Virtual drawers

Recently a tool to create virtual drawers has been uploaded on OS4 Depot. Correct me if I am wrong. This program has the ability to create soft links (similiar to those in Windows). You are clicking on an icon which in fact executes another icon (tool) which is hidden deeper in the directory tree. You may have a drawer on the backdrop of your Workbench full of icons of the programs you are using?

@mailman

You can also use c:makelink to create Hard- and Softlinks.

@ZeroG

Well, I don't own OS4. I just wanted to know if I understand correct what is the purpose of this tool.

@mailman

From the readme:-
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@Swoop

Yeah, I read it. I just want to be sure if I understand it correctly.

@mailman

Yes I created and uploaded VirtualDrawer.

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No it's suppose to be more like "Smart folders" in Mac OS X if I have understood correctly what that "Smart folders" does. "Short cut" icons in Winblows is a little bit same as you select "Leave out" from Workbenches Icon menu.

@TSK

"Smart folders"? Could you elaborate on this? I have never had a chance to play with MacOS X.

@mailman

I had one guys Mac lend earlier this year but I never tested that Smart Folders feature. I have only read their marketing stuff http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/finder.

Well VirtualDrawer is mostly the same program as FindMore. FindMore gives you a list of file search results when VirtualDrawer put the search results in a drawer/directory as links. (Maybe I should combine those two programs.) So you don't add files in "virtual drawers" one by one but you use file search mechanisms to easily select bunch of them at one go. ("Smart drawers".) The idea is when you add more files on your hard drive those virtual drawers will be updated too. And virtual drawers are stored on your hard drive.

For example you have three drawers full of pictures you took on your summer vacation in three different years, like SummerPics2005, SummerPics2006 and SummerPics2007. Then you can make a virtual drawer that contains only pictures of your children from all those three years together. And make another one which contains only pictures of your wife from all those years. Then you have still those three original drawers and two other drawers but there's not duplicates of your pictures. Then you add another drawer SummerPics2008 next year and you can update easily (or hopefully automaticly in future) those two virtual drawers to contain also pictures from 2008. So you have multiple choices how to organize your files on your hard drive in different ways.

Another example is if you have a habit to put all your music files in one directory/drawer. You can use VirtualDrawer to organize your music files in different categories by genre or something like that (if those files includes needed information somewhere already).

@TSK

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Correction: "Leave out" doesn't make no additional files, windblows' "short cut" does. "Leave out" creates a file .backdrop in the root directory of the relevant file system and there all the "left out" icons are listed.


Jack

@Jack

Yes and I would even add that when you 'leave out' an icon it's not anymore in it's original place : it's on the b window unlike any other OS shortcut.

@TSK

Oh, now I get it. Thanks for the explanation. It helps a lot.

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That's why I said "a little bit same". But I think meaning and common usage of those features is mostly the same.

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WB doesn't show it in its original place but it's still there (use List/Dir command in shell).

I made and uploaded MakelinkGUI in os4depot.net so people can make shortcut links easily.