Favorite panel in the file picker

ParaView currently embed 2 panel on the left of the file picker : the upper left is default folders from the system (eg Downloads, Documents, home, …) and the lower left are recent folders.

Feature : Add the possibility for the user to tag some folders as Favorite and display them in the file picker. The initial design is to add a third panel on the left side specific to user favorites. These favorites should ideally be present in every related feature (open file, save screenshot, save animation, etc)

Some other ideas of design :

  • Allow to edit the upper left panel to add/remove new folders
  • Make tabs for all of the three panels. This add a click for the user but makes clear which tab is what by adding a label for each tab.

Some discussion has already happened here : https://gitlab.kitware.com/paraview/paraview/-/issues/20874.

Thoughts ?

1 Like

FYI @wascott @cory.quammen

I would prefer to keep the two panels for now. For the top panel, add + and - buttons. + adds the current directory to the upper panel, - removes it.

2 Likes

Cory suggestion seems simple and efficient. A way to reset to default would be needed though.

I would have use a right click event instead of buttons to not overload the UI but yeah I definitely agree with the idea of having only 2 panels.

1 Like

Smile. Two panels it is. Allowing the upper left panel to be edited it is. I think I would also prefer Cory’s suggestion of an + and - button. The reason is it is easier to find the first time. Right click menus are too hidden. Maybe add another button for “restore defaults”?

Fine by me for 2 or 3 buttons. I think ParaView does not use the right click enough in general though, but it is better to have an over-exposed feature than a unused one.

This is being implemented. Another question is rising though, the content of the default favorites.

Currently, it contains the following:

Windows:

  • Examples
  • My Documents
  • Desktop
  • Favorites
  • Disk drives (C:/ D:/)
  • Windows Network

Linux:

  • Examples
  • Home

MacOS:

  • Examples
  • Home
  • Desktop
  • Documents
  • Downloads

It would be nice to unify all that, with a list containing something like:

  • Home/UserMainDir
  • Desktop
  • Download
  • My Documents
  • Favorites
  • Examples
  • Disk drives (C:/ D:/ / /dev/sdX)
  • Network

Any inputs ?