List view enhancement requests

[danzac]

There are several things I would like to request to enhance the list view and maximize the use of screen space in Bookends.

1) command>E will open the 'view formatted' pane. Can command>E also please close it back up? And when closing, can it please readjust the window to its former size? Right now, if my list view stretches to the bottom of my screen and I open the view formatted pane it will readjust, but when the formatted pane is closed, the bottom of the list view window is no longer where it was.
2) In regards to the View Formatted pane, it seems to open to a default size. For my needs, the default size is about 4 lines higher than I need it- and others may have different size needs. I can adjust the size with the adjuster bar at the bottom, but once it is closed and reopened it goes back to the default. Can Bookends remember the size I adjusted it to so that it opens to that size all the time?
3) Can there be a shortcut key to open/close the groups pane? As far as I can tell, command>shift>G is not used by Bookends. I know that you can move from groups to All to hits with shortcut keys and that using the shortcut to Groups opens the groups pane if it is closed, but no shortcut key closes the pane. Again it is about maximizing the screen space and being able to see as much of the list and its contents as possible and only the groups when necessary
4) The shortcut key (command>option>I) both opens and closes the info pane, which is great. But could you make the list view window adjust itself so it all fits on the screen? Right now if my list view window is stretched large and I open the info drawer, it will open off screen. DEVONAgent (DT's web-browser) does this for its Bookmarks drawer and it works beautifully. Again, it maximizes screen space for the list view.
5) Can there be a shortcut key to toggle through the tabs in the info pane? I notice that both control>tab and option>tab move the cursor back and forth from the list to the search bar. Perhaps control>tab can stay that way and option>tab can move you through the info pane tabs (and for the notes tab one would naturally want the cursor to be placed in it for note-taking).

Thanks, Danny

[Jon]

We'll see about some of these. In the meantime, Option-Command-G will open/close the groups pane. This will be obsoleted in the next update, though.

Jon
Sonny Software

[danzac]

We'll see about some of these. In the meantime, Option-Command-G will open/close the groups pane. This will be obsoleted in the next update, though.

Thanks Jon, I didn't catch that shortcut key.

but, why will this go away in the next update?

[Jon]

It will be replaced by a better mechanism.

Jon
Sonny Software

[danzac]

It will be replaced by a better mechanism.

Jon
Sonny Software

Enough to wet my appetite, not enough to give me any concrete details.

You have become a master forum seductress Jon.

[thecritic]

There are several things I would like to request to enhance the list view and maximize the use of screen space in Bookends.

Jon,

I'm sure that command-key shortcuts are at a premium, but would you consider adding one for the reference display drawer, the one that opens and closes the drawer that displays the additional fields? It would be nice not to have to remove one's hands from the keyboard in order to click on the drawer button.

[Jon]

That's reasonable. Option-Command-D is reserved by the system for the dock. How about Shift-Command-D?

Jon
Sonny Software

[danzac]

excellent idea I think.

[thecritic]

That's reasonable. Option-Command-D is reserved by the system for the dock. How about Shift-Command-D?

Wonderful. Thanks for responding so quickly!

[Rudi_Grams]

We'll see about some of these. In the meantime, Option-Command-G will open/close the groups pane. This will be obsoleted in the next update, though.

Thanks Jon, I didn't catch that shortcut key.

but, why will this go away in the next update?

What is the new shortcut to open/close the groups pane?

[Rudi_Grams]

There are several things I would like to request to enhance the list view and maximize the use of screen space in Bookends.

4) The shortcut key (command>option>I) both opens and closes the info pane, which is great. But could you make the list view window adjust itself so it all fits on the screen? Right now if my list view window is stretched large and I open the info drawer, it will open off screen. DEVONAgent (DT's web-browser) does this for its Bookmarks drawer and it works beautifully. Again, it maximizes screen space for the list view.

Code: Select all

(*
If you would like to toggle the drawer in listview and have the window adjust its size to the available space after closing the drawer then this applescript might be useful for you. 

LIMITS:

	it works only with MacOS 10.4
	it assumes that the apple dock is at the bottom of the screen
	it will maximize the listview window to the available screen size
	the width of the drawer is 296 pixels (is this the default value?), maybe you have to adjust this value.
	only tested on an iBook G4 and Dual G5
	
	
Run the script from Apple's applescript menu or if you like to use a keyboard shortcut to trigger the script then use FastScripts.
*)

tell application "Finder"
	set deskSize to bounds of container window of desktop
end tell

set horSize to (item 3 of deskSize)
set verSize to (item 4 of deskSize)

set dockSize to (do shell script "defaults read com.apple.dock tilesize")

set horSizeBE to horSize - 296
set verSizeBE to verSize - (22 + dockSize)

tell application "System Events"
	tell process "Bookends"
		delay 1
		-- GUI Scripting statements:
		exists drawer 1 of window 1
		if the result is true then
			keystroke "i" using {command down, option down}
			click button 1 of window 1
		else
			set position of window 1 to {0, 22}
			set size of window 1 to {horSizeBE, verSizeBE}
			keystroke "i" using {command down, option down}
			click button 1 of window 1
		end if
	end tell
end tell

[danzac]

Rudi,

You are the man! This is awesome. And super easy to use since I'm a heavy quicksilver user.

Thanks so much for this.

[Rudi_Grams]

You are welcome. I forgot to mention that in System Preferences/Universal Access the check box 'Enable access for assistive devices' must be checked.

Also please be aware that this script is using 'User Interface' scripting. It may fail if your computer is busy running tasks that cause heavy processor usage.

[Jon]

What is the new shortcut to open/close the groups pane?

There isn't one. There's a splitter control now.

Jon
Sonny Software