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

0
5 .0
Description:

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.
Last changelog:

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.

27 comments
Comments/Ratings

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athleston

15 years ago

Its sufficiently intriguing to me to want to try it.

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

15 years ago

I like your application, but its not - well, its not difficult, sure. but its just not - Damn, hard to say. I simply don't use it... that's it, I guess. it takes some time to get used to, maybe. but I stumbled upon this:

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

15 years ago

This program is a complete usability nightmare. Talk about ignoring all HIG guidelines.

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C

seguso

15 years ago

OneFinger has its own HIG, which unfortunately is not compatible with KDE's.

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piranha2001

15 years ago

Sorry, but this program is not compatible to Human beings at all.
That hurts my eyes!

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C

seguso

15 years ago

What hurts your eyes? Is it the flashing? Or is it the unconventional layout?
If you tell me, I can fix it.

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Superstoned

15 years ago

hmm, it looks nice, but I havent been able to use it, because I cant find out how to get down in the directory tree... so I'm stuck in a folder, and can't get out. where is the 'up' or 'back' button?

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C

seguso

15 years ago

This is explained very well in the screenshots page. The only way to go back to a parent directory is to use the history panel (click the door icon of the target directory).

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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C

seguso

16 years ago

What does it have more than bash? i'm not a bash expert, but:

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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C

seguso

16 years ago

Thank you, this is a very nice feature of bash that I hadn't fully understood.

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

...or for that matter, using the 'history' command as well. ;)

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C

seguso

16 years ago

I forgot another important one: you can get lists of recently visited/used directories (or files), and this list is a first class citizen, i.e. the directories (or files) in this list can be manipulated as if you were in an ordinary file browser window.

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john81

16 years ago

Confusing

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testerus

16 years ago

Is there any tutorial that explains how to use OneFinger? Is it like a graphical version of bash-completion?
http://www.caliban.org/bash/index.shtml#completion

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C

seguso

16 years ago

There is the screenshot page, and tooltips explain everything you need to know.

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

Well, I don't think that you have failed. But people have a hard time to learn computer interfaces and some never understand it completely.
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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C

seguso

16 years ago

well, you are using two completely different paradigms, one powerful but not comfortable [1], one comfortable but not powerful. OneFinger is as powerful as bash, as comfortable as a mouse-driven GUI.

-------

[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

any reason it's written in python/Qt rather than c++/Qt?

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C

seguso

16 years ago

Why python?

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

this thing is great, and have potential.

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emuboy

16 years ago

alla fine ce l'hai fatta he? avevo visto il tuo progetto un pò di tempo fà ma ora mi sembra che sia terminato...bravo! complimenti per l'idea...

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seguso

16 years ago

Thank you very much :-)

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

Why an English name?

I don't like the Interface you propose but the general idea is very good.

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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.

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updated Aug 02 2005
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