Letters Instead of Numbers Please!

[howardb]

I've had this wish for FARR before, but mouser thought not: With a numbered menu of options you have only 9 choices available at a single keystroke. But if you enumerate options with letters, you get up to 26 choices available with a single keystroke. I do so wish letter enumeration were an option for FARR, and still do not understand the impediments to it.

For an example of the difference, check out wcd, fast directory changer for windows at http://www.xs4all.nl/~waterlan/#WCD_BETA_ANCHOR. Compare it, for instance to one of the FARR plugins that uses the locate2 database. If you want to go to one of the twenty odd directories you've named, tmp  -- just type tmp at the prompt, hit the letter, j (for example) and you are there.

I care, because I become increasingly weary of the ubiquitous mouse. Indeed, I would love to use FARR more and more like a single, simple, unix-like command interface.

For those interested, I use wcd with the locate32 database, so I need not keep updating multiple databases. I also use the explorer replacement xplorer2 with this batch file:

@echo off
set WCDHOME=c:\dos\wcd
set /p ans=Directory:
locate.exe -ld %ans% > c:\tmp\data
c:\dos\wcd\wcdwin32.exe -G C:\tmp -f c:\tmp\data *%ans%*
call c:\tmp\wcdgo.bat
C:\Programs\xplorer2_lite\xplorer2_lite.exe /M "%CD%"

[mouser]

i've thought about adding letters.. it just seems like if it's not in your top 9 items, you are better off filtering the results by typing more rather than having to locate the 15th result.

the other problem is that you'd have to hit alt+letter since just hitting letter will add a search item to the search string.  and then that rules out using alt+any letter for other stuff which it is used for now, like bringing up options, right-click menu, etc.

[cranioscopical]

the other problem is that you'd have to hit alt+letter since just hitting letter will add a search item to the search string.  and then that rules out using alt+any letter for other stuff which it is used for now, like bringing up options, right-click menu, etc.

  Please don't do that, or at least give an option to disable it.

[Armando]

the other problem is that you'd have to hit alt+letter since just hitting letter will add a search item to the search string.  and then that rules out using alt+any letter for other stuff which it is used for now, like bringing up options, right-click menu, etc.

Couldn't another modifier be used, like <CTRL> ?

Letters could be useful, however, I find that I'm constantly looking at the 10 top results. I continue typing/filtering until I get there. I really wonder if I'd type "t" or "z" if I saw an item down there. Maybe.

Still, I'm sure some users would use it. Howardb being one of them.

[howardb]

i've thought about adding letters.. it just seems like if it's not in your top 9 items, you are better off filtering the results by typing more rather than having to locate the 15th result.

Ive found it a lot easier to pick, say, a fifteenth option. For instance, if I want to go to one of the many directories I've called, tmp.