geekhack
geekhack Community => Off Topic => Topic started by: fohat.digs on Fri, 20 July 2012, 20:29:49
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As long-time readers may remember, I made the XP-to-7 migration a month or so ago. We had an interesting little thread for a while.
Now, a month down the trail, I am generally pretty pleased but there are a few real annoyances.
First, in my opinion, Windows Explorer has been brutally f#cked and emasculated. It is so much harder and more cumbersome to do things like moving and copying files, when you navigate it constantly closes doors behind you, often opening new windows instead. I move a lot of files between drives, and need to have ways to drag and drop back to where I was several screens back. That is a nightmare now. In Ubuntu you can open an "extra pane" - boy I wish Microsoft would allow something like that.
Then there are the "little" things that just make me want to scream.
I have a lot of music files that I am often manipulating and upgrading. For whatever reason, it seems to be impossible to make a hovering mouseover show an .MP3 file's bitrate. I have spent hours online searching for a cure, and even the registry hacks I have found do not work. Right-clicking plus another couple of clicks is an insane annoyance to get something that used to be automatic.
Having been burned many times using "Classic View" (which is always temporary and it just means that they will snatch it away from you in the near future instead of the immediate present) I am practical enough to just bend over and take it when Redmond issues a decree.
Does anyone know how to rectify this problem? It is euphemistically called a "feature" that is "missing" from Windows 7.
Thanks!
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for 'extra panes' What about right click ->open in new window on any folder ?
As to the MP3s, I don't use mp3 and can't imagine using Explorer for anything more than simple cut/copy/paste a few files.
I use command line unix for my file and music management :)
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Well, that is just the point - I don't want a new window - I want a new pane in the same window. Or the ability to expand the window, or what is visible at least.
I use Explorer for a my file manipulations - moving/copying/etc - and, for example, it would be very helpful to have the "from" directory and the "to" directory visible at the same time.
Everything that I am asking for are things that I have been using for years, in 98 and in XP, these are just "features" that they took away from me in Windows 7 for no reason.
edit: no multi-pane windows in explorer. I was referring to the mouseover bitrate, etc
my underlying frustration is that Windows Explorer has been dumbed-down and diluted, rather than sharpened
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Well, I'm poking around in XP and I can't find a way to do a multi-pane explorer window there either.
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Have you considered a new file manager for windows? Just browsing wikipedia, most seem to be orthodox file managers, though some intrigue me with their GUI's. I'm sure one of them will have the functionality you desire.
As far as MP3 bitrate, what about using a program (like some media players) that auto-updates, and displays a list of bitrates?
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You can add a bit rate column to explorer easily. Just right click the listview header to get column options.
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Should be the same process as in Win7
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Where do I find "listview header"?
Note that I am not talking about getting information after multiple clicks - that is available in Folder Options.
I want it to be the way that it always used to be, where bitrate was displayed in the hovering mouseover of a filename without additional time, effort, or navigation required.
I am talking about a Windows 7 problem. It worked fine in 98 and XP.
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I use an after market Explorer replacement.
Xplorer2 ultimate
There are others.
You can add tabs to Win Explorer with:
http://qttabbar.sourceforge.net/ (http://qttabbar.sourceforge.net/)
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/more-about-qttabbar.htm (http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/more-about-qttabbar.htm)
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I generally use the view in explorer called details. There you can set it to display the bitrate. So i dont even need to mouse over. I can even sort on bitrate.
I realise that isnt what you where asking for, Its an attempt at an alternative suggestion. For what i may be worth anyway.
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http://keyliner.blogspot.com/2012/01/add-bit-rate-to-windows-explorer-view.html
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Totally agree about Win7 Explorer - the changes (and feature removals) are 90% for the worse. Mostly little things, but they add up to a thoroughly unsatisfying experience! For example, backspace now goes 'back', instead of up a level, so what's the shortcut to go up a level? Is there one? I haven't bothered trying to find out yet, but it sure would help reduce my mouse usage!
I find myself using a (3rd-party) command line much more than I ever do in XP, even though I use it there sometimes as well. (I'm still running XP on most of my machines).
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Well, I think that it is clear that the short answer is "you can't do that anymore in Windows 7"
I had already set the Folder Options to show bit rate, but I wanted it automatic with the mouseover like it used to be.
Since the majority of my work is with picture files or files where I need to quickly recognize by file type, I really need to use thumbnail view. Oops, wait a minute, what is the new name, "Large Icons"?
The setting shown below is probably good enough since it refers to "all folders of THIS type" and my music files reside almost exclusively in music folders. If it will work consistently in folders that contain only music files, that will be good enough.
Thanks for all your help. If they ever fix this problem, I will post the solution here. Please do the same for me, if you can.
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so what's the shortcut to go up a level? Is there one? I haven't bothered trying to find out yet, but it sure would help reduce my mouse usage!
I think it's ALT+ArrowUP.
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It felt horrible upgrading from 98 to XP back in 2006. (took me long enough but then again "Me" scared the cr*p out of me)
XP grew on me and until 2011 I was running XP.
I don't think there will be any thing as revolutionary as Win 95. That was and still is the most stable Windows OS IMHO.
Oh, Win 95, how I miss you!
:'(
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Just to update those of you who are interested and helpful, thank you!
After setting "bit rate" as a detail in "Details" and going under Folder Options/View to "apply the view that you are using for this folder to all folders of this type" it seemed to be enough help that I can usually get what I need, at least if I am in a predominantly "musical" folder. That will have to do, I suppose.
From SourceForge, I downloaded "Classic Shell" and so far it seems to be pretty much what I was looking for.
As much as I hate using 3rd party fixes for Redmond's stupidity and/or arrogance, I figured there was no sense screwing around and making myself angry.
These fixes are fast, free, and easy. Good luck.
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Why even upgrade in the first place? I just stick with Windows 3.1 and it works just as great as it ever did!
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Why even upgrade in the first place? I just stick with Windows 3.1 and it works just as great as it ever did!
95 was better. definitely when you consider the start up tune. TADA vs Brian Eno!