RFC (Request for Comment): Thumb Tip...

[Mario]

I'm currently looking into a small but maybe useful feature from my to-do list: Thumb Tips.

A Thumb Tip is a tooltip window which shows the first n files in a folder, a category or a collection. The idea that you can quickly preview what's in a folder/category by just pointing with the the mouse cursor at it. In a mock-up this looks like:



A thumb tip showing the contents of the folder 04.


I could also envision this tooltip to show when you point at a version or stack icon in a file window, showing the first n versions or stack files. This may be more or less helpful, depending on your workflow.

I would add a global switch (E > P > Application) to disable this feature - for the users who don't like this.

What do you think?
Please really think a bit about it, don't just vote for it because you think that every feature which does not cost anything is good to have 
How many thumbs? 12 OK?
In my tests it is fast enough to update as fast as you move the mouse.
The tip does show with a 2 second delay, like any other tooltip. It does not pop up all the time, only when you rest the mouse for a second or so.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[jch2103]

It sounds like this could be useful when working in Media & Folders or Categories view, to remind the user of what's in the folder/category. (I'm inconsistent about using versions and stacks, so that would be less immediately useful to me, but I can see that it would offer advantages.)

Twelve images for preview sounds reasonable: enough images to get an idea of what's there, but not so many that it exact a big delay penalty.

As you suggest, there should be an option to toggle this feature on and off.

[RalfC]

+1

Also to me this sounds a great idea (independent of cost )

I can also see a use for the versions/stacks as it means that for checking what is in there could be done by just hoovering the mouse over the stack instead of expanding it.

Regards,
Ralf



PS: Pricing is your decision and you have given already a couple of new features for free. IMHO (in my humble opinion), everybody can decide if an update/upgrade is important enough to spent money (or not) when a price is set.

[Ferdinand]

This would be useful for me, although not necessarily a high priority.  My folders are date named, and I often find myself searching for a folder.  If I was more consistent in using folder friendly names then it would be less useful, but still some

Will this use those thumbs.db files?

[Richard]

I would have no use for this feature. I know what is in my folders and categories.  However, I can see where it could be a huge benefit where other people have access to a database but are not familiar with that database. Like in a business.

[ColinIM]

(....)
How many thumbs? 12 OK?

I think a smaller set of 6 thumbs would be enough for me ... for the rare times when I might use this feature.

I would be much more likely to welcome a pop-up like this when I'm touring around my Categories, although (purely as a guess ...) I suppose IMatch would need to work harder behind the scenes to assemble a set of thumbs for certain complex Categories than it would do for a set of images in one folder.

Admittedly my next point will nudge us off-topic a little ... but if we're contemplating additional pop-up options ... I would really really love to be able to see a pop-up revealing the description(s) that I'd given to my Categories (especially to my Keywords) while hovering my mouse over them in any panel in which they're listed.  (I've considered adding a Feature Request for this ...)

Colin P.

[ColinIM]

(....)
Will this use those thumbs.db files?

I hope such a feature would not rely upon finding those thumbs.db files ... because I configure all my Windows installations not to generate them - and I delete any thumbs.db files that happen to exist following a new Windows installation.

(I'd almost forgotten about these thumbs.db entities, but I've never forgotten how troublesome their seemingly perpetual 'locked' status can be for those of us who maintain our Windows systems using mostly non-Microsoft-provided tools & utilities.)

Colin P.

[Ger]

No real need for me. I'm quite comfortable with my structure to quickly find what I need. If I'm for any reason searching for something particular in e.g. the timeline, then the first 12 or 6 thumbs probably don't give enough of a clue whether the searched image is somewhere in this particular folder.

If seeing versions are important for me, I built a separate workspace where a version panel is permanently visible and at the moment this suits me fine.

Ger

[Mario]

Will this use those thumbs.db files?

No. IMatch never uses the Windows thumbnails, it's much faster to use the thumbnails IMatch has already in the database.

[sinus]

For me it would be a "nice to have" - but I would not really use it, because I know, what in my folders is.
Hence for me personally this would be not necessary.

[cytochrome]

It would be a small convenience and a possible nuisance.

I use folder names mostly like month-year: I don't immediately remember what's in June-2011. But the folder can be quite big, it spans a whole month = different events, the 6-8 first images wont give a view of event 2, 3 etc..

It is simpler to click on the folder name and then use the mouse wheel to quickly review the content of the folder. Furthermore, the display of the thumbs might go in the way of other info present on the screen. So no big priority for me.

Francis

[ChrisMatch]

I would consider it as 'nice to have' but there are other things (like printing) that I am waiting for 

But if this should come, I suggest that - if there are subfolders, subcategories or subkeywords - you also show some images of the sub-folders/categories/keywords - not only the first 12 images of the 'root'. This way one could get a better impression of what is inside.

[HaWo]

I don't need it in my privat situation.

[ddprat]

Actually i don't see how this feature may be helpfull for my practice (nature & widlife DB) because my folders are based on a three levels year/month/day hierarchy and my  categories are full latin and common name, so i allway know the content of the current folder.

Nevertheless, i think it may be helpfull with my family database (without a good categories organization) to quickly identify an event or a visit in a folder, so why not, but not a priority for me.

André

[DigPeter]

I do not feel strongly about this.  My file structure is by year|month|day so it would be nice to have for the few occasions when I want to access a folder directly, but I normally look for images through categories, which are self explanatory.

[tmcgill]

I wouldn't consider it a high priority, personally, but it would be something I would probably enable and find nice, especially for showing versions without having to open up a versions panel. You might consider, rather than doing 12 thumbnails, doing 11 and a "..." in the 12th position if there are more than 12, to avoid giving the impression that the complete contents are shown. If you really wanted to get carried away, the tooltip window could be a complete, scrollable, mini file list that would allow scanning through the contents of a folder or category without clicking on it and thereby losing the list you're already looking at.

[JohnZeman]

While it might be handy for me occasionally I really wouldn't need this either.

[hro]

Not a high priority for me.
I have organised my images in Year/Month folders and make good use of categories (e.g. projects, events, locations, people, etc.)

Good idea, however.

[ubacher]

Same here - I can't see myself using it.
Much more interesting: a quick way to pop up a full size image of a thumb.
Opening up the auto-hidden quick view is too slow/inconvenient.

[pajaro]

Much more interesting: a quick way to pop up a full size image of a thumb.
Opening up the auto-hidden quick view is too slow/inconvenient.

+1

That's exactly what I would really appreciate.

[ChrisMatch]

Much more interesting: a quick way to pop up a full size image of a thumb.
Opening up the auto-hidden quick view is too slow/inconvenient.

+1

That's exactly what I would really appreciate.

+1
would be great (I use this feature all the time in PhotoNinja)

[Mario]

Tip: Adding feature requests to an RFC and commenting on them will do no good. I don't check old RFC posts for potential feature requests.

IMatch allows you to view files in the Viewer, the Slide Show and the Quick View Panel. If you need to quickly preview a file, keep the Quick Preview Panel open, or floating or on a second monitor.

[Aubrey]

Not a high priority for me.
I know what is in my categories, from names given.
Folders are organized by year and then month

Thanks,
Aubrey

[Nytewulf]

It's definitely a feature I'd use, but it's not a high priority.

John

[lnh]

Not a high priority for me either. Would rather see some other features. Once things are in IMatch, you use the myriad of tools already available to find what you're looking for. It would be nice as a system level file explorer extension before pictures make it into IMatch, but that is a whole different thing.

[afengler]

Low priority for me.
Majority of my pictures are categorized by scientific family, genus and species name (flora and fauna of California) so I do not have a big need for this feature. It might be "nice to have" for other non-categorized images.

Alf

[sinus]

I didn't realize, that this could also be used for looking in the file window for stacking and versions. There this would be a fine thing, what would be very helpful! Because I have a lot of stacks and versions, I would like it. Sorry, that I have only thought at folders, I should have read Mario's post more carefully. B-)

[Mario]

...allow scanning through the contents of a folder or category without clicking on it and thereby losing the list you're already looking at.

You can always go back and forward in your folder history using the toolbar buttons in the Media & Folders View.

I didn't realize, that this could also be used for looking in the file window for stacking and versions. There this would be a fine thing, what would be very helpful! Because I have a lot of stacks and versions, I would like it. Sorry, that I have only thought at folders, I should have read Mario's post more carefully. B-)

Quickly checking the contents of a stack or version stack is in fact one of the main benefits of this.



I decided to implement this new feature because the mock up worked so well for my sample databases and I estimated it to take only about 4 hours. It took almost 8 in the end, because I stumbled upon a glitch in the XAML processor I use to render the thumbnails. Such things just happen.

I've also added a text footer which displays the description/comment of the folder/category/time line node under the cursor. This will be an extra benefit for users who work a lot with folder and category comments, because you can see them now even if the property panel is hidden.



And you can toggle it via the View menu (<F9>,<T>) so it won't get in the way.



[attachment deleted by admin]

[HaWo]

This sounds better. Now I will use it in categories and so on.

[Aubrey]

I would like to change my opionion to +1.

I can see myself using this development when checking my versions.

Thanks,
Aubrey.