Author Topic: Please add Display Tools - Color and Filters  (Read 3089 times)

Offline Zodler

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Please add Display Tools - Color and Filters
« on: September 18, 2010, 12:46:30 pm »
Organizing long list of downloads would be a lot easier if you add 2 tools to alt.binz

First if we could change the color of each download with right mouse click. So for example we can blue every episode of a TV show.

Second adding a display filter. For example we type a tv show name and we see only that show in the download list.

I believe these are 2 great features that should be added.

Offline Hecks

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Re: Please add Display Tools - Color and Filters
« Reply #1 on: September 18, 2010, 12:52:05 pm »
Your second request already exists: the +/- Filter Subjects box on the queue toolbar.

As for the first one, I'm not sure why users would want to keep a queue so large for a long enough time that it would need such organizing.  There are better ways of doing this.  But I guess everyone has their own way of doing things. ;)

Offline Zodler

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Re: Please add Display Tools - Color and Filters
« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2010, 01:01:28 pm »
Thanks a lot for the reply. I didn't know about the filter. That's great. I use it now.

As for the color, here is more explanation.

Imagine you are adding daily TV shows for the past 4 days.
I want to filter show A, then color it blue.
Filter show B, then color it green.
Then I can remove the filters and now use the color to quickly put the same shows together and organize the download queue.

Offline Hecks

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Re: Please add Display Tools - Color and Filters
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2010, 02:19:09 pm »
In that example, you're probably better off just sorting the list alphabeticaly,  I would imagine - that would group all your shows together. One click on the Subject column header and you're done.

Offline Zodler

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Re: Please add Display Tools - Color and Filters
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2010, 04:03:12 pm »
It's not that simple. That was an example. There would be other type of things that I would like to show and move that are not simply possible by title sort.

Offline davidq666

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Re: Please add Display Tools - Color and Filters
« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2010, 05:05:52 pm »
I agree in order to organize long download queues it would be nice to have a tool to group certain post together, but i don't like the idea to do it with colors. i would prefer super kategories, that can be named as one wishes and are for organisation only.
the hierarchy would be
Super category->Collection->File

Offline Zodler

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Re: Please add Display Tools - Color and Filters
« Reply #6 on: September 18, 2010, 05:10:53 pm »
Yes folders are also possible. Just a visual folder for example in the download list that can be opened and closed by + -.

Offline Hecks

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Re: Please add Display Tools - Color and Filters
« Reply #7 on: September 18, 2010, 05:30:17 pm »
IMHO, the best way of organizing long download queues with Alt.Binz is to keep the active queue itself as short as possible. This may sound contradictory, but think it through for a moment ...

There are much better ways of doing things that don't involve the extra overhead of Alt.Binz saving & loading an overlong queue file.  If the current queue is so long that it's going to take 2 days for Alt.Binz to reach the end of it, why is that stuff even queued in the first place? Far better to organize your NZBs in local folders where you can micro-manage as much as you want, and add to queue as needed & sensible.

If anyone has a genuine regular (read: non-OCD) need for long queues in Alt.Binz itself, I'd like to hear it. ;)

Offline davidq666

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Re: Please add Display Tools - Color and Filters
« Reply #8 on: September 18, 2010, 06:06:10 pm »
IMHO, the best way of organizing long download queues with Alt.Binz is to keep the active queue itself as short as possible. This may sound contradictory, but think it through for a moment ...

There are much better ways of doing things that don't involve the extra overhead of Alt.Binz saving & loading an overlong queue file.  If the current queue is so long that it's going to take 2 days for Alt.Binz to reach the end of it, why is that stuff even queued in the first place?
...

it might not be very wise, but the reason why people keep a lot of stuff in the queue is simple: it's more convenient that way. you can monitor what might be of interest and how old it is in the queue that u look at anyways, as aposed to keeping those nzbs in (serveral) seperate folders and somehow noting or remembering how old the post is. the latter seems much more work then to just keep them in the queue...

Offline Hecks

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Re: Please add Display Tools - Color and Filters
« Reply #9 on: September 18, 2010, 06:16:14 pm »
Heh, file/folder creation dates give you that info at a glance. And I agree, it's not wise to use the Alt.Binz queue as a substitute NZB store or online indexer or release site and all those better options for discovery & storage. Queues can get corrupted, as we've seen in this forum many times.

Anyways, I'm pushing this off-topic, so I'll shut up ...
« Last Edit: September 18, 2010, 06:18:49 pm by Hecks »

Offline Zodler

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Re: Please add Display Tools - Color and Filters
« Reply #10 on: September 18, 2010, 08:06:56 pm »
Its not that I have a long list where I delete things. I want to download everything that is in my list.
It's like a list of 30 downloads and they are in different categories. I want to gather and download each category together.

To make it simple its the same thing as the Move Up, Move Down commands. Why they exist?
For the same reason, a color coded display or the ability to group is great to have.

Offline Hecks

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Re: Please add Display Tools - Color and Filters
« Reply #11 on: September 18, 2010, 08:51:17 pm »
Well, you should be able to see 30 things in the queue without even having to scroll down, so I've no idea what the need is for coloring stuff first *then* moving em.  The easiest thing of course would be to move stuff in the queue as you add them.  But why would you want to dl them by category?  This is a real question: I'm interested in why this is important.  There are some open requests still for queue categories (i.e. with different profiles for dl & unrar dirs, etc).  But you can add stuff you want sooner with 'Add as first' options, or filter all then move to top,  etc.

I'm just not seeing a use-case here that would apply to more users than just you.  But as I said above, everyone has their own way of doing things.  So the more users who pipe up in this thread if they want/need such a feature and explain why, the better.

Offline Zodler

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Re: Please add Display Tools - Color and Filters
« Reply #12 on: September 19, 2010, 12:41:47 am »
Only because as you know the visual memory is stronger than the normal one. For example you recognize things visually faster than actually reading them. That's why color is important. It's true that it's not necessary and you can do without, as alt.binz is also not necessary and there are other free software. But we are here to talk about adding features and have a software that makes life easier.

An example of visual memory. For my media, I put the appropriate folder.jpg image in each folder and then to find or access them, I watch the folders in thumbnail and you find your desired title much faster than actually reading the titles.
« Last Edit: September 19, 2010, 12:47:20 am by Zodler »

Offline Hecks

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Re: Please add Display Tools - Color and Filters
« Reply #13 on: September 19, 2010, 02:22:25 am »
Well, all I can really say to that is: visual memory certainly isn't stronger for all people in this context. For you maybe, but for some it's spatial memory, for others it's verbal memory. Personally I find thumbnails a totally useless way of quickly locating something I want in a list, and I always switch off thumbnail views where I can.

Feature requests really need to make life easier for the majority to have any chance of being implemented. And so far I don't see how your way of tagging queue items then manually sorting them is even necessary. But others may think differently, if so they should chip in with +1.

Interesting discussion, but time for me to sign off this thread, as I think I've said all I want to about it now. ;)