Well, like the Haiku messages in Net+ make it more fun to use, i would like to discuss about others ideas in the same style…
When you create a new folder, in place of an insipid “new_folder”, what about give it a ramdom name like “fish”, “fatty” , “tomato”… :?:
That would be a great option, reminiscent of the character in ye olde days of BeOS.
That would make way slower & harder to find where new folder(s) was placed in Tracker window(s), too. In particular if your fingers were shaking on Ctrl+N more than once…
A good easter eggs joke idea, anyway.
phoudoin wrote:
That would make way slower & harder to find where new folder(s) was placed in Tracker window(s), too. In particular if your fingers were shaking on Ctrl+N more than once...A good easter eggs joke idea, anyway.
Agreed, though my fingers don’t shake, yet. 
Phillipe, ideally when you create a new folder it’s selected automatically, then you rename it…
I would love that, and I’m positive that many users would love it too ;e)
You see, I know many people who don’t bother renaming their folders. There’s New Folder, New Folder (1), New Folder (2)… you get the idea. If that turned to Fish, Lilyrose and Icicle, those people would be amused.
Are they stupid ideas if they are fun? 
It’s a novel idea.
But what if there’s already a folder called “tomato”? “Yes, but we could randomly pick from a predefined list of new folder names,” you say. But what if every single one of these predefined folder names is in the folder already? We could append a " (n)" on the end where n is the next number, but that still doesn’t avoid the main problem.
Or what about this: what if I use one of those predefined folder names often; say I have a hierachy of garden things, and I have folders named “tomato” spread out across my entire disk–it’d be a nuissance to have yet another tomato folder created when I want to make a new folder.
This of course applies to anything, not just gardening terms.
Then there’s the problem of inconsistency; if we were to use a random new folder name list (which seems requisite), consistency goes out the window. This is a desktop OS, and one of the goals is to be able to have your mother sit down and use it. What is she going to do when she creates a new folder and it’s called “Peter Pan” or some equally random name?
Like I said, it’s novel and would definitely be amusing… but I just don’t think it’s practical.
Now… if Tracker were to have a user-editable list of names to use when creating new folders, I’d be all on board then. 
The default list would of course contain only one folder name: “New Folder” But then you could add whatever else you wanted in with that. This would be a form of customization, and I’m always for customization: the user is in control of how their system behaves.
They would know what names would work best for them and what wouldn’t. “Tomato” might work fine for me as one of the new folder names, but maybe not so for my gardening neighbor down the street who uses it often as a permanent folder name (not just a temporary one).
And if distros ever come out, your distro might already have several pre-defined folder names. The Aqua flavor of Haiku might have different species of fish in its new folder name list, while the Greenthumb flavor might have horticultural terms in its list, etc.
:shock:
Maybe it’s just me, but I’d rather the OS didn’t allow me to arbitrarily create a directory without specifying the name during the creation process…
in other words, “New Folder” being a default name generally pisses me off - I’d rather it focused on the name field and forced you to put one in before it actually got created.
afterall, mkdir generally requires a directory name parameter right?
umccullough wrote:
Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather the OS didn't allow me to arbitrarily create a directory without specifying the name during the creation process...in other words, “New Folder” being a default name generally ticks me off - I’d rather it focused on the name field and forced you to put one in before it actually got created.
afterall, mkdir generally requires a directory name parameter right?
i believe ROX got this right: creating a new folder causes a pop-up window to appear, asking for the folder’s name
j_freeman wrote:
But what if there's already a folder called "tomato"? "Yes, but we could randomly pick from a predefined list of new folder names," you say. But what if every single one of these predefined folder names is in the folder already? We could append a " (n)" on the end where n is the next number, but that still doesn't avoid the main problem.
chaining the names is the way to go! if "tomato" and "fish" are taken, you make "tomato fish" ;e)
regarding the “not the right name” problem, what’s wrong with the current behavior - have the new folder selected and ready for renaming…?
if you keep your folder names consistent, you would rename the folder anyway. if you don’t, you wouldn’t mind “tomato” here and there.
matejcik wrote:
regarding the "not the right name" problem, what's wrong with the current behavior - have the new folder selected and ready for renaming...? if you keep your folder names consistent, you would rename the folder anyway. if you don't, you wouldn't mind "tomato" here and there.
I think when you right-click and select "Create New Folder" it should do as it does currently: creates a new folder called "New Folder" (or whatever) with the text highlighted so all you gotta do is hit enter or rename and hit enter.
But say you’re like me, and you create a new folder on the spur of the moment to hold some files you gotta put somewhere and you just keep the default name. “New Folder” or “New Folder (1)” pretty much explains itself: it’s a new folder that hasn’t been renamed to something descriptive. However, “tomato” or “fish” or whatever is descriptive… but not of the folder it’s naming.
Understand? "fish" could refer to a folder full of exotic fish pictures or it could just be a new folder someone made without taking the time to rename it. Again, inconsistency and ambiguity comes back into play…
To be sure, please don’t misunderstand me; I think this is a novel idea that if implemented right could be very amusing and worthwhile. But there’s a fine line, in this instance, between being amusing and being confusing for the end user.
Pointless suggestion: I’ve always thought “New Folder” should be called “Empty Folder” as a subliminal hint that it should be renamed as soon as you put something inside…
That said, I like the idea about having a default name, but encouraging it to be changed right away but automatically selecting the text. One of the few things Windows gets right 
.
I agree with the one who said “ask for name first, create folder later”. There are so many times that I’ve created a new folder, erased the default name and changed my mind. Then I first get the “you must enter a name”-popup, have to write some random chars and third delete the folder.
However, it could be a cool idea to put a "randomize" button on a create folder dialog. Pressing it would populate the name field with some gibberish (maybe from a text file somewhere, so that users can replace them if they desire), but not creating anything until the done/ok/create button is pressed.
fhein wrote:
This may or may not be a good idea, it's subjective really. I think the most elegant way to implement it would be to show the new folder with an empty label ready for input. The folder icon would be an illusion until the user confirms a valid name by pressing enter, then the actual directory gets created. If the user presses Escape, the icon for the not yet created folder disappears.
I agree with the one who said "ask for name first, create folder later".
fhein wrote:
If the file manager is any good, it should let you press Escape to back out of the renaming process, restoring the old name.
There are so many times that I've created a new folder, erased the default name and changed my mind. Then I first get the "you must enter a name"-popup, have to write some random chars and third delete the folder.
bogomipz wrote:
fhein wrote:This may or may not be a good idea, it's subjective really. I think the most elegant way to implement it would be to show the new folder with an empty label ready for input. The folder icon would be an illusion until the user confirms a valid name by pressing enter, then the actual directory gets created. If the user presses Escape, the icon for the not yet created folder disappears.I agree with the one who said "ask for name first, create folder later".
Yes, that was exactly what I meant… this whole thing about determining what the “default name” of a new folder is seems pointless. If you create a new folder, you should be encouraged to name it before it’s actually created.
And if the user doesn’t specify a name, don’t create the folder…
The problem is now that OSes create the folder with a default name first - and then they expect the user to change it. If the user doesn’t change the name, it remains with the default name - thus littering the hard drive of unsuspecting users with "New Folder"s - many of which are completely empty because the user accidentally created it in the first place.
umccullough wrote:
The problem is now that OSes create the folder with a default name first - and then they expect the user to change it. If the user doesn't change the name, it remains with the default name - thus littering the hard drive of unsuspecting users with "New Folder"s - many of which are completely empty because the user accidentally created it in the first place.
This pretty much describes me… except they aren’t empty and I’m not unsuspecting.
Basically if you force me to give it a name (i.e., I can’t just hit enter and accept the default), instead of a thousand “New Folder (1, 2, etc.)” on my Desktop, I’ll have a thousand folders with a single character as their name.
Yes, I should take more time in organizing my system, but that’s not reality. Forcing a user to enter a name is not going to solve the root problem; they’ll just type some gibberish if they’re in a hurry/lazy like me.
j_freeman wrote:
Basically if you force me to give it a name (i.e., I can't just hit enter and accept the default), instead of a thousand "New Folder (1, 2, etc.)" on my Desktop, I'll have a thousand folders with a single character as their name. :)
That could still be available as an option (to allow a default name) - but I still HATE that the folder is created with the default name first, and then you’re put into “rename” mode.
For example, take a Windows machine, and create a new folder in a shared folder. Leave it focused in “rename” mode (because you hadn’t decided what to name it yet) and then check the shared folder with a second machine - you will see “New Folder” there - even if you’re already in the middle of typing a new name for it on the first machine.
Why on earth was it designed this way?
umccullough wrote:
j_freeman wrote:Basically if you force me to give it a name (i.e., I can't just hit enter and accept the default), instead of a thousand "New Folder (1, 2, etc.)" on my Desktop, I'll have a thousand folders with a single character as their name. :)That could still be available as an option (to allow a default name) - but I still HATE that the folder is created with the default name first, and then you’re put into “rename” mode.
For example, take a Windows machine, and create a new folder in a shared folder. Leave it focused in “rename” mode (because you hadn’t decided what to name it yet) and then check the shared folder with a second machine - you will see “New Folder” there - even if you’re already in the middle of typing a new name for it on the first machine.
Why on earth was it designed this way?
Ah, I see what you mean.
Yeah, I agree it should create the folder AFTER the name has been specified. Then have an option for a default name (i.e., “New Folder”) or no default (so you’re forced to type something) before a folder is created.