with a given program? Can you have a list of programs recently used with a given file?
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cmf
16 years ago
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seguso
16 years ago
1. I find higher-order languages are indespensable to write readable (and therefore mantainable) code.
2. I also need to be able omit type declarations, which IMHO make code heavier to read without helping to understand it (I believe the meaning of a variable is not its type but the way it's used). But hey, it's just my personal opinions. :-)
So I had to choose python. I mean, I would have preferred prolog, mercury or ocaml, but these languages have there are no qt/kde bindings.
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The-Q
16 years ago
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emuboy
16 years ago
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seguso
16 years ago
The concept is changed a lot from segusoLand and then Logical-Desktop. Maybe it's a step back, but it works NOW. It's all about finding a route that allows gradual evolution.
So, no, I don't consider it finished at all. :-) The main problem of the program is that it's not discoverable and self-teaching. I'm thinking about implementing some animations that teach you how to execute common actions.
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elektroschock
16 years ago
I don't like the Interface you propose but the general idea is very good.
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