Setting an ideal column arrangement for specific subdirectories will smooth out a lot file migration challenges I have underway. I’ve tried verious ‘Configure Dolphin’ settings, but nothing’s hitting the sweet spot. Some settings seem to enforce consistency within a given session (like a ‘temporary’ consistency), but then reset entirely when I close it out. There’s just an overall feeling of constant inconsistency the more I try to pin it down.
Here’s the specific example that makes it worthwhile to figure this (vs constantly resetting things when I close/reopen a directory) :
- Comparing 2–3 sets of audio files at a time (in separate windows) makes me want to align Size, Type, Bitrate, and Modified Date in a particular order – this lets me overlap windows in creative ways so I can immediately see where two lists of files differ in A) filename, B) size, C) modification date
- This gives me an incentive to apply a certain column scheme for all folders within a subdirectory (e.g., everything within the Music folder, as well as a a separate ‘backup audio’ subdirectory I have elsewhere [on the same drive])
- It would also be ideal to apply this layout to [ctrl] + F search lists
Even more broadly, I’d like to make all directories, at least at first, default to showing entire filepaths in the last column. Seeing the filepath in a glance is super convenient, but it always disrupts flow to stop and set it for each session or new search.
There’s also a seeming glitch where I can’'t widen that column’s width if it’s at the very end – I have to move it to one of the first few columns, set it to the desired width there, then move it back to the end. It’s a time-wasting shot to my pride every time I mess with it – thinking each time, ‘There’s got to be a better way’ and then ‘It’s worth spending time figuring out how to set right the first time.’
Trying to answer these questions myself using the manual has proved, ah, itself a chore. It seems written ‘adaptogenically’ for Windows, Linux, and maybe even Mac users; but at the cost of clarity – certain things even seem relevant to older versions of Dolphin, it’s hard to tell
Most of these issues would seem to be specific to KDE rather than Fedora; have you raised any bugs on their bugzilla or looked to see if these are known issues?
I assume you have found the setting to remember settings on a per directory basis
Are you perhaps browsing something which is mounted as read only or you do not have permisisons to write to?
The only thng I consider an outright bug is the inability to extend width of the last column. Since ‘Path’ shows up as one of the last ‘Other’ options, it just happened to be the thing showing me this particular restriction.
Not sure about permissions, but your saying that prompted me to look. The directories I spent the most time in both had a mix of mostly ‘777’ and ‘775’ permissions. I don’t have any apparent mounting issues, as these are all directories I’d transferred to or created on my main drive, nothing fancy.
And it is KDE; I suppose it’s worth dropping this into that board too. I figure it’s mostly ironing in my knowledge of Dolphin most broadly, but as I said per the manual comment, it is hard to tell when I’m at some true limitation overall, vs when it’s something unique to the specific versions being used vs. described.
Yes, that menu setting has been the bulk of my experiments.
I think what I’m looking for is a way to ‘Remember display style for each folder’ that applies to all lower subfolders, rather than each and every folder.
Maybe I can find the ‘file system metadata’ or the ‘hidden .directory file’ that setting describes… then apply it recursively? Because it’ seems it’s a choice b/w universal settings and changing each single folder.
EDIT: Ok, it looks like this is (mostly) the solution… i.e., applying a folder’s view metadata toeall subfolders recursively…per the Brave AI (which I hate to paste, and it’s very questionable, but with caveats, it did do the trick:
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Navigate to the parent folder where you want the settings to begin.
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Configure the view exactly as desired (e.g., Details view, show hidden files, specific sorting).
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Go to View → Adjust View Display Style [from ‘hamgurger’ menu > More > View…].
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In the “Apply View Properties To” section, select Current folder including all sub-folders.
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Click OK.
As for those caveats, while it applied most view configurations, it still allows a lot of trashy, annoying artifact, like:
- Multiple column listings of the same name
- Inconsistent column widths and sequence
- Resets that crucial e x t r a w i d e last column to a ‘reasonable’ default width
Almost defeats the whole purpose -_-
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Edit 2: Known bugs (in KDE after all) related to failure to override local folder metadata with new settings – resulting in two such settings competing with each other. Apparently, column width and certain other column settings are saved in separate locations.
