Coloured Filer Windows

MUGs zoom meeting with Cloverleaf’s Stefan Fröhling on Saturday brought up an interesting discussion on how to set the colour of filer windows. It requires a module, ColourFiler by Simon Birtwistle. It’s not user friendly to a non-expert user as it requires an obeyfile to set the various filer window colours complicating matters. I realise it’s not difficult to setup but shouldn’t this be implemented into Boot > Configuration > Filer in a much friendlier form?

ColourFiler can be found here.

I realise it’s not difficult to setup but shouldn’t this be implemented into Boot > Configuration > Filer in a much friendlier form?

Perhaps Stefan could talk to the author about that?

It’s easy. I have used ColourFiler previously, to differentiate local and shared filer windows. A quick respin on the Titanium, including the theme button colour as the local filer colour.

It’s a simple app with a !Run and the module.

RMEnsure ColourFiler 0.07 RMLoad <Obey$Dir>.ColourFile
| default grey             D8D8D8
Filer_Colour ADFS::Titan4  c2dfee
Filer_Colour Share::Pi_SSD eec2df

WIP!

So it seems from the illustration above that it is a per-window setting. (I haven’t had occasion to use it.) That said, it seems to me that the ideal way to configure it would be with an additionasl item on the window menu, or an addition to the Options sub-menu.

I’ve no idea how that could be implemented though. does it need a change in the filer itself?

@David Pitt
Thanks for your suggestion – I’ve modified my setup using a pseudo directory containing the ColourFile module and a !Run file as you suggest and placed in Boot.Tasks. This is neater – previously I placed the ColourFile module along with a separate obeyfile with the filer paths and colours in Tasks.

But…
Although experienced users can do this easily, a beginner might find this challenging. You’ve got 2 factors here – you need to be familiar with the syntax of the selected filer window file path and the code used for defining a colour both of which are simple for experienced users. Something like this perhaps – a visual system where all the common filer paths are drawn and can be selected along with another showing a selection of colours that can be clicked.

So it seems from the illustration above that it is a per-window setting.

That is only because I only included one window of each. The colour settings are per path as the Obey file above shows.

HTH.

ColourFile module is now at 0.07. I was previously using 0.06. Not much I know but latest has increased by 44 bytes. Anyone know the difference?

you need to be familiar with the syntax of the selected filer window file path

I did cheat a bit when creating the Obey file with StrongED by shift-dragging in any object from the target filing system and then deleting from the right to reduce that the required path.

and the code used for defining a colour

That is a bit of a pain, but it also applies to WimpVisualFlags Theme settings. A colour picker would be handy, to derive the RGB values. (I have used Paint on occasions for that sort of thing.)

to derive the RGB values

It would be handy if Paint, or rather ColourPicker, had an option to display RGB values in the correct range 0-255 (00-FF) rather than fractions of percentages. Anybody who is used to computer graphics or web colours, will understand the 0-255 range better than percentages (that quickly get messy as 255 doesn’t divide by 100!).

ColourFile module is now at 0.07. I was previously using 0.06. Not much I know but latest has increased by 44 bytes. Anyone know the difference?

I resolved this issue by simply using the later version and not noticing those differences.

The issue is fully explained in the ReadMe in the zip.

0.07  16 May 2018     Trivial change to memory use

I have found a colour picker candidate in AppBasic’s exercises. It outputs the hex value as BBGGRR00 so needs a little tweek to give RRGGBB.

A colour picker would be handy, to derive the RGB values. (I have used Paint on occasions for that sort of thing.)

What about Rosemary Miskin’s ColDef2?

Using a standard Colour Picker, it will display in 0-1, 0-100, 0-255 and Hex, and will also let you copy out the &BBRRGG00 or #RRGGBB forms. Or you can click on Type to type them at the caret.

ColourFile module is now at 0.07. I was previously using 0.06. Not much I know but latest has increased by 44 bytes. Anyone know the difference?

From the ReadMe file: “0.07 16 May 2018 – Trivial change to memory use”.

The colour settings are per path as the Obey file above shows.

Not played for a little while, but IIRC there’s a colour depth with directory depth setting too.

BTW. The reference to talking to the author was with respect to integrating the code into Filer.

What about Rosemary Miskin’s ColDef2?

Many thanks, that is just right. (Just ever so slightly interfered with to give a leading "&" with RGB value rather than the HTML required "#".)

Although I do not think I want coloured Filer windows myself, I was intrigued by this and I have written ColFiler, a front end for the ColourFiler module.

This uses my Oobi libraries, which are in continuous flux, so there are quite possibly many hidden issues, and it can only be thought of as a demonstration of what is possible.

It is fully interactive, with the ability to save a file of Filer_Colour commands when a satisfactory design has been achieved.

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the front end app>

This uses my Oobi libraries, which are in continuous flux, so there are quite possibly many hidden issues, and it can only be thought of as a demonstration of what is possible.

I have downloaded it to my ARMX6 and get the following error when !ColFiler is run “File ‘ReportClear’ not found”

Any ideas of where I should look and happy to further testing on feedback from you.

Doug

Ah! It uses Reporter for error reporting. Everyone has Reporter running, don’t they? ;-)

Failing that, you could edit the first line of !RunImage. I will have a look at making it more friendly.

Failing that, you could edit the first line of !RunImage

Thanks for the pointer and I passed the dummy test I think in that you meant the first active line to REM out :-)

Happy to test an updated version if required.

Doug

Ok. I have edited the !RunImage to simple external error reporting, which should be fairly robust. The archive is the same, so please download again.

I have also upped the WimpSlot, as I found things had got rather tight. ;-)

Thanks Steve,

One more dummy question, How do I set the chosen path as the root directory.

I have worked out to set the individual directory paths but not the root.

Doug

Steve,

Ignore the above I just finally worked out what the help file said so the penny dropped and I put the root path in an obey file and dragged that to the chosen paths window.

Doug

Alternatively drag any file that is in the root. If there is not one then copy any file there temporarily.

Not really a Wish list item, but a wish for suggestions as to why ColourFiler might have stopped working on my ARMX6 and Pi 400. Its module loading and colour definitions work as normal (as evidenced by output from *Filer_Colour), but following some unrecognised change in my setups, all filer backgrounds remain obstinately grey. Can anyone suggest where I might look for whatever is impeding ColourFiler?

ColourFiler 0.12
Filer 2.48
OS 5.29 (> Feb-2022)