Xfce Forum

LvE

Member

Registered: 2018-09-09

Posts: 1

split screen in file manager

Dear developers,

I'm new to XFCE (Mint 19) (I came from Mint 17.2 KDE, which I found somewhat unstable, and it seemed to be the window manager so I started looking or something new; hello, XFCE 4!)
There is one thing about KDE that I miss, though: split windows (Norton Commander style) in the file manager, that was a feature I did use quite a lot. Is there any chance that would be included in a future update?
Thanks in advance!

MountainDewManiac

Member

From: Where Mr. Bankruptcy is Prez

Registered: 2013-03-24

Posts: 1,115

Re: split screen in file manager

Several years ago, before Thunar's developer added tabs as a feature, I very briefly tried PCMan File Manager (PCManFM). It had a dual-directory view. That wasn't what I was looking for, so I did not continue to use it, but I could see where such a thing would have its uses - if one must compare entries, line by line, in two separate directories/folders, for example.

As far as I know, it's still the default file manager for LXDE; I assume this means that it would be fast/responsive on anything approaching a "modern" computer (and at least usable on much older ones). I don't suppose it could replace all of the "behind the scenes" things that a desktop environment depends on its file manager to do (although I could be wrong), but you should be able to install it and use it for the "user tasks" stuff without having to remove Thunar.

There is also a fork of PCManFM called SpaceFM.

When I typed "thunar split screen" into a web search engine, this was the very first webpage on the list:
https://sites.google.com/site/easytipsf … split-view
...but this appears to be for older (Ubuntu and its derivitives)distro versions.

The second:
https://forum.manjaro.org/t/thunar-dual-pane/3779/9

The third:
https://unlockforus.com/thunar-split-vi … inux-lite/

Et cetera.

Regards,
MDM

EDIT: I provided the above information because merely posting "taint litely" (lol - people from rural Maine would get it), while answering your stated question, probably would not be all that helpful.

Also, I noticed that you began your post with "Dear developers." Be aware that this is not the official "hangout" for Xfce developers; while one or another might visit our forum on occasion, this appears to be pretty sporadic and should not be depended on if you wish to have any guarantee of successfully communicating with one of them. In other words, while it is certainly possible, it is akin to placing a note in a bottle, corking it, and throwing it into the nearest large body of water. This webpage shows all (as far as I know) current official Xfce email lists:
https://mail.xfce.org/mailman/listinfo/
...including both a Thunar-dev one, a more general Xfce developer one, et cetera.

Last edited by MountainDewManiac (2018-09-09 12:32:13)

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Mountain Dew Maniac

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mint4all

Member

From: off the map

Registered: 2018-08-21

Posts: 276

Re: split screen in file manager

Greetings!

Having used a number of split-window/dual-pane file managers for a long time (since they came about back in the 90s), it took me a while to adjust to NOT having such a feature once i decided to go with XFCE. However, I do remember that back in 2014, an XFCE-devote'e even offered a patch to XFCE's developers to restore the dual-pane feature to Thunar (much like Mate's Caja, and Cinnamon's Nemo have) -- no such luck.

I just checked that the patch still exists. It is discussed @ http://www.webupd8.org/2014/11/split-vi … hunar.html and the source code appears to be available still @ https://gitorious.org/xfce4-thunar/xfce … 4fb704b1c0:

Personally, i have a problem with the developers' attitude rejecting this useful contribution; so what if only a few users might use it, or know how to, but useful it still is ... Alas, Thunar's code-base has moved on (4+ years !) and now stands at v1.8.1, so retrofitting this patch might be problematic.

My workaround (rather than converting my DE to Mate or Cinnamon): i launch a 2nd Thunar window, close the side-pane with Ctrl+b, then snuggle it up to the 1st window side-by-side giving me a dual-pane view of sorts. Not elegant, but workable ...

Oh, and btw esteemed developers: that 2nd instance of Thunar causes a much greater memory-penalty than opening a 2nd window-pane inside the 1st instance -- so there goes the "low-footprint" argument. lol 

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Linux Mint 21.3 -- xfce 4.18 ... Apple iMAC -- Lenovo, Dell, HP Desktops and Laptops -- Family & Community Support

ToZ

Administrator

From: Canada

Registered: 2011-06-02

Posts: 11,486

Re: split screen in file manager

that 2nd instance of Thunar causes a much greater memory-penalty than opening a 2nd window-pane inside the 1st instance -- so there goes the "low-footprint" argument. lol 

This is not my experience.

USER       PID %CPU %MEM    VSZ   RSS TTY      STAT START   TIME COMMAND

//with one window open
toz      13895  9.3  0.5 513876 43548 pts/2    Sl+  12:44   0:00 thunar

//with two windows open
toz      13895  2.7  0.5 514860 44644 pts/2    Sl   12:44   0:00 thunar

//with three windows open
toz      13895  3.0  0.5 516548 46520 pts/2    Sl   12:44   0:01 thunar

There are minimal impacts to memory with every subsequent window of thunar that is opened (thunar 1.8.1).

Edit: Looks like this changed with the 1.8x branch. In prior versions you could run thunar in daemon mode to get a similar effect.

Last edited by ToZ (2018-09-09 18:13:14)

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mint4all

Member

From: off the map

Registered: 2018-08-21

Posts: 276

Re: split screen in file manager

@ ToZ ... Please tolerate my off-topic compliment: you are doing an incredible job moderating this forum! Sometimes it must feel to you a bit, like, "herding cats". You are sooo polite, on-point, respectful and helpful, it is a pleasure to post here [/offtopic]

Afaict, both Mint-18.3 & 19 run Thunar in deamon-mode, thus i must concur with your assessment re. that "footprint" i spoke of -- i apologize. I'll wait for Mint-19.1 and see how it goes. In any event, a dual-pane/-window file manager is a must-have for me; alas, the fact is that xfce just won't provide it. Therefore, right now i am using "Double Commander" which comes with a 56MB footprint, but does the job. PCmanFM (used on Lubuntu) pulls in unwanted dependencies, and SpaceManFM -- tested years ago -- turned out too buggy (though may have improved since, idk).

Needless to say, i'll be looking into resurrecting that Thunar-patch from 2013-14 (or cloning Mate's Caja), and then perhaps might create my own "Xunar" filemanager (if i can find the time learning xfce's toolchain & source repository) ...

Again, thanks for your excellent analysis, in this topic and others, too!

Cheers, M4A

---

Linux Mint 21.3 -- xfce 4.18 ... Apple iMAC -- Lenovo, Dell, HP Desktops and Laptops -- Family & Community Support

MountainDewManiac

Member

From: Where Mr. Bankruptcy is Prez

Registered: 2013-03-24

Posts: 1,115

Re: split screen in file manager

I experience a freeze with Thunar once in a while, maybe once per month on average. This might be because I'm using an old version - 1.6.10 - when I boot into Mint 17.3 (which is most of the time). It is rare enough that it doesn't really approach my "annoyance threshold," but if I end up encountering a file manager that catches my eye, I might try it a few times to see if I like it better. Which means I'm not going out of my way to find any... but I tend to read threads like this one.

right now i am using "Double Commander" which comes with a 56MB footprint

Might be significant if I ever get one of those Raspberry Pi things (on my wish list, but below "groceries" ), but in terms of the six gigabytes of RAM in my cheap 2012 laptop, it's probably less than the space that a period takes up on a printed page of text. So I'll add that one to my list for future consideration.

PCmanFM (used on Lubuntu) pulls in unwanted dependencies

According to Synaptic Package Manager, these are PCmanFM's dependencies:
libatk1.0-0 (>=1.12.4)
libc6 (>=2.14)
libcairo2 (>=1.2.4)
libfm-gtk4 (>=1.2.0)
libfm4 (>=1.2.0)
libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0 (>=2.22.0)
libglib2.0-0 (>=2.37.3)
libgtk2.0-0 (>=2.24.0)
libpango-1.0-0 (>=1.20.0)
libpangocairo-1.0-0 (>=1.14.0)
libx11-6

It recommends: gvfs-backends and gvfs-fuse (which seem like a good idea, because according to the Arch Wiki on PCManFM, "...is recommended for trash support, mounting with udisks and remote filesystems."). Also recommends four icon themes, which are (I guess?) more of a user preference thing.

Synaptic Package Manager states that pcmanfm conflicts with... pcmanfm. (This seems rather odd to me!)

I'm still extremely ignorant about all the "under the hood" aspects of linux, so would you be kind enough to explain which of those dependencies are unwanted ones (and why I shouldn't want them)?

I thought I should mark PCManFM for installation so that I could see which of those dependencies would have to be installed (I was assuming that one or more of them might already have been installed as part of installing some other application). And I am probably showing my ignorance here, but the two lists look significantly different!

When I marked the file for installation, I got the "Mark additional required changes?" window - which I expected, but expected to contain only the files from the above list of dependencies, and possibly not even all of those. Instead, the list is:
libfm-data
libfm-gtk-data
(*)libfm-gtk4
(*)libfm4
libmenu-cache-bin
libmenu-cache3
lxmenu-data

The two files that I prefixed with (*) are the only files that appear in both the list of dependencies and the list of files that would actually be installed. All the other files in the latter list... are not listed as dependencies! VERY confusing.

SpaceManFM -- tested years ago -- turned out too buggy (though may have improved since, idk).

I don't know which version of SpaceFM you previously tried, so some of these might have been fixed in or before that version. But I just viewed the changelog for the application, and did a search for "fix" - I got 161 matches, lol, so it would be reasonable to assume that a lot of bugs have been fixed. Developers do seem to introduce interesting new bugs from time to time, of course...

Here is that changelog for your convenience (placed within a pair of CODE tags for others' convenience ). If you can remember the bugs that bothered you, maybe looking through the list of changes will tell you whether or not they've been dealt with:

 756 lines (755 sloc) 37.5 KB
1.0.6   2018-Mar-04:
    Rename dlg canonicalize Copy Target/Link Target target when possible
    [installer] fix mktemp template and error handling for busybox #629
    [GTK2] fix black background dir load regression 888a7735 #578 #627
    [GTK3.20] fix theme parse warnings re close btn css #636
    [GTK2] iconview no longer responds to theme change #627
    Fix compilation failure due to glibc include changes #678
    update copyright, email in README, release, about-dlg.ui
    [installer] use newer package names libx11-dev libudev1; failsafe
    user manual minor updates #681
    remove from ptk-clipboard.c:  #include <stdlib.h> (was for realpath)
    default Devices|Root|Check fsck command add -r for repair
    File|Open URL add example mtp://
    release script add msgfmt po check
    add sftp to ssh protocol handler default whitelist (allows sftp://) #700
    settings.c:1930: (style) Clarify expression with parentheses #659
    fix segfault in ptk/ptk-dir-tree.c:430  #698
    fix newly imported file handlers appear in Plugins menu #688
    fix 1.0.2 708f0988 regression: Dbl-click to enter dir selects file #702
    fix segfault when dragging folder or file on desktop #654 [Teklad]
    [desktop] fix GTK3 icon movement, reliably get mouse state Teklad/spacefm#1
    load icon using icon name in theme if removed suffix fails #647 [Teklad]
    [desktop] Paint root window when there is no wallpaper #404 [Teklad]
    fix source file permissions [Teklad]
    fixed/added translations to pl.po [grimi via Teklad] Teklad/spacefm#5
    [GTK3.22] fix segfault dragging files to dir tree #649 #670 [Teklad]
    fix drag & drop segfaults #636 [BwackNinja]
    fix segfault on drag to reorder bookmarks
    fix davfs is not mounted #648
    fix fuse default protocol handler not added due to false positive test
    fix bookmark pane and toolbar two-finger right-click
    fix file list new bookmark with topmost bookmark selected
    fix mktemp in mtp handler not busybox compatible #624
1.0.5   2016-01-20:
    recreate too small cached thumbnails #584
    read $XDG_TEMPLATES_DIR via glib for user-dirs.dirs support #581
    Devices|Settings|Auto-Mount|Mount Dirs accept XDG vars, mkdir #558
    fix Paste in dir tree pastes to wrong dir #596
    menu key in dir tree changes dir and acts on correct dir #596
    [desktop] show video thumbnails on desktop
    Prefs add 384x384 icon size option
    obey StartupNotify when opening with desktop app
    configure.ac set G_LOG_DOMAIN
    fix main.c debug_gdk_threads_leave
    change detection blacklist detect new files #478 #582
    get mime type of only reg and link files, not char dev
    fix segfault in ptk_bookmark_view_reload_list to vfs_load_icon
    prevent filesystem find loop hang in new file/folder dialog #601
    fix crash on GTK icon theme reload; fix liststore memory leaks #566
    udevil iso unmount device handler new whitelist/blacklist #606
    fix broken key shortcuts in Open|In Panel menu #610
    add lxqt-sudo and lxsu to list of su frontends #617
    add support for qterminal in list of terminals
    make Paste As Target paste canonicalized final target when possible
1.0.4   2015-10-17:
    new spacefm-installer replaces self-extrct and install #571
    README rewritten and manual updated for new installer #571
    ifdef malloc_trim for non GlibC libraries #574
    fix HAL build #576; fix older GTK2 build
    Menu and Shift+F10 show side pane menus #575
    Design Menu shown with Menu key in addition to F2 #575
    dir tree allow keyboard navigation, keep focus #541 #575
    dir tree double-click expands/collapses row #542 #575
    dir tree context menu|New|Tab Here opens selected dir
    correct location for import GTK3 bookmarks; use basename #573
    dont continuously refresh copying video thumbnails #508
    new in /etc/spacefm/spacefm.conf: terminal_su and graphical_su #516
    build system now installs /etc/spacefm/spacefm.conf
    new configure option --sysconfdir=/etc to set location of /etc
    add new event for tab change dir evt_tab_chdir; update manual
    replace show-menu socket method with activate for all item types
    [Dialog] add non-visible element --click to run cmd on click #572
    [Dialog] fix some internal var names always set to %v #572
    increase max icon/thumbnail size from 256x256 to 512x512
    [Debian] control libffmpegthumbnailer4 | libffmpegthumbnailer4v5 #583
    [GTK3] fix wrong colors with dark variant of GTK themes #578
1.0.3   2015-08-26:
    add Devices|Settings|Auto-Mount|Mount Dirs option #548
    proto hand keep %a for lxterminal urxvtc konsole gnome-terminal #552
    convert non-latin keycodes to latin #57
    lang add ltg; update it lt pt_BR
    configure.ac define G_DISABLE_ASSERT to disable g_assert
    rename gphoto handler as ptp; whitelist ptp #555
    [GTK3] add icon chooser dialog #532
    Double-click in icon chooser clicks OK
    [GTK 3.14] Prevent empty rubberband selection GTK3.14 bug avoid #485
    Provide export and import of handler plugin files; update manual #484
    create %O archive in user-selected destination #562
    fix LilyTerm not working correctly eg unzipping file #567
    update spacefm.desktop for protocol handling
1.0.2   2015-06-02:
    toolbar redesign with design mode right-click ability
    add built-in toolbar items: Show Hidden, Show Thumbnails, Large Icons
    fix Compact view sometimes fails to scroll to selected file #502
    malloc_trim calls to flush out the free heap back to the OS when needed
    fix forgets compress handler after extract to #517
    no re-import bookmarks when up-down-upgrade from < 1.0.1
    Missing pixbuf unref in main_task_view_update_task
    Add keyboard shortcut for handler list in handler dialogs
    fix ftp handler ignores custom port in URL #523
    add Run As Task option to file handlers
    allow escape of underscore in item names #522
    fix Item Prop context opposite of Disable is Show instead of Enable
    get mime type icon from .local XML file before guess
    fix right-click on Bookmarks activates bookmark after menu #521
    fix right-click detailed view clears multiple-file selection #353
    add icon chooser [GTK2 only, GTK3 pending]
    add panel View context menu to main View menu
    add View|Style|Thumbnails (global)
    add show_thumbnails socket property
    fix missing paths on command line hangs introduced in f167b283 #468
    fix hang on access error on startup #539 introduced in f167b28
    fix icon/compact view left-click doesn't unselect other files
    write/read new mimeapps.list Default Applications #450
    archive handlers take precedence over file handlers
    scale menu item icons loaded from file
    force rebuild of folder_view for font change in exo_icon_view
    always reap async child with or without exec_keep_tmp #533
    default scroll desktop fix openbox #524
    always update status bar Reading msg
    item prop dlg text view scroll add shadow #532
    [desktop] fix linefeeds in desktop item names #543
1.0.1   2015-05-04:
    extended bookmarks system
    added users manual Bookmarks section
    fix --enable-hal build errors #496
    fix segfault in vfs_thumbnail_loader_free on abort thumbnail loading
    _vfs_thumbnail_load unref after gdk_pixbuf_apply_embedded_orientation
    MIME Menu prompt before creating files
    Open menu archive functions move to top if default
    rewrite ptk_file_browser_refresh; reselect cursor after refresh
    status bar shows Reading msg while dir loading #459
    new protocol handler http/webdav to top of list
    Bookmarks|New Bookmark default key shortcut Ctrl+D
1.0.0   2015-04-13:
    revert desktop dialogs pop to top #424 bba93a50 dlgs on wrong desktop
    update translations cs de ja pl pt_BR ru sv tr 
    add transparent background option [BwackNinja]
    fix Attempt to unlock mutex that was not locked startup error #468
    fixed 'Invalid cross-device link' when renaming aufs dirs
    configure option --disable-desktop-integration hides Prefs|Desktop tab #448
    fixed problem in command-line option --show-pref=N not showing Advanced tab
    add configure option --with-bash-path #452
    new transifex slug
    add Device Protocol File Archive handlers
    add default handlers: ftp ssh mtp gphoto/ptp ifuse fusesmb
    add video thumbnails via ffmpegthumbnailer
    add configure option --disable-video-thumbnails
    add change detection blacklist
    add mount and unmount run-task socket commands
    new maximum Small and Large icon sizes to 256x256
    new View|Style|Large Icons options for Detailed/Compact #478 #480
    Show|Display Name %n devnum
    open block device on command line eg spacefm /dev/sdd1
    allow bookmark block devices
    removed File|Save Session
    [GTK2] select next file after delete/rename current #411
    detect subdir mount
    fix evt_device not executed if Devices pane unshown
    fix GLib-CRITICAL source ID not found warning on file prop close
    improve output dlg scroll on error
    design menu fix show edit commands for submenus
    fix design menu confirm remove submenu ignores no
    fix Source ID not found warning in vfs_thumbnail_loader_free
0.9.4   2014-03-30:
    improve inotify error messages
    configure.ac default make options; fix -Wformat-security warning #416
    adjust new window maximized panel sizes #420
    fix toolbar checkbox item properties icon insensitive #418
    fix panel_sliders-key used as task height 0.9.2-0.9.3 #419
    reset Use-as-opener on import/install plugin; update man
    task error continue no present open task dialog
    gnome-terminal 3.10 no longer accepts --disable-factory #428
    desktop dialogs pop to top #424
    [GTK2] Preferences|Desktop table row collision #427
    [desktop] preserve location of renamed file(s)
    [dialog] remove blank lines reading file into drop, combo, m/list
    [dialog] remove linefeeds inserting value into input/-large
    [dialog] @FILE values not saved on cancel #321
    update translations de ru
    Preferences|Desktop|Font dlg honor cancel
    fix new config devices shown not saved
    path bar middle-click replace contents and activate
    open .desktop treat %u/%U as %f/%F per freedesktop spec
    single-click method no hover selection option #154
    update translations de ru sv
0.9.3   2014-01-17:
    fix memory leak on draw selection rectangle on desktop #397
    [Dialog] fix returned windowsize=1x1 [GTK 3.8+]
    fix maximized panel sliders not restored #402
    README, man: update kernel polling instructions #403
    look in applications subdirs for .desktop file; debug info #405
    clear g_ascii_strcasecmp warning on owner sort
    case insensitive app sort, tooltips, uniq in app chooser dialog #405
    startup test for /bin/bash installed #413
    task columns default expansion to avoid flicker #235
0.9.2   2013-12-06:
    README correct packages link
    manual note full/max col widths not saved #382
    adjust maximized and fullscreen behavior #382
    add su-to-root support
    detect rename of current folder and close tab #243
    fix list view auto drag action on drop to last row #387
    add design menu Edit Script; F4 opens script in editor
    task manager absolute height #380
    fix icon/compact dbl-click selects file in selected dir #218 #389
    fix open foldername.iso as automount iso
    allow ~/ prefix in bookmarks and hacked session files
    fix task auto scroll first show
    add design menu Edit Command
    update changed translations
0.9.1   2013-11-06:
    [gtk 3.8] fix run dialog reverts to minimum size
    fix icon change not saved (bookmark, tab, devices, etc) #367
    sakura terminal use -x with single argument
    fix crash in save_settings #369
    new panel config memory #372
    fix build problem on gtk < 2.24 #368
    new root window use HOME=/root incase no env reset
    fix Export from desktop menu
    man panel memory
    task man change default cols to current speed and remain
    fix identification of empty optical drive
    change default device icons
    add lilyterm to emulators list
    remove erroneous files from pkg branch
    README added wiki link Guidelines For Distributing Modifications
    limit evt_win_move events to 5 per second #380
0.9.0   2013-10-22:
    add browse-for options in Rename/New dialog Browse dialog
    run fm Devices menu functions in task man
    let vfs task show run-task missing file errors
    desktop prefs - insensitive wallpaper options if unchecked
    file props dlg - show target type of relative link
    Devices menu activate Open on left-click
    Devices menu activate Remove / Eject on middle-click
    Devices menu add Mount and Unmount
    device remove via desktop shows progress dialog
    fm Devices menu show and obey option Settings|New Tab
    allow HAL eject unmounted
    add HAL unmount optical in addition to eject
    fix HAL duplicate devices listed
    Devices list and menu Mount and Unmount sensitivity
    added desktop option Arrange Icons|Custom
    single-click or right-click on desktop or unselected unselects
    automatic desktop drag action
    Desktop prefs added margins, desktop single click
    add Open|Desktop Folder
    desktop name sort natural icase
    fix desktop center wallpaper larger than screen #296
    new default desktop background colors
    fix desktop shifted with panel #248
    revert mouse buttons 6 7 as back/forward (for horz scrolling) #294
    move packages to pkg branch
    add desktop prefs option Open folders with MIME app
    Open|Default on dir now uses MIME app
    obey desktop file keys Path and Terminal (+full bash Exec) #232
    execute separate commands on no desktop file Exec field code
    fix crash on special escape chars on command line #302
    add desktop pref font button
    allow set default/assoc apps for application/octet-stream (unknown)
    popup task compliance
    new design menu; Menu Item Properties dialog
    update manual/homepage locations (github.io)
    session dont save default menu labels and icons
    add item prop Context Use as opener for option
    add Context verb pattern matches for wildcards #214
    default Root|U/Mount commands use udevil
    remove translatable strings in exo view code
    clear hal build warnings for debian build issue #363
    x-terminal-emulator link resolved, added to terminals list #358
    drag to same dir sets auto drag action copy #304 #336
    Dialog fix segfault with --chooser filespec #320
    Translation strings adjusted #322 #318 #325 #326
    save session delayed on tab change if save tabs
    path bar steal enter key
    improved overwrite dir #330 #312
    support mips and other architectures - change to sys/inotify.h #311
    manual Rename and New File dialogs; adjust Options menu keys #268
    rename/new dlgs always focus first entry
0.8.7   2013-03-17:
    added translation files to transifex.com [Delix]
    Delix and Aqualung71 contributed to German translation
    Josué Hernández & CommanderC completed Spanish translation
    Teodoro Santoni contributed to Italian translation
    revert breadcrumbs to Ctrl+Click #266 and no auto seek on activate path
    fix broken key shortcut New|Link
    new desktop menu; new Devices menu
    fix open folder on desktop reuses browser on wrong desktop
    use menu key on desktop
    handle hyphened desktop references #118
    add link indicator to desktop icons
    file props show link target - closes #192
    file props allow change file dates
    Jui contributed to Czech translation
    fix spacefm -p 1 nospec opens wrong panel
    always present window on create
    dir change monitor truly canonicalize paths
    stabilize on fam/gamin server exited
    added socket properties: tab_count new_tab sort_... #225 #272
    fix File Search|Content|Case Sensitive checkbox function inverted #276
    added and documented socket method run-task #224
    run_in_terminal and edit_file deprecated yet left-in
    list double-click activates in app chooser
    mount webdav shares in terminal for password entry - udevil issue 21
    use mouse buttons 6,7 as back,forward in addition to 4,5 8,9 #279
    add WM_WINDOW_ROLEs
0.8.6   2013-02-13:
    fix cannot create directory or file on CentOS #253
    update russian translation
    case insensitive sort on Type, Owner columns
    move debian/ to distros/debian/ and update README
    Enter clicks Set, Esc twice clicks Unset in Set Key dialog
    added manual GUI|Find-As-You-Type Search
    New File/Folder/Link enabled if no write access for As Root
    fix cannot unset plugin key combo assignment
    added configure option --with-gtk2 to force gtk2 only build
    mount curlftpfs in terminal for password entry #251
    update custom protocol handler script in manual to use run_in_terminal
    mouse back/fwd buttons work anywhere in window
    don't show empty (all items context hidden) custom submenus #215
    path bar tab completion reworked, sorted
    added path bar option Auto Seek
    path bar unquote quoted paths
    path bar cmd history in completion popup
    path bar instance-wide cmd history
    path bar breadcrumbs on click no ctrl
    path bar limit/extend keys eaten
    un/select bookmarks and devices on change dir #259
    Russian translation updated
    status bar show selected/visible
    debian build-from-source packages optimize CFLAGS=-O2
    new link use target of current selected file #112
    context dialog value combo popup width #43
0.8.5   2013-01-14:
    fix left-click ignored in Open context submenu #31 #228
    Dialog fix progress bar; add auto-pulse
    [gtk3] task progress pulse don't show percent
    debian package add XXXXXXXX to mktemp template [dist]
    add key shortcut labels to Prefs default drag action
    left-click in toolbar config menu shows design menu
    fix Open|Default with multiple dirs selected
    gtk3 leaving beta; gtk3 debian package; ppa add spacefm-gtk3
    navigation/activation keys on desktop #247
    added Popups|Above Others and All Workspaces #226
    desktop dialogs on current workspace #246
    desktop Create New uses new creation dialog
    fix View|Events dialog formatting
0.8.4   2012-12-21:
    fix detail dbl click selects next #218
    fix dlg command pipe fast
    added task property popup_handler; man update
    added task list Show Output
    internal socket cmds show and focus NAME optional to present dlg
    Dialog add [SAVEFILE] argument to --viewer
    fix text wrapping corner case #206 [BwackNinja]
    Added context for several strings #220
    fix left-click ignored in context menu #31 #228
    [gtk3] add expand property to app chooser dlg for gtk3 #223
    Dialog --chooser --save DIR opens in DIR
    [gtk3] Dialog label wrap min width closes BwackNinja issue #25
    Dialog send stdout of external commands to /dev/null
    socket add props edit_file and run_in_terminal
    [gtk3] create archive dlg expand options entry
    dbus and libdbus dependency changed to optional
    main-window.c include wait.h #239
0.8.3   2012-11-24:
    added --socket-cmd #142
    added View|Events menu
    stop elapsed timer during overwrite query
    vfs no report access errors during total size
    configure --disable-pixmaps is now the default
    added beta test --with-gtk3 build option (merge gtk3 branch)
    updated README with BUILD GTK3 BETA instructions
    allow ctrl-rubberband add to selection #46 [BWackNinja]
    reduce spacing of icon and compact modes #188 [BWackNinja]
    automatic orient thumbnails #183 [BWackNinja]
    add wallpaper Zoom mode #4 [BWackNinja]
    fix icon label centering #51 [BWackNinja]
    fix icon/compact cannot drag multiple #194
    restore Prefs SI File Sizes #117
    move Prefs Rubberband Select to context View|Style as detailed only
    add secondary sort by name to desktop-window #196
    updated russian translation
    hide unmounted /dev/ramN closes #202
    fix make fail gtk2.18 replace gtk_dialog_get_widget_for_response
    dialog allow arbitrary text in progress bar
    dialog %(command) accepts bash command line
    document Unmount On Exit ignored on X logout kill #204
    address debian packaging warnings #209
    fix segfault on middle-click bookmarks empty #208
    Dialog label --wrap|--nowrap, all --compact --expand
    command line add --version option
    add fm_edit function
    Dialog add --window-close; add [REVERSE] to close
    fix status bar text color not set on new tab
0.8.2   2012-10-25:
    fix --enable-hal build issues (affected 0.7.6 thru 0.8.1)
    overwrite dialog replace text view with labels
    add From: to task popup
    fix destination contained in source error
    fix cut paste directory replace error #174
    task popup From/To adjustments
0.8.1   2012-10-21:
    added task manager queue/pause #147
    disable task manager find
    set minimum dialog and task pane sizes #56
    added Tasks user manual section
    fix clang compile error #162
    fix hang on dir tree sel access error #164
    fix file search find within symlink dir #122
    add double-click opens file search result #109
    fix vfs move dest symlink device determination
    abort copy/move remove incomplete file
    move Sort submenu from Style to View submenu
    gtk 2.18 compatibility #146
    remove explicit libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0 dependency #146
    added precision timer for more accurate/smooth copy speeds
    btrfs moint point detection workaround #165
    fix segfault on blank Preferences Terminal setting #166
    add rxvt to terminal programs list #166
    desktop drop onto folder #45
    fix new tab path merged if the last dir spec is / #167
    libstartup-notification-0.9 or -1.0 optional #19 #146
    adjustment for build on debian squeeze (gtk 2.20 glib 2.24)
    ctrl-Q as default Exit key
    allow stop of exited task #168
    auto stop on bad exit status #168
    updated Russian translation
    added partial Dutch translation by tct1501
    remove vert scrollbar compact mode
    per task error and overwrite options; auto rename
    added View|Tasks|Queue|Pause On Error
    click in icon/compact unselects others
    rewrite vfs abort handling
    emit created on netfs rename
    rework overwrite dialog
    allow overwrite file with link
    icon view mode automatic vertical scrollbar
    rewrite get_name_extension
    rework stop if error first
    focus file list on task man hide
    exit status zero on dialog help
    popups|stay on top no longer default
0.8.0   2012-09-14:
    fix horiz scroll on single-click mode auto-select #137
    deprecated keys in spacefm desktop files #136
    fix path bar font not set on new browser
    default keys for Go|Tab|Tab N = Alt+1 thru Alt+0
    license bumped to GPL3+
    added SpaceFM Dialog
    Task Show Output raises only once
    custom default command script
    fix crash on no src paths #143
    fix readlink buffer size
0.7.11  2012-08-15:
    added --no-saved-tabs, -n command line option to not load saved tabs #110
    --reuse-tab can be used in conjunction with other options
    File|Root Window opens current folder #116
    specifying --panel=N without a dir shows and focuses panel N
    handle network URLs on command line
    user manual Invocation updated
    added dependency libgtk2.0-bin [spacefm 0.7.10 with --disable-pixmaps]
    find-as-you-type search options #85
    rename dialog name selection UTF-8 compliant #127
    replace G_VALUE_INIT macro #126
    added file list Edit|Select By Pattern
    adjust parse url
    Show Output option should open on additional output after closure
    Remove Text Type Association popup note
    display file sizes and times in overwrite query
    file change detection blacklist non-block nfs fuse cifs smbfs ftpfs #129
    percent in path bar select by pattern
    fix hang on click on 5000+ selected files in list view
    clean udevil mount points on device removal, exit
    fix auto umount on eject
    fix icon view drag target #132
    added custom Protocol Handler setting to Path Bar context menu
    status bar show canonicalized current dir
    added Go|Real Path
    added user manual GUI|Path Bar
0.7.10  2012-07-25:
    added sort options #87 #37 #23
    completed russian translation ru.po
    smart size display for free space and tasks closes #115
    case insensitive sort detect all created files #119
    fix Skip All in overwrite query
    added configure option --disable-pixmaps to install icons to share/icons
    new icons for faenza theme by Goran Simovic
    G_VALUE_INIT undefined #126
    allow file change detection on aufs and devtmpfs
0.7.9   2012-07-13:
    new threading for tasks
    network filesystem lag issues improved
    no file change detection on non-block filesystems
    timeout size calc after 5 sec
    don't calc total size of files to delete for speed improvement
    close copy read file on error
    handle progress gt 100%
    remove deadlock on quick dir change
    tforsman new swedish translation partially completed (40%)
    jpfleury updated french translation
    task manager Path column renamed Folder
    ellipsize Folder, Item, To task manager columns
    always enable Root submenu in devices
    set font new/rename file dialogs Target Template entries
    give errors accessing directories
    verbose tar extract/create
    fix for urxvtc #106
    check non-zero size before thumbnail scale (pixbuf in #107)
    run update-desktop-database; mime docs
0.7.8   2012-06-16:
    use/update mimeapps.list over defaults.list closes #71
    added design mode on mime apps opens MIME menu
    deprecated MimeType x-directory removed from spacefm desktop files
    new archive save dialog uses literal filename and extension fixes #82
    accept options in terminal program setting
    added user manual MIME Menu section
    accept network urls
    mount iso files from Open context menu; auto-mount iso
    added Root|Edit udevil.conf to devices menu
    allow edit bookmark to network URL
    corrected Click runs executables pref not saved fixes #84
    auto-unmount removed media and devices
    support xfce terminal
    improve new file/folder/link dialog
    change deprecated gdk_pixbuf_ref to g_object_ref
    don't remove .gz file when extracting closes #90
    CLI added -r, --reuse-tab  Open folder in current tab of last used window
    corrected non-translatable strings pulls #100 fixes #88
    new french translation complete
    no cancel sel on desktop right-click in single-click mode fixes #76
    dont open pipes for mime type even if size > 0 closes #80
    mouse buttons 8 and 9 on file list go back and forward (like 4 and 5)
    fixes extract multiple zip,7z,rar files
    changed File Name Contains: to Filename: in File Search fixes #86
    corrected duplicated menu key shortcuts fixes #92
    error on missing edit udevil.conf fixes #98
    sync new file open; select new closes #35
    added Design Mode Style|Confirmation (dialog) #52
0.7.7   2012-05-27:
    escape mount point in dev props scripts fixes #70
    fixed File|File Search keybinding
    extract zip, rar, 7z in terminal for output & password prompt fixes #72
    if no 7za, use 7zr for 7zip extraction and creation closes #62
    added rar creation closes #36 ; rar zip & 7z creation runs in terminal
    fixed hang on new tab added after mount
    fixed make errors with --disable-desktop-integration fixes #78
    udevil discovery; pmount ahead of udisks
0.7.6   2012-04-19:
    unmount on exit no longer default (affects new installs)
    documented deb packages require $TMPDIR not be noexec closes #64
    relax has media criteria fixes #68
    hack for icon theme missing application-x-xz-compressed-tar fixes #55
    added kernel polling recommendation to docs closes #66
    desktop new tab present window fixes #16
    file permissions show SUID and SGID bits
    file permissions show char device, block device, pipe, socket
    panel show inhibit tab creation on spec
0.7.5   2012-04-14:
    replaced udisks with libudev kernel support for device detection and info
    udisks v1 & v2 now supported for mount/unmount as normal user
    added device Settings|Un/Mount Command options to customize mount program
    corrected race condition create tmp dir
    status bar update fixes
    side box fixed size fixes #6
    scroll setting retained between sessions fixes #13
    fixed file info update on existing fixes #14 fixes #15
    reuse window on open folder on desktop fixes #16
    built-in archive functions on desktop closes #18
    shift-click selects range on desktop closes #47
    code review
    consistent 64bit file size support fixes #60
    added Foresight Linux to README and manual closes #59
    added automatic use of pmount if udisks not installed
    copy user config skeleton from /etc/xdg/spacefm
    default drag action option; repair automatic drag context
    file search size limit toggles sensitivity
    added translation instructions to the README
    support for kdesudo and $(kde4-config --path libexec)/kdesu
0.7.4   2012-04-01:
    added git build instructions to README
    better standards compliance for data doc dirs fixes #8
    no del on move error independent of error control fixes #9
0.7.3   2012-03-29:
    new icons and logo by Goran Simovic plus alternates
    added context sensitive help on design menu
    changed/added design mode key and mouse shortcuts
    renamed Smartbar to Path Bar
    renamed View|Toolbox to View|Toolbar
    when copy context, copy plugin skin context
    equate display :0.0 & :0 fixes #5
    changed debug info for sf ticket 88000
    fixed panel bar always shown on cancel fullscreen
    no folder size display; right-align size column
    moved refresh to after home/default on left toolbar
    fixed issues affecting opensuse build 
    added support for xdg-su and gnomesu
    corrected problem copying plugins
    fixed segfault on toolbar config menu?
    changed default drag action to copy (hold shift or ctrl+shift to override)
0.7.2   2012-03-05:
    exec function redesign (single script, noexec /tmp ok, ktsuss2 support,
        added /usr/bin/spacefm-auth)
    submitted ktsuss2 bug reports
    additional and updated language strings including shell prompts
    copy menu item now copies context
    can now create MBR and FSArchiver backups of mounted volumes
    changed 20x20 icon sizes to 22x22 to prevent blur from scaling
    apply prefs small icon size to devices, bookmarks, dirtree icons
    tab icons default to 16x16 if available in gtk icon theme
    fixed segfault on open multiple files in File Search window results
    completed open selected dir in File Search window results
    corrected folder selection history skipping empty selection
    user's manual updated to reflect changes, minor corrections
0.7.1   2012-02-21:
    changed temp file usage for better multiple instance separation
    removed sync/flush as default mount options
    auto run|on unmount no longer depends on auto-mount qualification
    auto run|on remove no longer depends on auto-mount qualification
    added auto run sensitivity
    corrected click on desktop icon obeys 'Click runs executables'
    corrected paste replace with linefeeds into multi-input
    corrected reversed order of files copied onto clipboard
    default plugin name converts spaces to hyphens
    corrected icon view change show hidden doesn't update status bar
    fixed segfault on open multiple files in File Search window results
    fixed File Search results right-click on unselected selects
    submitted gdk-pixbuf bug 670476 on segfault when loading drives.svg 3.2.0
    allow rename of desktop items (desktop file Name[locale] value)
    fixed rename desktop file, extension != desktop
    fixed segfaults on desktop rename / delete / paste
0.7.0   2012-02-14:
    changed custom command/plugin dir structure
    added design menu Command|Browse
    corrected unrealized event on main window focus (directly to menu bar)
    fixed xfce4-terminal, gnome-terminal, lxterminal, konsole, terminator
    renamed eterm Eterm
    fixed 'please set your terminal' error does not close
    added user manual: design mode, plugins
    disallow spaces etc in tmp_dir and --config-dir
    pulse progress bar to 0% on error/about or 100% on finish
    added debug info for toolbar config button
    fixed invalid ->next->prev on custom separators - auto repair session
    configure and debian files updated to require libgtk >= 2.24
0.6.3   2012-02-08:
    updated POTFILES.in and translatable strings - ready for translations
    corrected makefile problems adding translations to desktop files
    added devices Settings|Show|Empty Drives option
    added unique separators
    click runs executables default to false
    removed pref Show SI deciaml file sizes
    added pref Right-click opens design menu
    click on blank area of devices and bookmarks unselects
    added View|Panel Bar option
    updated distributed licenses, Help|About|License
    corrected click on toolbar config menu icon clears smartbar
    --desktop mode now works with instance already running
    fixed item value memory for check/input style plugins
    fixed key assignments on plugins
    fixed paste custom command into toolbar (no Show option in design menu)
    completed custom toolbar command activation
0.6.2   2012-02-05:
    corrected multiple tasks listed for single function
    changed default name of context|Move to Rename
    removed color dialog and task list debug info
0.6.1   2012-02-01:
    dir monitor create/delete cache rewrite
    segfault on Highlight Bar/Text color dialog corrected? added debug info
    corrected segfault on Properties|Info keypress with no selected files
    Properties|Info/Permissions now shown with no selected files (cwd)
    disabled smartbar breadcrumb on middle-click (now ctrl-leftclick only)
    corrections to archive extractions
    Copy Name/Parent/Path now also copies to primary (middle-click) clipboard
    disabled default highlight of selected status bar due to theme issue
    removed single quotes from device volume label display
    corrected devices horiz scrollbar not disappearing when unneeded
    added sdebug info for task list issue
0.6.0   2012-01-31:
    added design menu > Style > Context
    added panel bar
    added status bar panel icons
    added status bar highlight colors
    added status bar mouse responses
    added ctrl-click breadcrumbs to smartbar (ctrl-click on part of path)
    disabled double-click on blank area of file list goes up due to complaints
    corrected new second tab if not always show tab bar causes horiz scrollbar
    added Open > Default to open all files with default apps / pre-context
    added Properties > Quick > rwxrwxrwt  and Root > rwxrwxrwt
    added View > Fullscreen
    fixed File Search add All Local Disk Partitions (and rename Local Volumes)
    numerous minor UI adjustments
0.5.5   2012-01-22:
    added 100ms cache for inotify create/delete events
    corrected keys not responding: Open|Choose, Open|In Panel|Next/Prev
    corrected column size changing on new tab/panel
    corrected column width save
    if no folder spec on cmdline, open new window of same instance
    removed gnome-icon-theme as recommended dep
    reverted to single-click opens multiple files to fix drag/band breakage
    mouse buttons 4 and 5 on file list go back and forward
    mouse alt+left/right goes back/forward
    fixed New|File/Folder not grayed when no write access
    corrected broken close icon on tabs when gtk theme not set
    don't install mount.rules if not hal build (data/Makefile.am)
    corrected thumbnails for compact view not displayed
    pref dlg removed "(applies to icon view only)" from Show Thumbnails
    corrected refresh undisplays thumbnails
    optional /etc/spacefm/spacefm.conf to set tmp_dir (default /tmp)
    added additional default key shortcuts
    added item count to confirm delete dlg
0.5.4   2012-01-19:
    added CFLAGS+="-g" and !strip to Arch Linux PKGBUILD
    default icons now use only gtk icons
    removed startup warning for no gtk theme available
    fixed repeated pref dialog save root settings prompt
    added sensitivity to toolbar nav buttons and Go menu items
    corrected Go|Panel focus of previously hidden panel
    corrected change device Display Name triggers automount of unmounted
    added bookmarks Settings|Single Click option
    added shared_keys for toolbar items
0.5.3   2012-01-18:
    corrected segfault on File|Root Window (main-window.c - note to self: 
        don't free memory immediately after allocation)
    remove udisks not installed sh error on startup (vfs-volume-nohal.c)
    corrected segfault on click device Properties? (ptk-location-view.c)
    changed device Open to always open in current tab, show error
    inhibit auto-open tab and exec-on if user manually mounts/remounts
    inhibit auto-open tab and exec-on during startup automounting
    show app icons of .desktop files in detailed file list
    .desktop files obey 'Click runs executables'
    corrected Open|Execute ignored
    fixed middle-click on bookmark pane opens in tab
    moved bookmark 'opens in new tab' setting to context menu
    added toolbar icon size option in preferences
    renamed Left/Right/Side toolbar config menus
    added device Settings|Display Name (custom device name format)
    added View|Window Title for custom title (new default: full path)
    added toolbar config menu help item
    removed "Detailed style only" qualifier from Rubberband Select in prefs
    changed single-click mode left click on multiple files now opens only one
0.5.2   2012-01-16:
    corrected segfault in devices list when changing settings with no devices
        shown (ptk-location-view.c)
    corrected gentoo make error? (ptk-file-task.h:17:29: error: redefinition
	of typedef PtkFileTask)
    corrected ./configure --help output not up to date
    removed 'udisks not installed' warning on startup
0.5.1   2012-01-14:
    corrected syntax error in Arch Linux PKGBUILD creation
    corrected problem in settings.c which caused reported make error on
	unidentified distro
    corrected deb pkg conflict with pcmanfm-mod - rename file libmimetype.xml
0.5.0   2012-01-13:
initial test release

Are there any other file managers that work okay under Xfce (solely as a file manager, I suppose, as I'd probably continue to let Thunar do whatever Xfce uses it for)? I don't really have much in the way of requirements, other than tabs. Years ago, when GNOME 2.x was current/supported/developed, I liked being able to hover my mouse cursor over an audio file and it instantly playing without me needing to run a media player; but in recent years I just use VLC for everything, so this is a feature that I probably wouldn't even use these days.

Regards,
MDM

---

Mountain Dew Maniac

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alcornoqui

Member

Registered: 2014-07-28

Posts: 832

Re: split screen in file manager

@mint4all Are you documenting your tweaks and changes? I use a 1Gb RAM netbook as my daily driver, so that's very interesting to me, though I'm wary of big tweaks that may break with updates, as I lack the chops to maintain them...

Regarding Thunar and split screen, before I moved to Linux I was hooked and amazed with FreeCommander for Windows. I still miss it, and none of the native split screen file managers for Linux comes even close to it, so instead of chasing the impossible, I settled with a very similar usage to yours, with two (or more, but usually two) Thunar windows.

The shortcut for Thunar is Super+f (with Ctrl+Super+f going to my 2nd most used dir). Thunar opens in a window that's 50% wide, 100% high, so if I do Super+f+f I get contiguous Thunar windows, mimicking split screen. I can move windows in the four directions with shortcuts Super+arrows (not just Thunar windows), so I can effectively get split screen anything.

Thunar doesn't have all the features that FreeCommander has, but Xfce+GNU/Linux does, so in the end I can do a lot of split screen stuff, and thus I'm very pleased with Xfwm+Thunar for my use case.

It's true that Thunar doesn't have that many features, but it lives in a very flexible environment!