Provide a collection of preinstalled custom actions, which can be enabled

Andre Miranda @andreldm said:

(In reply to alexxcons from comment 0)

You would like such a feature ?

Are you asking this to me? :)

Well, I mostly disagree, we can for sure ship some more actions, the idea to make them disable by the default is a very good one, but there many from the wiki that doesn't make sense to the average user IMHO.

"Finding files inside the current/selected folder with catfish/gnome-search-tool" - catfish at least is now an official project. "Working with archives (tar, gzip, etc)" - What about TAP? "Playing music files" - xmms? what about mpc, clementine, vlc, Gnome music and Spotify? I think that's the reason we have "Open with". "Burning an ISO file to a CD" - Same "Viewing images" - Same "Converting PNGs to JPEGs" - What about gif, webp, tiff...? "Losslessly Rotating JPEGs" - Image viewers can do that, or just open the file with Gimp "* as root" - Not sure it's a good idea to ship this, anyone that cares to do stuff as root will do it in a terminal or is savvy enough to create the custom action. "Creating a symbolic link" - What about drag + ctrl + shift? "Saving the selected file/folder's pathname to the clipboard" - When copying a file/folder and pasting in a text field we get the full path "Setting an image as the desktop background" - We already have a plugin for this. "Viewing the disk usage of the current directory" - Folder properties already shows this info "Using 'nano' text editor in a terminal" - What about vim, visual studio code, atom, intellij...? "Download subtitles with periscope" - Why not download stock prices, format them as csv and open Calc?

My point is: most of them are specific to few users, even with them disabled by default they would clutter the actions list. I think makes more sense to put in the dialog something catchy like "Custom actions are very powerful if you are creative. Have a look at what is possible." that would be link to this wiki.

Alexander Schwinn @alexxcons said:

Thanks for the feedback !

Hehe, looks like I was a bit too focused on some specific ucas I had in mind, and actually forgot to check what all the ucas in the Wiki are about :P I agree with you for most of the ucas in the wiki !

So lets identify a subset of ucas for which it makes sense. I would propose the following:

"catfish search"
"Converting PNGs to JPEGs"

What about gif, webp, tiff...?

Looks like the name of the uca is bad. "Convert" seems to be able to convert alot of formats. I would keep it as "convert to jpg".

"Rotating JPEGs"

Image viewers can do that, or just open the file with Gimp

That's actually a uca I use alot. Via ristretto or gimp many clicks are required. Real nice if you dont need to leave thunar for rotating pictures.

"Creating a symbolic link"

What about drag + ctrl + shift?

IMO would be nice to have a default UCA for it since many people (including me :P) might not know the shortcut / might like to have to option in the context menu.

Comparing selected files/directories Ok, there are more diff viewers than "meld" out there. However would be nice to start with something to show the possibility ... maybe we can exec. diff in a terminal ? User can replace by some more advanced diff viewer on its own, if required.
Move files into a new folder

Alexander Schwinn @alexxcons said:

I think makes more sense to put in the dialog something catchy like "Custom actions are very powerful if you are creative. Have a look at what is possible." that would be link to this wiki.

Agreed, a link t the wiki is a nice idea !

ctac said:

I think only one custom action is needed by default to explain how this work. Open terminal here is a good one but ...

There is no help button to go to the wiki in the dialog box.
on my debian system, this shortcut is named 'Ouvrir un terminal ici' in french. I think the défault shortcut must look like all default desktop file in uca.xml file with : <name>Open Terminal here</name> Ouvrir un terminal ici</name> . . . <description>Example for a custom action</description> Exemple d’une action personnalisée</description> . . . The default file in /etc/xdg/Thunar/uca.xml have all the lang but in ~/.config/Thunar/uca.xml, there is only french. I think it's better to keep all the lang if we want to change for some reason and to explain how this work.

Andre Miranda @andreldm said:

(In reply to alexxcons from comment 2)

I would propose the following:

"catfish search"

"Converting PNGs to JPEGs"

What about gif, webp, tiff...? Looks like the name of the uca is bad. "Convert" seems to be able to convert alot of formats. I would keep it as "convert to jpg".

Ok.

"Rotating JPEGs"

Image viewers can do that, or just open the file with Gimp That's actually a uca I use alot. Via ristretto or gimp many clicks are required. Real nice if you dont need to leave thunar for rotating pictures.

I still think this one is very specific, but I won't mind shipping it as long as disabled by default.

"Creating a symbolic link"

What about drag + ctrl + shift? IMO would be nice to have a default UCA for it since many people (including me :P) might not know the shortcut / might like to have to option in the context menu.

Ok, as long as disabled by default.

Comparing selected files/directories Ok, there are more diff viewers than "meld" out there. However would be nice to start with something to show the possibility ... maybe we can exec. diff in a terminal ? User can replace by some more advanced diff viewer on its own, if required.

Move files into a new folder

And which would be the default diff app? Calling the terminal for this is kinda weird IMO. I think this one could live in the wiki, we may reevaluate someday.

Andre Miranda @andreldm said:

(In reply to ctac from comment 4)

There is no help button to go to the wiki in the dialog box.

That's what I proposed in comment1, likely to be included with the proposed custom actions.

The default file in /etc/xdg/Thunar/uca.xml have all the lang but in ~/.config/Thunar/uca.xml, there is only french. I think it's better to keep all the lang if we want to change for some reason and to explain how this work.

And that's something we may handle in another bug.

Alexander Schwinn @alexxcons said:

(In reply to Andre Miranda from comment 5)

Comparing selected files/directories Ok, there are more diff viewers than "meld" out there. However would be nice to start with something to show the possibility ... maybe we can exec. diff in a terminal ? User can replace by some more advanced diff viewer on its own, if required.

Move files into a new folder And which would be the default diff app? Calling the terminal for this is kinda weird IMO. I think this one could live in the wiki, we may reevaluate someday.

The idea was to use "diff" as the default app, running in a terminal, to be neutral .. though might not be me my best idea :) As well ok for me to just keep "Compare selected files/directories " in the wiki.

mentioned in issue #348

As suggested by @alexxcons in #348:

If Thunar could open UCA as standalone window, it would be a good idea to include a default action that opens this dialog, alowing users to configure their own actions.

I don't think this is a good idea, for novice users that menu item can be informative while for others that know that "Configure custom actions..." is available under Edit menu, that's bloat.

The post is missing some important details:

The idea is, to add "Configure more actions" as default UCA, so advanced users could just remove/disable it.
Thunar would need an extra application argument e.g. --custom-actions (#348)
This as well would be beneficial for xfdesktop, for which adding context menu items currently is a bit hidden

I'm ok with launching uca-editor as standalone, instead of an argument we could use dbus just like thunar-settings. For xfdesktop, instead of an option in context menu, a button to launch it in Desktop Settings dialog under Menus tabs. Finally, a menu entry to inform new users of a feature is nonsense IMO, it's worse than "Tip of the day" or "Did you know" dialogs that popup when you start bloated apps.

a menu entry to inform new users of a feature is nonsense IMO, it's worse than "Tip of the day" or "Did you know" dialogs that popup when you start bloated apps.

This entry solves some problems showcased here:

Custom actions blend so well with the context menu that users don't know that they could add/remove them.
Additional default actions could be highly specific while this entry informs the user that the menu is in fact customizable.

This entry behaves in the same way that Context menu > Preferences... does in xfce-terminal (option is in a menu that could be hidden) with the advantage that it can be removed if the user wants.

It's also similar to Rename... in the sense that a user could thunar --bulk-rename and manually add files/folders but it's more convenient to have it directly in the context menu. Again, with the advantage that it can be removed if the user wants.

IMO, adding this entry in the context menu has the same level of bloatiness as adding some of the suggested actions in this issue that could or couldn't be useful for new users.

For xfdesktop, instead of an option in context menu, a button to launch it in Desktop Settings dialog under Menus tabs

To me, desktop seems like a strange place to add a launcher for this since this is a File Manager option.

My original suggestion in #348 was to add it as entry in Settings Manager -> Personal -> File manager actions so new user knows this option exists and is configurable. A disadvantage of this approach is that xfce can work without Thunar being the default file manager and if this is the case, then it is bloat.

This entry solves some problems showcased here:

Custom actions blend so well with the context menu that users don't know that they could add/remove them.

Additional default actions could be highly specific while this entry informs the user that the menu is in fact customizable.

I understand you're pushing for better discoverability, but if we were to rub in the face of users every cool thing that Thunar offers its UI would be unpleasant to say the least, even if they could be dismissed. For example, if I'd like to make other view or side pane modes more obvious, would I have to stick an infobar somewhere saying "Hey, try another mode"? Honestly, custom actions aren't more hidden than the options to set view/side pane modes.

If some users don't bother to play around with the app to find out it's capable of, why bother existing knowledgeable users that will have to dismiss this "hint"?

This entry behaves in the same way that Context menu > Preferences... does in xfce-terminal (option is in a menu that could be hidden) with the advantage that it can be removed if the user wants.

The only reason I can think of that being in context menu is because terminal users generally like to hide the menu bar.

It's also similar to Rename... in the sense that a user could thunar --bulk-rename and manually add files/folders but it's more convenient to have it directly in the context menu.

Bulk Renamer makes sense as a standalone tool, while UCA doesn't.

Again, with the advantage that it can be removed if the user wants.

The advantage here could be annoying for other ppl.

To me, desktop seems like a strange place to add a launcher for this since this is a File Manager option.

Fair point, I was just replying @alexxcons comment, not really convinced to implement this.

My original suggestion in #348 was to add it as entry in Settings Manager -> Personal -> File manager actions so new user knows this option exists and is configurable. A disadvantage of this approach is that xfce can work without Thunar being the default file manager and if this is the case, then it is bloat.

If Thunar's entries won't be in Settings if it's not installed. If users have it installed, while another file manager is default and think Thunar's entries in Settings is bloat, I really don't care.

I allow myself a remark, particularly if a link to the wiki page should be added to the UCA dialog box: variables expansion should always be quoted, to not expose the user to (at least) undesirable side effects (see "Losslessly Rotating JPEGs" and "Move files into a new folder").

Also, but less important, the use of backticks should not be encouraged (see "Converting PNGs to JPEGs").

Thanks for the suggestions !

Sorry, I dont know much about bash, no idea where variables are expanded .. if I quote them all, stuff does not work any more

If there is more stuff to fix, possibly best if you request write access for the wiki in irc.

Or, if you prefer, sent me a mail with the exact changes.

added 2. Feature 5. Plugin - Custom Actions (UCA) labels

mentioned in issue #188 (closed)

changed milestone to %Xfce 4.18

mentioned in issue bindings/thunarx-python#2

mentioned in issue #144

@alexxcons I would like to work on this issue as part of my participation in #GSOC. My proposal in the telegram chat was to combine this issue with #179. In that way, it gives the project more depth.

Basically, after splitting the uca.xml file in a manner that makes sense for configuring individual actions, we can use this issue to test the ability to toggle individual actions on/off.

@aleph Ok for me to combine both, I suppose that would make sense. Generally, just put issues to your proposal until you think it is fine for 175h :) (And possibly as well some extension issues) .. looking forward to your proposal !

Note that I dont use telegram. Best use the official IRC channels #xfce-dev and #xfce-gsoc. More info here: https://wiki.xfce.org/projects/gsoc/start#communication

mentioned in merge request !111

mentioned in issue #638 (closed)

I recently opened #638 (closed). This feature would be great to deliver to end users.

And I bet many users dont even know about the existence of the wiki page.

Yep.

mentioned in commit 789167a5

mentioned in merge request !170 (merged)

mentioned in issue #184 (closed)

mentioned in commit e6ece47c

changed milestone to %Xfce 4.20

changed the description

removed milestone %Xfce 4.20

Provide a collection of preinstalled custom actions, which can be enabled

Submitted by Alexander Schwinn `@alexxcons`

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Provide a collection of preinstalled custom actions, which can be enabled

Submitted by Alexander Schwinn @alexxcons

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Submitted by Alexander Schwinn `@alexxcons`