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directory with input focus (vs CSD)

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  directory with input focus (vs CSD) Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> - 2018-11-06 14:21 +0000
    Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2018-11-06 21:58 +0000
    Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) Andrew Conroy <a.m.conroy@owlart.co.uk> - 2018-11-07 12:36 +0000
      Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) "John Williams (News)" <UCEbin@tiscali.co.uk> - 2018-11-07 13:55 +0000
      Re: directory with input focus / to Thump Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> - 2018-11-07 14:00 +0000
        Re: directory with input focus / to Thump News <chrisjohnson@spamcop.net> - 2018-11-07 14:41 +0000
          Re: directory with input focus / to Thump Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> - 2018-11-08 02:25 +0000
        Re: directory with input focus / to Thump Alan Adams <alan@adamshome.org.uk> - 2018-11-07 14:53 +0000
          Re: directory with input focus / to Thump Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> - 2018-11-08 02:20 +0000
          Re: directory with input focus / to Thump druck <news@druck.org.uk> - 2018-11-08 21:58 +0000
        Re: directory with input focus / to Thump Andrew Conroy <a.m.conroy@owlart.co.uk> - 2018-11-07 15:01 +0000
        Re: directory with input focus / to Thump Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> - 2018-11-07 18:25 +0000
          Re: directory with input focus / to Thump Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> - 2018-11-08 02:06 +0000
        Re: directory with input focus / to Thump Alan Wrigley <usenet@alanwrigley.me.uk> - 2018-11-07 20:24 +0000
    Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) svrsig <chris@svrsig.org> - 2018-11-07 09:52 -0800
      Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) druck <news@druck.org.uk> - 2018-11-08 22:02 +0000
        Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) / to Thump Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> - 2018-11-09 01:44 +0000
          Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) / to Thump "John Williams (News)" <UCEbin@tiscali.co.uk> - 2018-11-09 08:15 +0000
          Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) / to Thump "John Williams (News)" <UCEbin@tiscali.co.uk> - 2018-11-09 08:30 +0000
          Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) / to Thump Alan Wrigley <usenet@alanwrigley.me.uk> - 2018-11-09 09:55 +0000
            Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) / to Thump Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> - 2018-11-09 11:22 +0000
              Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) / to Thump Alan Wrigley <usenet@alanwrigley.me.uk> - 2018-11-09 14:20 +0000
          Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) / to Thump Peter Young <pnyoung@ormail.co.uk> - 2018-11-09 11:14 +0000
            Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) / to Thump Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> - 2018-11-09 11:49 +0000
              Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) / to Thump Peter Young <pnyoung@ormail.co.uk> - 2018-11-09 12:26 +0000

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#5562 — directory with input focus (vs CSD)

Is there a nifty way of specifying the directory with input focus?
What I want is to tell the path of that directory to an app that is 
running.

The currently selected directory (CSD) is represented by "@", which I 
didn't know till today.

But CSD is not the same thing as "directory with input focus" -- which is 
a standard feature in newer versions of the OS (since 5.22 at least) -- 
ie, the directory with lit-up titlebar, to which keystrokes can be 
directed such as F4 (full info) or ^W (make this the CSD).

Is there something as nifty as "@" for this newer purpose?

-- 
Jim Nagel                                www.archivemag.co.uk
>> "From" address is genuine but will change.  Website has current one.

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#5563

Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> wrote:
> Is there a nifty way of specifying the directory with input focus?
> What I want is to tell the path of that directory to an app that is 
> running.
> 
> The currently selected directory (CSD) is represented by "@", which I 
> didn't know till today.

I don't think there is.  The CSD is a filing system concept, accessible from
*-commands etc.  The window with input focus is a desktop Filer concept, ie
purely a GUI construct, not something the underlying OS knows about.

Best I can suggest is something that looks for the window with focus and
reads its titlebar via something like Wimp_GetWindowInfo.  But that won't
help if the titlebar string is truncated due to length (I'm not sure if the
Filer does that).

Theo

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#5564

In article <ff4abd5257.jim@6.abbeypress.net>,
   Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> wrote:
> Is there a nifty way of specifying the directory with input focus?
> What I want is to tell the path of that directory to an app that is 
> running.

> The currently selected directory (CSD) is represented by "@", which I 
> didn't know till today.

> But CSD is not the same thing as "directory with input focus" -- which
> is a standard feature in newer versions of the OS (since 5.22 at
> least) -- ie, the directory with lit-up titlebar, to which keystrokes
> can be directed such as F4 (full info) or ^W (make this the CSD).

> Is there something as nifty as "@" for this newer purpose?

Perhaps if you could give an idea of what the app will do with this info
(ie. is it going to send keypresses to the window?), we might be able to
work out a way to do it?

Andrew

-- 
+----------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| Andrew Conroy, Owl-Art Un-Ltd.         | email: a.m.conroy@argonet.co.uk |
| Coming to you on an Acorn RiscPC SA110 |                                 |
+----------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
      The impossible I can do at once, miracles take a little longer!!

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#5565

In article <5753377c86a.m.conroy@owlart.co.uk>,
   Andrew Conroy <a.m.conroy@owlart.co.uk> quoted:

> to which keystrokes can be directed such as F4 (full info) or ^W (make
> this the CSD)

The ^W one is a filer shortcut, but I suspect that the F4 is coming from
something else you have loaded - a filer-utility module!

John

-- 
John Williams, now back in the UK - no attachments to these addresses!
Non-RISC OS posters change user to johnrwilliams or put 'risc' in subject!
Who is John Williams? http://petit.four.free.fr/picindex/author/

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#5566 — Re: directory with input focus / to Thump

Andrew Conroy  wrote on 7 Nov:

> In article <ff4abd5257.jim@6.abbeypress.net>,
>    Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> wrote:
>> Is there a nifty way of specifying the directory with input focus?
>> What I want is to tell the path of that directory to an app that is
>> running. [...]

> Perhaps if you could give an idea of what the app will do with this info
> (ie. is it going to send keypresses to the window?), we might be able to
> work out a way to do it?

OK.  I open a filer window, and I find it contains a number of Jpeg and 
other graphics files.  I want to see thumbnails of those graphics, so I 
want to open the same directory with !Thump.

Of course I can go to the parent of that directory (which might be large), 
scroll down to find the icon representing that directory, and drag the 
icon to Thump (which in my setup is already on the iconbar).  That's a bit 
of palaver, tiresome because it's an operation I frequently want to do.

I'm using Ro 5.25 on ArmX6 and 5.22 on Armini-Beagle, so the directory in 
question has input focus (which would not be the case in old versions of 
the OS) and various keystrokes are available on the filer menu:  F4 for 
full info, ^W to set CSD, ^T to change filetype, etc etc.

So I'm thinking it would be nifty to set up a keystroke for "tell Thump to 
display this directory".  (F11 is available.)

Thump 1.53 (2015-aug-10), which is the current version from Christopher 
Martin, loads to my iconbar at boot-up.  I also run Quickfiler 2.24 
(2015-july-19), from Martin Avison, which adds some keystrokes beyond what 
the native Filer provides.  (Unforch neither is listed on Plingstore.)
http://www.users.on.net/~belles/software/thump/
http://www.avisoft.force9.co.uk/QFiler.htm


-- 
Jim Nagel                                www.archivemag.co.uk
>> "From" address is genuine but will change.  Website has current one.

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#5567 — Re: directory with input focus / to Thump

In article <2b313f5357.jim@6.abbeypress.net>,
   Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> wrote:
> Of course I can go to the parent of that directory (which might be
> large), scroll down to find the icon representing that directory,
> and drag the icon to Thump (which in my setup is already on the
> iconbar).  That's a bit of palaver, tiresome because it's an
> operation I frequently want to do.

Why not simply drag one of the jpeg files in to !Thump. This will
open the image full (or scaled) size. Then simply close that image
with Adjust - the parent directory will open.

-- 
Chris Johnson

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#5574 — Re: directory with input focus / to Thump

Chris Johnson ("News")  wrote on 7 Nov:
> Why not simply drag one of the jpeg files in to !Thump. This will open the
> image full (or scaled) size. Then simply close that image with Adjust -
> the parent directory will open.

Thanks. A good workaround.  Julian Fry replied privately with a similar 
suggestion, saying Ctrl-V in Thump, which seems to do the same thing as 
Adjust-close.

But I've managed to do the whole trick with !Keystroke -- see downthread.

-- 
Jim Nagel                        www.archivemag.co.uk
>> "From" address is genuine but will change.  Website has current one.

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#5568 — Re: directory with input focus / to Thump

In message <2b313f5357.jim@6.abbeypress.net>
          Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> wrote:

> Andrew Conroy  wrote on 7 Nov:

>> In article <ff4abd5257.jim@6.abbeypress.net>,
>>    Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> wrote:
>>> Is there a nifty way of specifying the directory with input focus?
>>> What I want is to tell the path of that directory to an app that is
>>> running. [...]

>> Perhaps if you could give an idea of what the app will do with this info
>> (ie. is it going to send keypresses to the window?), we might be able to
>> work out a way to do it?

> OK.  I open a filer window, and I find it contains a number of Jpeg and
> other graphics files.  I want to see thumbnails of those graphics, so I
> want to open the same directory with !Thump.

> Of course I can go to the parent of that directory (which might be large),
> scroll down to find the icon representing that directory, and drag the
> icon to Thump (which in my setup is already on the iconbar).  That's a bit
> of palaver, tiresome because it's an operation I frequently want to do.

> I'm using Ro 5.25 on ArmX6 and 5.22 on Armini-Beagle, so the directory in
> question has input focus (which would not be the case in old versions of
> the OS) and various keystrokes are available on the filer menu:  F4 for
> full info, ^W to set CSD, ^T to change filetype, etc etc.

> So I'm thinking it would be nifty to set up a keystroke for "tell Thump to
> display this directory".  (F11 is available.)

> Thump 1.53 (2015-aug-10), which is the current version from Christopher
> Martin, loads to my iconbar at boot-up.  I also run Quickfiler 2.24
> (2015-july-19), from Martin Avison, which adds some keystrokes beyond what
> the native Filer provides.  (Unforch neither is listed on Plingstore.)
> http://www.users.on.net/~belles/software/thump/
> http://www.avisoft.force9.co.uk/QFiler.htm

I submitted a zip file a little while ago which could be the core of 
this - as this is a non-binary group I'm not sure what will happen to 
it.

It polls once a second and finds the title bar of the window whicjh 
currently has the input focus. (Most application windows don't return 
the tiutle, but either an empty string or something random.)

The changes it would need: delete the display window, which is not 
needed.
Remove setting a system variable.
Move the code into a key-pressed handler from the null handler.
Check that the title string returned is a file path - specifically 
that the last entry is a directory.
Use Wimp_StartTask to launch Thump, with the path as parameter one on 
the command line - ASSUMING THUMP WILL WORK THIS WAY.

I don't have time to do that just now - someone else want to have a 
go?

-- 
Alan Adams, from Northamptonshire
alan@adamshome.org.uk
http://www.nckc.org.uk/

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#5575 — Re: directory with input focus / to Thump

Alan Adams  wrote on 7 Nov:

> Use Wimp_StartTask to launch Thump, with the path as parameter one on
> the command line - ASSUMING THUMP WILL WORK THIS WAY.

Not sure about that; not mentioned in the Thump Stronghelp.
Will ask Christopher Martin, the maintainer.

-- 
Jim Nagel                        www.archivemag.co.uk
>> "From" address is genuine but will change.  Website has current one.

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#5580 — Re: directory with input focus / to Thump

On 07/11/2018 14:53, Alan Adams wrote:
> I submitted a zip file a little while ago which could be the core of
> this - as this is a non-binary group I'm not sure what will happen to
> it.

Dont post binaries of any other attachments to text only news groups.
Find some web space and post a URL.

---druck

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#5569 — Re: directory with input focus / to Thump

In article <2b313f5357.jim@6.abbeypress.net>,
   Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> wrote:
> Andrew Conroy  wrote on 7 Nov:

> > In article <ff4abd5257.jim@6.abbeypress.net>,
> >    Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> wrote:
> >> Is there a nifty way of specifying the directory with input focus?
> >> What I want is to tell the path of that directory to an app that is
> >> running. [...]

> > Perhaps if you could give an idea of what the app will do with this
> > info (ie. is it going to send keypresses to the window?), we might be
> > able to work out a way to do it?

> OK.  I open a filer window, and I find it contains a number of Jpeg and 
> other graphics files.  I want to see thumbnails of those graphics, so I 
> want to open the same directory with !Thump.

Ok. Does Thump have a way to programatically tell it to open a folder, or
do you have to drag the folder to it's icon? (I've not used it, so don't
know). If it doesn't have a way to tell it to open a folder other than by
dragging that folder to its icon then knowing what window has input focus
isn't going to direcly help you.

Andrew

-- 
+----------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
| Andrew Conroy, Owl-Art Un-Ltd.         | email: a.m.conroy@argonet.co.uk |
| Coming to you on an Acorn RiscPC SA110 |                                 |
+----------------------------------------+---------------------------------+
      The impossible I can do at once, miracles take a little longer!!

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#5571 — Re: directory with input focus / to Thump

Hmm. I tried !Keystroke (originally from Quantumsoft, still available from 
http://quantumsoft.riscository.com ) and find an promising possibility in 
its "*command" section:  it can set a system variable <filer$dir>.

I can make a keystroke on my open directory-with-input-focus do something 
like   *filer_opendir <filer$dir> -si 500 1500 500 1500
which merely opens the same dir at a new position, but demonstrates that 
the sysvar works.

But now, how could that be used to send a command to Thump ?

And if !Keystroke can set such a sysvar, could the Filer itself do that 
without the overheads of the Keystroke app?

-- 
Jim Nagel                        www.archivemag.co.uk
>> "From" address is genuine but will change.  Website has current one.

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#5573 — Re: directory with input focus / to Thump

Jim Nagel  wrote on 7 Nov:
> I tried !Keystroke ...
> But now, how could that be used to send a command to Thump ?

Eureka!  Cracked it using Keystroke.  It was fiddly to simulate 
select-clicking !Thump on the iconbar.  Also had to specify the sysvar 
<filer$dir> in the !Thump dialogue for "Iconbar > Quick directory (1)".  
Can send details or a freestanding Keystroke Executor file to anybody who 
asks.

> And if !Keystroke can set such a sysvar, could the Filer itself do that
> without the overheads of the Keystroke app?

That question remains.  I suggest it'd be a useful addition to the Filer 
or to Quickfiler.


-- 
Jim Nagel                        www.archivemag.co.uk
>> "From" address is genuine but will change.  Website has current one.

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#5572 — Re: directory with input focus / to Thump

Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> wrote:

> OK.  I open a filer window, and I find it contains a number of Jpeg and 
> other graphics files.  I want to see thumbnails of those graphics, so I 
> want to open the same directory with !Thump.

I think I might be able to write a little program that does this for you
Jim. Now... do I have any spare time?

Alan

-- 
RISC OS - you know it makes cents

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#5570

On Tuesday, November 6, 2018 at 2:22:07 PM UTC, Jim Nagel wrote:
> Is there a nifty way of specifying the directory with input focus?
> What I want is to tell the path of that directory to an app that is 
> running.
> 
You want a utility that sits on the icon bar and shows a 'save' dialogue from which you can drag a dummy icon onto !Thump's icon bar icon. That tells the utility how far along the icon bar that !Thumps icon bar icon is. A key press of f11 should then be intercepted by the utility to examine the title bar of the window with the input focus and to simulate a filer drag of any file that sits withinn that directory onto that icon bar icon.

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#5581

On 07/11/2018 17:52, svrsig wrote:
> You want a utility that sits on the icon bar and shows a 'save' dialogue from which you can drag a dummy icon onto !Thump's icon bar icon. That tells the utility how far along the icon bar that !Thumps icon bar icon is.

No need for that, and it wont always work anyway, remember the iconbar 
will scroll if it gets full.

You don't need any positions, you can enumerate all the icons on the 
iconbar, retrieving their icon number and owning task, which is enough 
information to allow you to send a message to the task simulating any 
action, such as dropping a file on the iconbar icon.

---druck

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#5582 — Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) / to Thump

druck  wrote on 8 Nov:
> You don't need any positions, you can enumerate all the icons on the
> iconbar, retrieving their icon number and owning task, which is enough
> information to allow you to send a message to the task simulating any
> action, such as dropping a file on the iconbar icon.

It's been done already.  Check out the module called Window Open.  I found 
that it neatly solves the puzzle I had in starting this thread: a quick 
way to send the active filer directory to Thump to show thumbnail images.  
Christopher Martin, the maintainer of Thump, suggested Window Open.

Result is that Alt-T now does the trick.  It uses the Keystroke utility to 
execute this one simple command:   *WO_openwind Thump <filer$dir>   Magic!

Window Open offers a number of other interesting commands, such as 
ensuring a task is running or removing one that is running, moving a 
window, etc.  Available from   http://armclub.org.uk/free
Originally by DEEJ, it was 32-bitted in 2002 by somebody called Druck.
;-)

-- 
Jim Nagel                        www.archivemag.co.uk
>> "From" address is genuine but will change.  Website has current one.

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#5583 — Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) / to Thump

In article <a370035457.jim@6.abbeypress.net>,
   Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> wrote:

> druck  wrote [snip] the module called Window Open.

Gosh - that was a judicious bit of snipping!

John

-- 
John Williams, now back in the UK - no attachments to these addresses!
Non-RISC OS posters change user to johnrwilliams or put 'risc' in subject!
Who is John Williams? http://petit.four.free.fr/picindex/author/

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#5584 — Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) / to Thump

In article <a370035457.jim@6.abbeypress.net>,
   Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> wrote:

> Originally by DEEJ,

David John

> it was 32-bitted in 2002 by somebody called Druck.

David John Ruck!

-- 
John Williams, now back in the UK - no attachments to these addresses!
Non-RISC OS posters change user to johnrwilliams or put 'risc' in subject!
Who is John Williams? http://petit.four.free.fr/picindex/author/

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#5585 — Re: directory with input focus (vs CSD) / to Thump

Jim Nagel <jnews18c@abbeypress.co.uk> wrote:

> Result is that Alt-T now does the trick.  It uses the Keystroke utility to

> execute this one simple command:   *WO_openwind Thump <filer$dir>   Magic!

Ah, it sounds as though you no longer need the little program I started
writing for you which will load a directory simply by dragging one of its
files to Thump.

Alan

-- 
RISC OS - you know it makes cents

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