Option to increase the number of 'Recent' categories

[loweskid]

Please will you consider having an option to increase the number of categories shown by the 'Recent' tab in the Categories panel (maybe up to, say, 50?).  I use this a lot but often the ones I want have already disappeared off the Recent list so I have to back through the other tabs.  I always have the panel open in a second monitor so there is lots of space available (see attached).

[Mario]

This is doable.
It's 50 now, for the next release.

[loweskid]

Wow, that was quick.  Thanks.

[Mees Dekker]

Could this be an option for the user do choose the number of recent categories in stead of a fixed number?

[Mario]

Yes. With a day or two of extra work. Why?

[Mees Dekker]

Simple: not to clutter the category panel. Any more than, say, 20 will bring the need for a scrollbar and therefore reduce the visible size for the recent categroeis.

[ubacher]

With my setup on my laptop 50 will make the thumbnails go off the bottom (become invisible) unless the scrollbar covers only the text.

[loweskid]

Well, it's not a major issue - I can live with the present limit of 20 if increasing it is going to cause more trouble than it's worth.

I must admit that I'm so used to using a second monitor that I can't imagine using IMatch without one (actually I use three monitors - I have the Viewer opening on the third).  Even on the rare occasions when I use my laptop I often use a second monitor, a little Lilliput monitor that I usually have hooked up to the DSLR camera when doing studio work.

[Mario]

As I always say, every user uses IMatch in different ways. From 1920 pixel notebook screens to 3 monitor setups.
It's not easy to implement features so they work well for all workflows and environments.

Changing the limit from 20 to 50 takes a minute.
Implementing a dialog box that allows users to configure this number will take at least a full working day, considering everything from design to documenting it in the Help System.

I'm tempted to keep the 50 and see how many users complain.
This of course depends on screen size and font scaling settings, average keyword length, if the Recent tab is used at all etc. It will scroll when the data displayed is too much for the panel size, but it scrolls as a unit (text and images together).

I don't want to overcomplicate this or add yet another settings and options dialog box.
We could fit this option somehow in the "Tabs" configuration dialog, but it would not really fit. This dialog is for configuring the category tabs displayed, not about the settings for individual tabs. We could also add a global option somewhere in Edit > Preferences > Applications. This would be fairly easy but nobody would find it.

And that's just the questions and decisions for this tiny feature, which is part of another tiny feature in IMatch...

[hluxem]

I certainly like the idea of more entries in the recent category tabs and it would definitely save me time. But I do have plenty of screen space and understand that this may not be helpful to others. If there is an option, I do think I would look in the category panel configuration dialog first.

Hard to make it right for everybody   

Heiner

[Mario]

I'll keep the 50 for the next release.
If several users complain, I will look again into this and into ways to make this configurable...