I have asked for this feature before a few years ago and I keep watching to see if you have added it.
Long ago in version 1.32a (which I am still using) if you opened a bunch of files you could use ctrl+tab to switch to the next file and ctrl+shift+tab to go backwards. The order that the files were opened in was the order that the switching would occur.
An example of when I need this is: I need to make changes in a bunch of files that do not lend themselves to a simple search and replace. So I open all the files and start going through them one by one.
In your new versions (everything since 1.32a) when you hit ctrl+tab it will go back to the last file you edited instead. I know that you can use the keystroke Ctrl+F6 to do the same thing as the old cntl+tab did. This fact does not help me as I cannon hit Ctrl+F6 with one hand unless my index finger grows another 2 inches or so.
I looked through configure-->Preferences-->Keyboard and the shortcut for Ctrl+Tab is defined there as WindowNext and Ctrl+Shift+Tab is defined as WindowPrevious, but the Ctrl+F6 is not even listed on any command, so I can't even switch them!
I would really like to be able to upgrade and give you money. There are a lot of features that would be very useful to me. But I cannot buy the software ontil you change it to allow it to work the way it did long ago.
Why did they ever change it? Please give me a way to go forward by giving me a way to switch it back.
Scott Herman
WebEditor Design Services
www.webeditor.com
spherman@webeditor.com
ctrl+tab switching
Moderators: AmigoJack, bbadmin, helios, Bob Hansen, MudGuard
does not cycle the way it should
Yes Ctrl+tab will change files. But the way it does it is wrong.
Try this.
1. Open up a few files.
2. Make a change in one file
3. Ctrl+Tab
4. Make a change in the second file
5. Ctrl+Tab
6. You will notice that you are now back on the first file you looked at.
Now do the same thing as in the above proceedure, but this time use Ctrl+F6 instead and not the difference. This time you will notice that on step 6 you are looking at the third file.
Ctrl+Tab should work the way Ctrl+F6 does. This is how is works in every other program I have that uses Ctrl+Tab from Photo shop to Microsoft Excel.
Try this.
1. Open up a few files.
2. Make a change in one file
3. Ctrl+Tab
4. Make a change in the second file
5. Ctrl+Tab
6. You will notice that you are now back on the first file you looked at.
Now do the same thing as in the above proceedure, but this time use Ctrl+F6 instead and not the difference. This time you will notice that on step 6 you are looking at the third file.
Ctrl+Tab should work the way Ctrl+F6 does. This is how is works in every other program I have that uses Ctrl+Tab from Photo shop to Microsoft Excel.
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ben_josephs
- Posts: 2457
- Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2003 9:22 pm
It's not wrong; it's just not the way you like it.
There are two styles of document switching available: the TextPad style (WindowNext and WindowPrev) and the MS style.
The problem is not what you say; it is just that these styles cannot be given the key assignments that you prefer. You cannot assign any functions to Ctrl+F6 and Shift+Ctrl+F6 (perhaps they are captured by Windows) and you cannot assign the Windows style functions to any keys (they are not named TextPad functions).
I certainly do not want to lose the TextPad style of document switching. It happens that WindowNext and WindowPrev are annoyingly buggy, but that is another matter.
There are two styles of document switching available: the TextPad style (WindowNext and WindowPrev) and the MS style.
The problem is not what you say; it is just that these styles cannot be given the key assignments that you prefer. You cannot assign any functions to Ctrl+F6 and Shift+Ctrl+F6 (perhaps they are captured by Windows) and you cannot assign the Windows style functions to any keys (they are not named TextPad functions).
I certainly do not want to lose the TextPad style of document switching. It happens that WindowNext and WindowPrev are annoyingly buggy, but that is another matter.
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talleyrand
- Posts: 625
- Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2003 6:56 pm
- Location: Kansas City, MO, USA
- Contact:
I believe web_editor was requesting a thing like WindowSomething and a WindowSomethingOtherWay that is currently mapped to ctrl-F6 and ctrl-shift-F6 to be available in the keyboard preferences. You can bind the windowNext and windowPrevious to ctrl-tab and ctrl-shift-tab but the behaviour they're looking for is intrinsically bound to ctrl/shift/F6 with no way of binding it to other keystrokes.
At least, that's what I took your request to be. No clue if it can be done but it never hurts to ask.
At least, that's what I took your request to be. No clue if it can be done but it never hurts to ask.
I choose to fight with a sack of angry cats.
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ben_josephs
- Posts: 2457
- Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2003 9:22 pm
Mmm. Something's odd here. I couldn't get it the assignment to stick before - I made the assignment in the keyboard preferences widget, but TextPad ignored it. Subsequently I managed to assign Ctrl+F6 to windowNext by assigning it to something else, and then back to windowNext again. The same trick didn't work with Shift+Ctrl+F6. And now the Ctrl+F6 assignment has been lost.MudGuard wrote:This might be true for you - I can assign both of them (just did it - and removed it again)You cannot assign any functions to Ctrl+F6 and Shift+Ctrl+F6
XP Pro SP1.
Strange but true.
Where there's a will...
It is, in fact, possible to switch to document 3 using ctrl-tab. It's just not quite the way you want. If you continue to hold down the ctrl key and press tab more than once, you'll be able to switch to any document you want. Of course, after a bit of editing, your window-order is going to be so screwed up that you'll have to cycle through practically every document to get to the one you want...
The problem to me is that you cannot *predict* what file you are going to switch to when you press Ctrl-Tab. When you switch through many files using Ctrl-Tab-Tab-Tab... it gets even more unpredictable.
When I want to switch to a certain other file, I get *no* clue to how often I have to press the Tab key to reach that file.
This is annoying, as it requests permanent attention in checking after every file I switch to see if this is the file I want.
To make the behaviour more predictable and much more convenient I could think of these ways:
1. After the first Ctrl-Tab a list of files could pop up, ordered so that subsequent Ctrl-Tabs move to the next file downwards the list, and Shift-Ctrl-Tab moves upwards. In other words, files in the popup list are ordered "in their Tab-order", the current file being on top.
Using this list, I can visually locate the name of the file that I want and keep on hitting the Tab key until I reach it. No addidional thinking or visual scanning needed.
The list would not change as I cycle through the files, only the highlighting moves along with every hit of the Tab key.
This is very similar to switching applications in Windows using Alt-Tab (or Alt-Tab-Tab-Tab...), except I would show a vertically oriented list of files instead of pictograms.
2. As the essential information needed is the "Tab order" of files, another idea is to show the Document Selector "in Tab order" instead of in alphabetical order (as an option of course).
Again, the current file will always be top of the list.
Pressing Ctrl-Tab or Shift-Ctrl-Tab will behave *exactly" the same as it does now with respect to showing the new file window and changing the highlighting in the Document Selector. The only exception will be that the highlighting in the Document Selector will not be jumping around wildly any more, but move down or up with every additional Tab keystroke.
The list will be refreshed when I release the Ctrl key, meaning that the now active file will move to the top, while the order of the other files will not change.
For me, I would prefer the first solution, as I then can still have the alphabetically sorted list of files in the Document Selector, which is not bad when you have really many files open and want to switch to a file you haven't used recently. The disadvantage that I suppose is that this needs more programming than solution 2.
Solution 2 seems to me like just a minor change (adding a different sorting and an option in the Preferences dialog).
So I would rather have solution 2 than nothing at all.
Comments?
Greetings!
Matthias
PS: I forgot to mention that this and the lack of a vertical line at the word wrap column (needed also when word wrap is switched off) are the only things I really miss from Textpad! I love this editor!
When I want to switch to a certain other file, I get *no* clue to how often I have to press the Tab key to reach that file.
This is annoying, as it requests permanent attention in checking after every file I switch to see if this is the file I want.
To make the behaviour more predictable and much more convenient I could think of these ways:
1. After the first Ctrl-Tab a list of files could pop up, ordered so that subsequent Ctrl-Tabs move to the next file downwards the list, and Shift-Ctrl-Tab moves upwards. In other words, files in the popup list are ordered "in their Tab-order", the current file being on top.
Using this list, I can visually locate the name of the file that I want and keep on hitting the Tab key until I reach it. No addidional thinking or visual scanning needed.
The list would not change as I cycle through the files, only the highlighting moves along with every hit of the Tab key.
This is very similar to switching applications in Windows using Alt-Tab (or Alt-Tab-Tab-Tab...), except I would show a vertically oriented list of files instead of pictograms.
2. As the essential information needed is the "Tab order" of files, another idea is to show the Document Selector "in Tab order" instead of in alphabetical order (as an option of course).
Again, the current file will always be top of the list.
Pressing Ctrl-Tab or Shift-Ctrl-Tab will behave *exactly" the same as it does now with respect to showing the new file window and changing the highlighting in the Document Selector. The only exception will be that the highlighting in the Document Selector will not be jumping around wildly any more, but move down or up with every additional Tab keystroke.
The list will be refreshed when I release the Ctrl key, meaning that the now active file will move to the top, while the order of the other files will not change.
For me, I would prefer the first solution, as I then can still have the alphabetically sorted list of files in the Document Selector, which is not bad when you have really many files open and want to switch to a file you haven't used recently. The disadvantage that I suppose is that this needs more programming than solution 2.
Solution 2 seems to me like just a minor change (adding a different sorting and an option in the Preferences dialog).
So I would rather have solution 2 than nothing at all.
Comments?
Greetings!
Matthias
PS: I forgot to mention that this and the lack of a vertical line at the word wrap column (needed also when word wrap is switched off) are the only things I really miss from Textpad! I love this editor!
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jumpfroggy
- Posts: 23
- Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2005 9:28 pm
Quick bottom line: we need another set of WindowNext functions. The names might be tricky, but we need the current WindowNext/WindowPrev which are the "Most recent document" keys. Then we need WindowNextInOrder/WindowPrevInOrder, which traverse documents as they are listed in the document tabs. If control+tab works for you, nothing lost. But if it doesn't, as for me and a few others here, having a "WindowNextInOrder" would be invaluable.
If you need an example: I have 14 documents open, tabs along the bottom, and I know I need to get to the "login.php" file, the 2nd tab from the left. I am currently editing the "doitnow.php" file, which is the 5th tab from the left. If I press Control+Tab (WindowNext), there's no telling how many presses it'll take... depends on what I was editing last. If you're switching a lot, this becomes unpredictable. However, if I have "WindowPrevInOrder" bound to Control+Shift+Tab, then it takes 3 presses of tab to get to the file. Easy. It's a matter of spacial navigation vs. temporal. When you have a lot of things open, you really need spacial.
Explanation:
This was something I requested a while ago, since I also often have many documents open, and the default Control+Tab "WindowNext" behavior doesn't work for me.
Neither the existing or proposed ways are wrong or right, they're simply appropriate or not for me (and a lot of others). Control+Tab is the equivalent of Alt+Tab in windows... it's the "Most recently used window" list, refreshed when you release the Alt key. Alt+Tab goes to the last window used. Alt+Tab+Tab is the second most recent, etc.
However, Control+F6 is an altogether different animal. It traverses the same list as Control+Tab does, but does not refresh it. Examples are easiest for this one:
4 windows open, in order of Window 1, window 2, etc.
Click on Window 1, then Window 4, Window 2, Window 3. Now Control+Tab will toggle you between Window 1 and Window 3. But Control+F6 will traverse the order 3, 2, 4, 1. Control+F6 is like Control+Tab if you keep pressing tab without releasing Control.
Control+F6 is also not bound to anything in Textpad. The issue is not "cant we bid C+F6", it's "What command is it already bound to?" Some magic unnamed function, apparently.
Sidenote: control+f6, whatever that function might be, seems unusable. When would you ever want a "traverse through the most recently used file list backwards without refreshing it" function? I can't see a good use. It does not seem to be a Windows bind, though I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it seems confusing and unnecessary.
If you need an example: I have 14 documents open, tabs along the bottom, and I know I need to get to the "login.php" file, the 2nd tab from the left. I am currently editing the "doitnow.php" file, which is the 5th tab from the left. If I press Control+Tab (WindowNext), there's no telling how many presses it'll take... depends on what I was editing last. If you're switching a lot, this becomes unpredictable. However, if I have "WindowPrevInOrder" bound to Control+Shift+Tab, then it takes 3 presses of tab to get to the file. Easy. It's a matter of spacial navigation vs. temporal. When you have a lot of things open, you really need spacial.
Explanation:
This was something I requested a while ago, since I also often have many documents open, and the default Control+Tab "WindowNext" behavior doesn't work for me.
Neither the existing or proposed ways are wrong or right, they're simply appropriate or not for me (and a lot of others). Control+Tab is the equivalent of Alt+Tab in windows... it's the "Most recently used window" list, refreshed when you release the Alt key. Alt+Tab goes to the last window used. Alt+Tab+Tab is the second most recent, etc.
However, Control+F6 is an altogether different animal. It traverses the same list as Control+Tab does, but does not refresh it. Examples are easiest for this one:
4 windows open, in order of Window 1, window 2, etc.
Click on Window 1, then Window 4, Window 2, Window 3. Now Control+Tab will toggle you between Window 1 and Window 3. But Control+F6 will traverse the order 3, 2, 4, 1. Control+F6 is like Control+Tab if you keep pressing tab without releasing Control.
Control+F6 is also not bound to anything in Textpad. The issue is not "cant we bid C+F6", it's "What command is it already bound to?" Some magic unnamed function, apparently.
Sidenote: control+f6, whatever that function might be, seems unusable. When would you ever want a "traverse through the most recently used file list backwards without refreshing it" function? I can't see a good use. It does not seem to be a Windows bind, though I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it seems confusing and unnecessary.
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jumpfroggy
- Posts: 23
- Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2005 9:28 pm
I also use it, and if I had both I don't know what I'd use more... but depending on the situation one is more suitable than the other. So to only have one is only half as effective as having both.
Also, I'd probably be more satisfied with the "Last Edited" tab if it weren't so buggy. About 2-3 times a day if I'm using it a lot it'll start switch to random tabs. That is I'll be working on file1 and file2, control-tabbing between them. I'll have a bunch of files open. Then one time I'll control-tab and it'll go to file8, then file6, and so on. I can't figure out yet why this happens, it's intermittent, but it keeps me from trusting the "last edited" tab completely. This bug has been in there since I"ve used Textpad (a few years, multiple versions, multiple machines/os's) and does still crop up sometimes. I wish they'd fix that...
Also, I'd probably be more satisfied with the "Last Edited" tab if it weren't so buggy. About 2-3 times a day if I'm using it a lot it'll start switch to random tabs. That is I'll be working on file1 and file2, control-tabbing between them. I'll have a bunch of files open. Then one time I'll control-tab and it'll go to file8, then file6, and so on. I can't figure out yet why this happens, it's intermittent, but it keeps me from trusting the "last edited" tab completely. This bug has been in there since I"ve used Textpad (a few years, multiple versions, multiple machines/os's) and does still crop up sometimes. I wish they'd fix that...
ctrl-tab bug.
* 4 documents open;
* click through each down the list;
* select 2nd document and quickly ctrl-tab;
* list blinks to 4th document and then back to 2nd document, not as designed;
* It's as if the value of the previous document is not updating in time for the ctrl-tab event to execute correctly;
* If done slowly the 2nd document goes from grey to bright blue to dark blue and then finally back to the standard grey, then ctrl-tab works as designed.
* 4 documents open;
* click through each down the list;
* select 2nd document and quickly ctrl-tab;
* list blinks to 4th document and then back to 2nd document, not as designed;
* It's as if the value of the previous document is not updating in time for the ctrl-tab event to execute correctly;
* If done slowly the 2nd document goes from grey to bright blue to dark blue and then finally back to the standard grey, then ctrl-tab works as designed.
another vote for this
VS2005 has added extra commands so that NextDocumentWindow does the wierd MRU thing, NextDocumentWindowNav pops up a dialog, and people who just want to cycle through the open windows in the order they're displayed are still SOL. I'd really like this changed so that the obvious order is still an option.
Just to be clear
All I want is to be able to make ctrl-tab work the way it did way back with version 1.32 (which I am still using).
I keep checking back in hopes that you have made the feature available.
sigh....
I keep checking back in hopes that you have made the feature available.
sigh....