I want to browse thru my documents (pdfs, pics, word, rtf, and so on...) ...

[elpresi]

Hi all,
I just discovered forum and it seems the perfect place to ask this question.

I would like to browse thru my documents in the same manner I can browse thru notes in my outliner (Keynote).
Basicly I would like to have a left panel which would show my file structure -including files, not just folders-
Selecting a document/file on that panel would then open a preview of it on the right side; the program does not even need to have a preview engine, it could just be a sidepanel as described, that could be configured to open/close specific fast loading programs to view the documents.

I know that some file managers have document preview, but they never include files in the tree structure.
Is there an application that can do what I want? Perhaps there are technical limitations to what I suggest, I don´t know.

I greatly welcome any suggestions.

 

Noel

update:
one more thought:
it would be nice if the side panel could be rooted at a any desired location and even better if it had tabs(or clickable buttons) each rooted as desired. Seeing the whole tree structure is obviously not necessary to browse thru documents held at a specific location.

[mouser]

i don't know any but i'm quite curious to hear about what other people suggest - sounds like a useful tool to have.

[JeffK]

Perhaps UltraRecall.

www.ultrarecall.com

Jeff

[mouser]

no i think he wants a FILE EXPLORER to broswe the file system, which shows FILES and FOLDERS in the left hand tree, and then in the right hand panel a view of the files contents.

[JeffK]

Not quite what is required re what can be seen in panels but Powerdesk (vcom.com) has a file viewer which handles 150 file formats.  But AFAIK you can't have the files and folders in the one tree.

Jeff

[mouser]

yeah, i would 2nd that recommendation to check out powerdesk; not exactly what you asked for (no files in tree), BUT with 3 panels you get mostly the same effect plus a great file manager.

http://www.v-com.com...erDesk_Pro_Home.html

[elpresi]

Thanks all for the suggestions;

I had already checked UltraRecall and Novatix ExplorerPLus (I believe it's from the PowerDesk programmer), but as I said I wished that files were included in the left tree structure.
That would leave far more space to the viewer/editor and facilitate BROWSING.
(I find that dual pane file managers are geared towards file operations instead)
To illustrate my point, let's say you would like to browse thru your bookmarks in Firefox, would you like to have the folder tree in one column with the actual bookmarks in a second column?
To avoid complex tree structures, the tree could be rooted at any desired location and be configured to show only specific file formats.
That is the idea I have in mind.

 

[JeffK]

I thought Directory Opus might be OK but I can't get it to show the files as indicated here:-

http://www.gpsoft.co...eview/preview_6.html

Jeff

[Darwin]

Hi Jeff,

To get the view that is shown in the screenshot from the Dopus website, you need to select View->Flat View->Grouped... At least, on my installation that replicates the screenshot nicely. The real problem, as far as I can tell, is getting Flat View to "stick", i.e. to set it up as the default view so that each time you change folders you don't have to re-select flat view as an option from the view menu. I am reasonably confident that this can be done (as I have mine set up for details view by default I am not surprised that Dopus reverts to this each time I change folder...), but it might take a bit of work to do. The users' forums are excellent and no doubt someone would be able to tell you how to do this.

http://groups.yahoo....group/DOpus/messages (beginner's forum)
http://resource.dopus.com/ (expert forum - the developers hang out here and are regular posters/respondents).

Mike

[JeffK]

Thanks, I'll try it again.

Jeff

[JeffK]

Yes, elpresi, Darwin was right after all.  You can get what you want with Directory Opus and the view can be saved doing a "Lister" whose format can be saved.

Directory Opus is a great program but I have never purchased it mainly because of the price - $US60

Regards,

Jeff

[elpresi]

Thanks Jeffk,

I checked Directory Opus flat view after reading your post, but it doesn't behave as I would like.
The flat view does not stick, neither can you expand/collapse as you wish the desired folders (the flat view fully expands the selected folder). I would like the flat view to behave in the exact same manner as a regular folder tree.
It seems that only PIM/Outliners do what I want, but alas only for data contained within their DB file :-(

Oh well ...

[Darwin]

Hi elpresi,

If you have a demo of Dopus installed, head over to either of the user forums that I listed above - the regulars on both of them are amazing at helping people solve problems/wring the maximum out of Dopus. Dopus is amazingly configureable and I am sure that there is a way to do what you wish. Describe what you would like it to do and someone will tell you how. At the very least you'll be given a definitive answer about its ability (or lack thereof) to be set up as you wish.

As an aside, Dopus ships with a plug-in that allows you to use the Stellent viewers to view files from within Dopus. I purchased QuickView Plus 8 to allow me to do this about two years ago; today you can get the same filters for free by installing Yahoo Desktop Search and configuring the plug-in to use the viewers that come with YDS. You don't even have to keep YDS installed - just move the Stellent directory out of the Yahoo folder and direct Dopus to use that, then uninstall YDS. Simple (but be sure to install the viewer expansion pack as well - before you uninstall Yahoo).

[elpresi]

Darwin,
thanks for the very interesting YDS tip :-)
I will look DOpus further

[Darwin]

Glad to be of help! Let us know how you make out with this.

Best,

Mike

[Darwin]

Hi Elpresi,

Just curious about the outcome of your quest to find a solution to your problem?

Mike

[elpresi]

Hi Darwin,
so far file managers with good viewers (such as ExplorerPlus or Dopus) are the best solution to my quest ;-)

[sword]

Hi Noel,

Enigma Insight Publishing Software has a Stylesheet editor with a Tree View showing all folders and files in the left window and every folder or file can be expanded or collapsed. Icons indicate a folder, text paragraph, table or figure. Clicking on a file or folder shows a preview in the lower right window.
Details:
http://www.enigma.com/
Trial software available:
“The XML Handbook”, second edition, Charles F. Goldfarb, Editor, 2000, Prentice Hall, publisher, NJ, pp 551-557, ISBN 0-13-014714-1.
Trial version runs on Windows 95/98, NT, no time limit, and publications can be viewed only.
Used copies are available from $10.00 and should also be available through libraries and eBay [Half Price Computer Books?].

Cheers, Robert