Add the current folder from Windows Explorer directly

narayan · 2009-02-08 08:42

When we are browsing files in the explorer, we come across many files that need renaming.
That's when we want to start ReNamer.

In short, when we atart the ReNamer, we already know which folder is to be treated.

But when we start the Renamer, it has no knowledge of this folder. So we have to locate the folder all over again (click on "add folder" button and then browse around to locate the folder.)

This is tedious.

There should be an easy method, like-
1. Provide a address bar in the add folder GUI. Let the user copy the folder's path from explorer and paste it here. No need to browse and locate the folder.

2. Let the user simply right-click in the explorer and select "Load folder in ReNamer" option. When ReNamer starts, it should load the folder by default. (Compare this to the "send to-" option in explorer: There, the files are selected in explorer. Here, the whole folder is passed on to the ReNamer, and then we can apply various filtering within ReNamer. So this option is more flexible.)

prologician · 2009-02-08 09:01

There's two quick thoughts which come to mind on this one.

One, you don't ~need~ to go about your tedious route.... I almost never use those Add buttons. Rather, I just drag whatever files I want to rename from Explorer directly into the program window. Of course, this implies you already have the program open.

If you don't want the program already open, you might want to look into this thread's ideas: http://www.den4b.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=569.

Hope this helps.

Andrew · 2009-02-08 09:34

@narayan: Just a quick tip - do learn to use the forum search feature effectively, for often what one suggests has been discussed (and maybe even solved/rejected) earlier.

Besides the thread prologician pointed you to, here are a few more to look at:

Preset in the right-click box

presets in context menus & masks in presets

narayan · 2009-02-08 10:37

@Andrews:
I HAVE used the search effectively. Since I was not looking for equivalent tricks and workarounds, I haven't found them.

In case of ReNamer, the scope of work is set by two different methods:
(a) inputting individual files (drag-n-drop/send to)
(b) Load a folder.

Each method has its own uses. So both need to made as user-friendly as possible.
My suggestion addresses the user-friendliness of the second method.
So we should not mix up the first method as an alternative to it.

Your links point to ideas that are different from mine. So how can their acceptance/rejection affect my suggestion?? For example, if the author would not provide presets in the explorer context menu (as offered by MRename), why would I stop making my suggestion?

@ prologician
You are assuming that a renamer is already open in the background. That's usually NOT the case. Why would we keep a mass-renamer open all the time?

Secondly, even if ReNamer is open, its task button may not be easily accessible in the task bar. For example, when there are too many tasks open, ReNamer's task button can be pushed to the second line in the task bar. In such case, "drag-n-drop" won't work because the task button is not available as the drop-target.

Last edited by narayan (2009-02-08 10:39)

prologician · 2009-02-08 15:12

You are right, if the taskbar button is small, you could have a hard time dragging/dropping onto it. I'll admit, I've never had that situation you described, because I don't open so many distinct programs at the same time to require a second row. (Of course, I also don't allow for a second row to happen, either.)

An additional note you might want to look into... maybe "Settings > Miscellaneous > Add to 'Send To' context menu" is more along the lines of what you were looking for? This way, the program loads with no preset, and you're free to do what you want.

It seems you might be mistaking both mine and Andrews's suggestions.... since these options can be added to the Send To menu, they can apply to folders just as easily as they can apply to individual files. And if you need to rename a folder itself, make sure the right options under Settings > Filters checked.

Andrew · 2009-02-08 17:45

narayan wrote:

2. Let the user simply right-click in the explorer and select "Load folder in ReNamer" option. When ReNamer starts, it should load the folder by default. (Compare this to the "send to-" option in explorer: There, the files are selected in explorer. Here, the whole folder is passed on to the ReNamer, and then we can apply various filtering within ReNamer. So this option is more flexible.)

Just a minute... I re-read your original post properly. Is this what you're looking for?

Your suggestion #1 is not bad though...

Last edited by Andrew (2009-02-08 17:46)

narayan · 2009-02-08 18:07

That options works on a SUBfolder-- NOT on the presently opened folder. So to make it work, we have to go up one level. The folder we came from has now become a subfolder of its parent folder. So select it and then use the context menu option.

That is not very intuitive.

Andrew · 2009-02-09 16:26

narayan wrote:

That options works on a SUBfolder-- NOT on the presently opened folder.

Right, right... Unless, of course, you use this dialog perhaps?

BTW, if that works for you, might I suggest that you spend some time delving into the various options that Denis has so thoughtfully programmed into this wonderful utility?

narayan · 2009-02-09 18:15

I HAVE checked all those options.

The option you point to actually adds the folder as an item to be renamed. Again, it is applicable to the selected subfolders of the current folder; not the folder that is open in the explorer.

BTW the term "Filter" is non-standard in ReNamer. Usually "to filter" means to remove/hide some items from the displayed list. Here the term means "how incoming items are pre-processed before they are added to the list". This term is more usual in multimedia application, where a incoming video is passed through a "pre-processing filter".

But is that intuitive for a renamer?

All these options should be actually placed in Program options, under a section called "Items to be added from explorer".

prologician · 2009-02-09 21:41

I think I see what narayan is going after.... he wants to navigate to a folder in Explorer, actually be IN that folder, and then take all of its contents of that window and dump it into ReNamer.

For some situations (ie, the number of files is under 30 or something), you could just Select All, then use the ReNamer option you previously put into the Send To menu.

If you need more than that, select one file, Send To > Renamer, then dump in the remainder of the directory.

Please forgive me, narayan, but I don't understand what the big fuss about this is. A little creativity and using the existing capabilities of the program, you can seemingly do what you need.

den4b Forum

#1 2009-02-08 08:42

Add the current folder from Windows Explorer directly

#2 2009-02-08 09:01

Re: Add the current folder from Windows Explorer directly

#3 2009-02-08 09:34

Re: Add the current folder from Windows Explorer directly

#4 2009-02-08 10:37

Re: Add the current folder from Windows Explorer directly

#5 2009-02-08 15:12

Re: Add the current folder from Windows Explorer directly

#6 2009-02-08 17:45

Re: Add the current folder from Windows Explorer directly

#7 2009-02-08 18:07

Re: Add the current folder from Windows Explorer directly

#8 2009-02-09 16:26

Re: Add the current folder from Windows Explorer directly

#9 2009-02-09 18:15

Re: Add the current folder from Windows Explorer directly

#10 2009-02-09 21:41

Re: Add the current folder from Windows Explorer directly

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