Bug 96169 - Increase maximum displayed filename length - greatly improve file browser usability.
Summary: Increase maximum displayed filename length - greatly improve file browser usa...
Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 58962
Alias: None
Product: konqueror
Classification: Applications
Component: file icon view (show other bugs)
Version: 3.3.2
Platform: unspecified Linux
: NOR wishlist
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Konqueror Developers
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2005-01-02 17:23 UTC by Zhitomirsky Sergey
Modified: 2009-09-08 18:16 UTC (History)
1 user (show)

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Description Zhitomirsky Sergey 2005-01-02 17:23:40 UTC
Version:           3.3.2 (using KDE 3.3.2 Level "a" , unofficial build of SUSE )
Compiler:          gcc version 3.3.1 (SuSE Linux)
OS:                Linux (i686) release 2.4.21-215-default

I recently tried to understand why I dislike konqueror file browsing, comparing to Windoze explorer browsing local files in mode "list", which I like.
I tried to setup Konqueror to look like win-explorer:
View-> Icon Size = Tiny
View-> View Mode = Multicolumn View
Settings -> Configure Konq -> Appearance -> FontSize=11 ; underline filenames = off.

Now it looks like windoze explorer in "list" mode - several columns, each consist of list of [ small icon on the left and file/folder name on the right ] 
However there is one important, easy to fix difference, where konqueror loses:
Konqueror shows only filenames, which have the length no more than 15 symbols(others have 15 symb + "..." appended), while win-xp-explorer shows all filenames with ALL symbols!!!("LIST" mode) 

In modern environment you have many files which have filenames 16-40 symbols. When you browse /bin or /usr with konqueror, everything ok, however when you browse a folder with lots of multimedia filenames (more frequent situation for graphical file browser) - you don't see fully most filenames in konqueror.
Lets take several typical modern filenames, one downloads from internet: 
Hack Proofing Your Wireless Network.pdf (39 symbols)
Linux.Wireless.drivers.802.11b.html  (35 symbols)
faq_pppoe_linux.html  (20 symbols)
socket_programming.html (23 symbols)
ipw2100-fw-1.3.driver0.55-current.tgz  (36 symbols)
Dark Side III - The New Dimension.avi  (37 symbols)
Lord of the rings[Goblins translation].part1.avi (48 symbols)
Lord of the rings[Goblins translation].part2.avi (48 symbols)
Ace Of Base - Beautiful Life.mp3 (31 symbols)

When one browse such folder with win-explorer(list mode)  it setups column width equal to maximum file length size + icons size, and shows all full filenames.
When one browse such folder with Konqueror, without normal view of files beyond 15 symbols (which is inadequately small in post DOS world), one sees heavily truncated filenames, which is bad picture comparing to win-explorer. 

I propose to (for Multicolumn View)
1) Quick fix: Increase the Konq. default column width from 15 to 35 symbols for filename. 
2) Maybe thorough fix: 
 2.1) make this number runtime configurable OR
 2.2) each time user opens a directory estimate the max filelength, and show this directory with such column width(but no more 60 symbols, no less 10 symbols), (and show dots only if user does rename, after which file is too long for current column width)
Comment 1 Zhitomirsky Sergey 2005-01-02 18:00:09 UTC
I noticed that konqueror uses width of column fixed in pixels, not in symbols,
so the filelength 15 is for average font size (Sans Serif size 11), it would be 13 or 17 for too big or too small fonts.

As far as I see it uses column width ~135 pixels + icon size. So my wish may be read as increase column width from  135 + 16(iconsize)pixels to 310 + 16 pixels or make it configurable.
Comment 2 Ben Muzal 2006-05-14 23:17:48 UTC
I am using KDE 3.5.2 (Debian testing). I have found a workaround for this problem:

under settings->configure Konqueror->Appearance

Change "Width for icon text" from 600(default) to 601.

Press Ok.

You can then change the default back to 600 if you want (it does not make a difference).  I have no clue why this works.
Comment 3 Tristan Hoffmann 2008-02-26 20:39:08 UTC
Ok, still a problem in Konqueror 3.5.7.
Comment 4 FiNeX 2009-09-08 18:16:47 UTC
*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 58962 ***