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The MO of a lazy guy who likes to optimize things   [ZEP]

By: Slobodan Vujnovic   Homepage   France  
Date: Jan 16,2021 at 15:30
In Response to: Info position (John Gruener)

>This is what confuses me. It is exactly because of too much
>left-right eye travel that I very seldom run ZTree in full
>screen mode. Like you, I have a wide screen. I also usually
>have the File Window in the Alt-File single-column full-info mode.
>This places that info much too far to the right in full-screen file windows.

My setup is pretty standard these days: two 1920x1080 monitors.
My PC starts up with 3 maximized ZTree sessions (with different
backgrounds and font sizes - black, green, blue). I don't
Alt+TAB between them, I have a cycle hotkey that does
black-green-blue-black-green-blue... change; I'm never two
keystrokes (KP7 in this case, thanks AutoHotkey!!! - the
indispensable ZTree companion!!!) away from the one I want.

Also, unlike Alt+TAB, where I need to pause and follow the
highlight moving across a DOZEN or so apps, hitting KP7 deals
with only THREE apps to choose from!

But the choosing requires no thinking at all - one of the three
COLORED ZTree windows will come into focus and I know that this
is the one I want. I don't need to look at what's on the screen,
like which folder I'm on. I'm basing my selection on the ZTree
windows background COLOR. The magic of color on the human mind.

This may seem overly COD, but it came about over many years,
as I optimized things bit by bit. I could have achieved many
of my daily tasks without ever knowing about AutoHotkey, for
example, but once I discovered it, I apply it where can gain
some time and productivity.

All of us here are "guilty" of switching to ZTree when most
users, including power users, stick to Explorer.

>The screenshot you posted here,
>https://ztw3.com/forum/forum_entry.php?id=123319
>while not full screen, indicates you also use that Alt-File mode.
>So it surprises me that someone so concerned about horizontal
>eye movement would choose to run ZTree in full screen mode in the first place.

Yes, Alt-File mode with all info shown exclusively for me. The
above screenshot is of one of 80 columns to illustrate a point,
and because the forum does not accept large files. Again, it's
always maximized for me, but Split screen is there most of the
time, often effectively having 6 views of the file system.

Of course, View looks horrible in 160, because most of the files
are still around 80-100 columns, but looks great in Junk and other
modes.

>Unless using dual screens, full screen also covers up everything else,
>including other ZTree sessions.

Indeed, it does, but never compelled me to resize ZTree windows;
I have another solution for this...

>Sure, you can use Alt-Tab to cycle to other tasks, but I'd rather have them
>at least partly visible. I'm often referencing something else while working in ZTree.

See above for task switching: I have other hotkeys to cycle through other
app families. And I have the other screen for referencing; it works
well for me. Most people don't know that pressing Winkey+LEFT/RIGHT will
move the current window from screen to screen - this is what I
do when I need to see a reference all the time.

>I do understand that we each have our unique MOs, but my guess is that
>most users with wide screens do not run ZTree in full screen by default.

It's probably true. A poll would be fun.

I would instantly change my MO if I found my setup crippling. For
example, add a hot key that launches an AutoHotkey script that splits
the current ZTree window into two, to handle the situation at hand.
The same hotkey would restore the maximized window.

(Note to self: add to COVID19 project list :-)

>So I'm guessing your MO is not typical, and may in fact be unusual.

I take that as a compliment :-) I was unusual in a team of 50
engineers to be the only one to use a "DOS file manager".
That was XTree, then ZTree.

>I'm also guessing your use of colors is also not typical. Don't
>misunderstand, I respect that the way you use ZTree works best for you,
>and is a great testament to the flexibility of this great tool.
>I just don't think it's typical.

Agree. I hope my MO inspires others to push the limits of how
they use their tools. I know Office power users who still use
the mouse to go to the Edit menu to Copy/Cut/Paste, not the
keystrokes -- the mouse is 100% in charge.

Colors are interesting because they communicate to you instantly,
not requiring reading, parsing, analyzing. Just take a look at
today's code editors: without syntax coloring, navigating the overly
complex and verbose languages would be even a worse nightmare.

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