FreeCommander ~ Configuring Operating Elements

Transcription

1 FreeCommander ~ Configuring Operating Elements FreeCommander offers numerous options for you to customize operating controls. You can tweak built-in toolbars, create custom toolbars, assign your own custom key combinations to keyboard shortcuts, and more. Sometimes even a tiny simple adjustment to the environment can make it so much easier to work with your files. Hopefully, you'll find at least one worthwhile tweak in these pages. These guides apply to FreeCommander version a. I hope you find them helpful. granny o-o revised 24 February, 2010 updated 30 April, 2010 Click a link to go to a page: General Toolbar Settings page 2 Toolbar GlitchNotes page 4 Favorite Tools custom toolbars page 5 Drive Bars page 14 Status Bar page 16 QuickSearch, QuickFilter, Command Line, Function Key bar Keyboard Shortcuts / Hotkeys page 20 Page 1 of 22

2 . General Toolbar Settings Go to menu Extras > Settings. Or use hotkey CTRL + SHIFT + S Or Right-click the divider bar at left end of a toolbar, click "Customize". Select View >> Toolbar. Return to index o-o Page 2 of 22

3 1. Button Size --- Sets the size of the actual button, not the icon picture. Choose a size from 18x18 to 48x48 pixels. 2. Use Big Icons --- If not checked, images display at 16x16 pixels, regardless of button size. If Big Icons is selected, the icon image is slightly smaller than the button. For example, button size 28 sets icon to 24x24, button size 36 sets icon to 32x32. FC always uses the 32x32 image from the icon, and scales that to size. (unless the icon doesn't include a 32x32 image, or if other sizes have a greater color depth) You may need to experiment to find optimal button size and icon settings for your monitor/resolution. (I can use 28, 32, 36; others are blurred or jagged.) 3. Drawing style with Gradient --- Try it, then choose. Turning it on gives a more modern look. Also, active buttons are highlighted in blue, providing a stronger visual cue than the simple outline shown on the "flat" toolbar. 4. Show menu as toolbar --- Selecting this makes it possible to set the menu on a toolbar row, saving a bit of interface space. 5. Show Toolbar --- Check-mark each built-in toolbar you want to display. 6. In the selected toolbar's list of buttons, check the buttons you want to be visible. 7. Use the small blue spinner arrows to arrange the button sequence. 8. After exiting the configuration dialog, drag & drop toolbars into position. See GlitchNotes in next section. Return to index o-o Page 3 of 22

4 Toolbar GlitchNotes --- I include this information in case you experience similar symptoms. Be aware that these problems have already been reported on the forum. Extras > Settings > Toolbar settings window has a Favorite Tools button at the bottom that opens the Define Favorite Tools dialog. But if you open it from there, the menu to assign FC commands is broken. Solution : Instead, open Define Favorite Tools configuration window from Extras > Favorite Tools > Edit, or hotkey Shift + Ctrl + Y. Then all the components work correctly. If you use Large DPI settings for your monitor, some configuration icons in settings dialogs become partially or completely hidden. This is a Windows display scaling problem, not a FC bug. Solution : Temporarily lower your DPI settings. 96 dpi is standard. 120 dpi works with edges of some icons hidden Some users have toolbar display glitches after working with FC Settings dialog. Toolbars move and/or collapse down to the "divider" bar. Solution 1 : Sometimes correct display is restored by closing and re-opening FreeCommander. Sometimes it requires manual correction. Double-click divider bars to expand the toolbar, drag & drop to move. My problems happen almost exclusively with the built-in toolbars --- my Favorite Tools custom toolbars don't collapse or move around. Solution 2 : Now I only use custom toolbars. But, if I set any of my custom toolbars to "Show Captions", then they all collapse and change positions too, just like built-in toolbars. Solution : Now I don't use captions. After editing Settings, my custom toolbuttons scramble around, and icons display on the wrong buttons, Solution : Simply opening and closing the Favorite Tools configuration dialog resets the buttons to their correct sequence. Hotkey CTRL + SHIFT + Y, then ENTER, I'm back in business. Return to index o-o Page 4 of 22

5 Favorite Tools "Favorite Tools" are custom toolbars that you can build to suit your needs. Create as many as you like. They can include buttons to launch programs, documents, folders, and most of the FreeCommander commands. You can create Category sub-menus to group and organize buttons. You can also assign custom icons to any of these items, using icons from ICO icon files, ICL icon library files, DLL files, or EXE program executables. A new installation of FreeCommander arrives with one empty Favorite Tools toolbar already available. You won't see it on screen until you configure it ---toolbars will not display until at least one item is assigned, and the toolbar is set to "Visible". TIP--- You don't always have to use the settings window --- when custom toolbars are displayed on screen, you can also add items by pressing the ALT key while you drag & drop items onto the toolbar from within FreeCommander or from Windows Explorer or the Desktop. TIP--- You can add toolbuttons for your favorite applications. Drag & drop files onto the button to launch the app and open the file. But this action won't work correctly for some "portable applications" wrapped with a launcher, such as PortableApps "paf" format. Drag & drop only triggers the launcher to open the program, and the launcher does not load the file. This is my current toolbar setup. (not to everyone's taste, I know.) I use only Favorite Tools toolbars because they don't scramble and collapse like built-in bars (see guide General Toolbar > GlitchNotes for more info), so my custom toolbars include frequently-used FC commands. All the icons are custom, not recommended for old slow machines. Return to index o-o Page 5 of 22

6 Create a Favorite Tools toolbar --- Go to menu Extras > Favorite Tools > Edit. Or hotkey CTRL + SHIFT + Y Or toolbar Extras > Favorite Tools button > Edit. Or Right-click a button on a custom toolbar, click "Customize". 1. Add new toolbar --- enter the name in the input box. 2. Rename toolbar --- edit selected toolbar name in the input box. 3. Delete toolbar --- there is no undo. Return to index o-o Page 6 of 22

7 Add buttons to the toolbar --- Click in the Items List to activate the configuration icons. 4. Items: Add to list --- Add buttons and separators to selected toolbar (or to a category menu on the selected toolbar.) OR, Click the Items Add icon, When text field opens at top of list, type a button name. Highlight the name, then use "Program" browser menu in far right panel to select an item to assign to the button. (See Note # 8) Click arrow beside Items Add icon, choose from menu to browse to a program or document, a folder, or FC command. The button name will be same as the item you assigned. Click the Rename icon to edit the name. 5. Items: Rename --- Edit button name in text-field (Or, highlight the name, and click once to enter text-edit mode.) 6. Items: Move up; Move down --- Change button sequence 7. Items: Remove from list --- Delete selected Button, Separator, or Category Icon. There is no undo. Return to index o-o Page 7 of 22

8 Assign items and icons to a toolbutton Use Program browser menu to browse to programs, documents, folders, or commands to assign to existing buttons. Be sure to highlight correct item name before you make an assignment. (for portable use, see guide "Recommendations > FC Drive Variables ) TIP--- If a Command you want is not available on the menu, it might be available as a Keyboard Shortcut. See below how to assign that function to a custom toolbutton. 9. To assign a custom icon, use Icon File browser to browse to icon, icon library, dll, or program executable file. If you select a DLL or ICL icon collection, then click the arrow beside the sample icon picture to display the icons list, and choose one. Remember, FC can't find the icons if source files are moved or deleted. Return to index o-o Page 8 of 22

9 Categories --- You may want to group your buttons in Category menus. (FC does not support nesting sub-menus inside category menus. One layer deep is as far as you can go.) Click in the left-most Categories List to activate the configuration icons. 10. Categories: Add to list -- Add category menu to selected toolbar 11. Categories: Rename -- Edit the name in text-field in the list. (Or, highlight the name, and click once to enter text-edit mode.) 12. Categories: Move up / down -- Change display order 13. Categories: Remove from list -- Delete selected category. There is no undo. Add a category menu to selected toolbar --- With the desired toolbar name displayed in the "Toolbar" window; Click the Categories List to activate the configuration icons. Click the Categories Add icon. When text-field opens at top of list, type in the Category Name. Return to index o-o Page 9 of 22

10 Assign a custom icon to the category menu (optional) --- Click the category name to highlight it. OR, Click the list arrow beside the Categories Add icon, and select "Category Icon". Click in the Items List to activate the Items configuration icons. Click arrow beside Items Add icon and select "Category Icon". This adds a new entry to the Items List : (category name)_icon. With that icon name selected, use the Icon File browser in right-hand panel to select and assign an icon, as described in Note # 9. NOTE renaming a category breaks the icon link, you must repeat the icon assignment procedure for the new category name. Add buttons and separators to the category menu --- Click the name in Categories List so it is highlighted. The Category field at bottom right corner identifies the active category. Then click in the Items List to activate the Item configuration icons. Add programs, folders, and/or commands as described in Note # 8. Assign custom icons to buttons, as described in Note # 9. Add separator bars if desired. Use the blue spinner arrows to arrange buttons and separators. Return to index o-o Page 10 of 22

11 Toolbar item options --- The right panel contains a number of options for toolbar items. Here is where you can tweak and fine-tune your custom toolbutton settings. A. Program browser --- usage is described in Note # 8. Use for first-time or replacement assignment of program, document, folder, or command to the selected button. B. Start Folder --- See Help file for discussion. C. Parameter --- See Help file for discussion. D. Icon File Browser --- usage is described in Note # 9. Use for first-time or replacement assignment of a custom icon to the selected category or button. Return to index o-o Page 11 of 22

12 E. Run Minimized / Maximized --- select an option if you want the selected item to open minimized or maximized. NOTE this option will not work for "portable applications" that are wrapped with a launcher, such as PortableApps "paf" format. The launcher does not pass the instruction to the program. F. Hotkey --- FC provides hotkeys to launch up to 10 items, using CTRL + 1. CTRL + 0 Use the drop-down list to choose a hotkey for the selected item. If you set the hotkey as Global, it will also work from outside the FC window, but FC must be running. These hotkeys are not configurable, but guide "Keyboard Shortcuts" discusses using a macro utility to use your own key combinations. G. Show In Menu / Toolbar --- Choose option for the selected item. You might want it visible in toolbar only, or menu only. Or perhaps not visible at all, but only use the hotkey to launch it. H. Category --- Use to move buttons in and out of categories within the selected toolbar. 1. Highlight a button name in the Items List, 2. then select target from the Category drop-down list. NOTE Unfortunately, there is no way to move or copy buttons from one toolbar to another. You must create a new button on the other toolbar. (you can copy & paste program/command information.) Return to index o-o Page 12 of 22

13 Display Options --- The bottom left panel contains display options for currently selected toolbar. Toolbar Visible is self-explanatory. Uncheck this option to hide a toolbar. For example, you might hide a toolbar that links to an external drive if the drive is unplugged. Or you might have a toolbar dedicated to a certain type of project, and display it only when needed. Etc. NOTE an empty toolbar will not display even if it is set to Visible. A toolbar must have at least one program, folder, or command assigned before it will display. A Category must have at least one item assigned. Category icons and separators don't count. You can choose to Show Captions, Show Icons, or both. If you want to use the text captions, it is advisable to keep category and button names quite short. Selected settings apply to all buttons on the selected toolbar, but other toolbars can have different settings. See below example views of a toolbar with seven category menus. The Web category has the FC default icon, the others are custom icons. Return to index o-o Page 13 of 22

14 . Drive Bars Like most of us, you probably have multiple drives you need to access. You can't use the Folder Tree to move from drive to drive, as FC can't *yet* support Tree display of the entire "virtual computer" directory (*coming soon). But you do have quite a few other options :. menu Folder > Search or hotkey SHIFT + F7 opens a browser window for the entire computer directory menu Folder > Go To Folder --- enter a path manually, or click browse icon for the computer directory Right-click the Address Bar to edit it and enter a path manually Assign shortcuts to different drives using Favorite Folders and/or Favorite Tools toolbuttons Use hotkey SHIFT + <drive letter> to open that drive's root folder Or, of course, select from your friendly neighborhood Drive Bar Drive Bar Configuration --- Go to menu Extras > Settings; or use hotkey SHIFT + CTRL + S Select > View >> Drives Combo Box Drive Bar Return to index o-o Page 14 of 22

15 Choose how you want the drives list to display Show as Combo Box --- Combo Box/dropdown list for each pane If you like, align both combo boxes to the left margin of their pane. (this does not work for the icon Drive Bar.) In the INI file, [Form] section, add line AlignDrivesLeft=1 Show as Bar --- a small bar with drive icons Show two bars will display a bar above each pane, and selecting drive icons will open the folder in the adjacent pane. When using only one bar, selection opens in currently active pane. Select for display of FTP, Network, Removable, Floppy drives. (I do display Floppy Drives, because I run FC from a portable drive, and assign "B" as my virtual drive letter on every computer I use. But since I choose "Removable drives only with disk", drive A does not display unless there is an actual physical floppy drive.) Show with drive select: Choose how you want the drive selection to open --- as Root folder as Folder from history (Last-Visited Folder) or Same as other pane Reminder to open root folder of a drive You can use hotkey SHIFT + <drive letter>, such as SHIFT + C Use this if you want to use your Global setting for a different display. Drive Bar Usage --- Well, it is pretty straight-forward actually, just Click & Pick. But if you are a keyboard ninja, use ALT + F1 to activate the left list, or ALT + F2 for the right, then use Arrow and Enter keys to choose a drive. Disabling Drive Bars --- Drive Bar / Combo box cannot be disabled in this version. You can choose between one or the other, but they cannot be hidden. Return to index o-o Page 15 of 22

16 . Status Bar The status bar shows information about selected items (such as size, modified date, attributes) and drive free space. Status bar appearance has only a few configurations available. In menu Extras > Settings > View, select for display of file/folder sizes in Bytes, Kilobytes, or choose "Auto" to see GB, MB, KB sizes. In Settings>>Colors/Fonts, configure background and font colors. You can toggle the display to include Folder Sizes in its calculations. Go to menu Folder > Size of Folders or hotkey ALT + F9. (This function is very CPU-intensive. If you find it bogs down your computer, call it only when needed.) Status bar right-click Context Menu can be used to temporarily change some FC settings, instead of going to menu Extras >Settings. NOTE changes made through this context menu are not saved, so these are lost when FC is closed. Status Bar Context Menu Return to index o-o Page 16 of 22

17 Additional Features --- FreeCommander uses this often-ignored area to display a few convenient functions. Try them for a few days, and you may become addicted. 1. The Quick Search is a rudimentary search tool, but so fast and easy. With a file list active, simply start typing the first few letters of a desired filename. Quick Search cannot use wild cards. A field displaying your text appears at left end of status bar. Text is not editable, but you can backspace and type different characters. The selection bar moves to highlight the first folder or filename that begins with the text string, and moves to another as you continue to type. A beep sounds if no match is found. To dismiss the field, click a file/folder name, or press Escape key. Or in Settings window, set an Auto-Close Time in seconds. If time is set to zero, the field remains until you dismiss it. 2. The Quick Filter Bar gives handy access to a simple filter function. (see guide "Filters and Selections" for a more in-depth discussion.) If you select Quick filter bar always visible, a small text field is displayed at the right end of the status bar for each pane. Or, use hotkey CTRL + Y to display the Quick Filter bar in active pane; ALT + Y to close it. Click the field and start typing your search string. This text-field is editable, including copy & paste. Text remains in the field until you edit/delete it, or until FC is closed. TIP--- It seems you can use wildcards as long as you add an asterisk wildcard and/or file extension at the end of the string. Return to index o-o Page 17 of 22

18 Only the folder/filenames that contain the search string will display. If Auto Wild Cards is active, the string can appear anywhere in the name If setting is off, it filters only names that begin with or match the string. With setting selected to Deactivate Filter for Folder Change, the filter is automatically deactivated when you select a different folder. If setting is off, the filter remains active for every folder you open in the current pane ---you can use adjascent icon to toggle Activate/Deactivate. NOTE Icon images indicate the action that will be taken, not the current state of the filter. So while the filter is active, the icon displays a red X to indicate that clicking it will deactivate the filter. (I found that counter-intuitive, but I've adjusted.) While the filter is active, and there is text in the field, File List color is changed to the Quick Filter color (configure in Settings). NOTE Quick Filter background color does not affect Stripes in the File List. Stripes retain color configured in Settings > Colors/Fonts. 3. The Command Line can be displayed right beneath the status bar. If you are tired of calling up the Run box again and again, now you can have the command line always available. The Command Prompt is automatically assigned to current folder. (the current path is displayed to the left of the prompt) With setting selected to Enable History in Command Line, the dropdown list displays the history of executed commands. Note that it keeps only the commands, not the folder where the commands were used, so take care in selecting a command for re-use. 4. The Function Key Bar can be displayed beneath the status bar to launch some frequently-used FC commands. You might prefer clicking at the bottom of the window instead of the top menu or toolbar. In the Settings window, you can assign up to ten of the fifteen available commands to the bar, displayed in the sequence you prefer. Select the desired position on the list, then use the drop-down list to choose a command. To remove a button from the bar, select it on the list, then choose the "blank" entry at top of drop-down list. Return to index o-o Page 18 of 22

19 To configure these four features --- Go to menu Extras > Settings or hotkey SHIFT + CTRL + S Select the applicable settings category. Return to index o-o Page 19 of 22

20 . Keyboard Shortcuts / Hotkeys Keyboard shortcuts can be used to launch almost every FC command. You can assign your own key combinations, so if you are accustomed to using certain hotkeys for certain tasks, you can often replicate them in FC. Tooltips and menu lists will update to display your custom hotkeys. Shortcuts Configuration --- Go to menu Extras > Keyboard Shortcuts. Scroll the list to select the command you want to configure. A brief description of the selected command appears below the list. Click in the New Shortcut box, press the desired key combination. Message below the box tells you if the key combo is already in use; you can opt to change it or to go ahead and use it anyway. Click Assign, then click Save, and OK. If you do not click Save, assignment is discarded when FC closes. This can be useful to set a temporary hotkey for a single session. Danger --- Defaults button restores ALL default shortcuts, without confirmation, and with no undo. Clicking Cancel does not prevent the Defaults action. Be careful not to click it by mistake when you aim for the Save button! Return to index o-o Page 20 of 22

21 Keyboard Shortcuts ~ Tips & Tricks --- There are some commands in the Keyboard Shortcut list that you won't see anywhere else. Some don't even have a default hotkey assigned. Read through the list carefully to see if that special command you need might be lurking there. (The list on Help menu is not current.) TIP--- click Shortcuts List button at bottom left of settings window --- this will generate a text file listing all the commands, which you can open in Notepad, and run a word search to find commands. Custom shortcuts are saved to a.shc file, beside the INI file. Do consider saving backups of your SHC file, to protect your settings. TIP--- You can manually edit the SHC file that holds custom hotkeys. Manual editing can assign keys the shortcut configuration dialog won't accept, such as Enter or BkSp (Backspace) or Del (Delete) For example, I assigned CTRL + DELETE to File Wipe with this line: actfileshred=ctrl+del Now I use DELETE for deletion to Recycler (Windows standard) SHIFT + DELETE for deletion without Recycle (Windows standard) CTRL + DELETE for File Wipe "secure deletion" Many of the commands are found in the commands list for Favorite Tools custom toolbars, and can be assigned to custom toolbuttons. TIP--- It is also possible to assign a command to a Favorite Tools button, even if it isn't available in the Favorite Tools "Commands" menu. To learn the syntax for the command, configure a custom shortcut for it, then find the command in the SHC file. (then delete it if you like) Open Favorite Tools configuration dialog (menu Extras > Favorite Tools), create an "Item" button, and type or paste the command into the "Program" path field, enclosed with < >. You could also manually edit the INI file. This example assigns < actfilerenamemulti > to a button. Return to index o-o Page 21 of 22

22 Some Hardcoded hotkeys are not user-configurable. Shift + Ctrl + 1 Shift + Ctrl + 0 ~~ used for first ten Favorite Folders Alt + 1 Alt + 0 ~~ used for first ten Layouts These are assigned to the list position, not to the item name. Ctrl + 1 Ctrl + 0 are reserved for ten Favorite Tools buttons. These are assigned to the items you select. TIP--- A forum post discussed how to use HotkeyP to make your own custom key combinations to run these hard-coded commands. For example, To use Alt + 1 instead of the favorite folders shortcut of Shift+Ctrl+1 Open HotkeyP. Set a new Hotkey: Alt+1 Click small arrow at right of Command window, Choose Macro > Keys to active window In Parameters type: \ctrl.\shift.\1 freecommander.exe next new Hotkey: Alt+2 Command: Keys to active window Parameters: \ctrl.\shift.\2 freecommander.exe HotkeyP must be running for the new hotkey to work. Now you can use Alt + 1 to invoke the HotkeyP shortcut, which in turn, sends the original hard-coded keystrokes to FreeCommander. AutoHotKey, Hoekey, or other macro-scripting tool should also work Return to index o-o Page 22 of 22