Organizing download queue with filters (by user, filetype...

[malote]

This is the text I am going to post in Bugzilla. As I am a newbie, I thought i'd better post it here first in order to discuss it and improve it.

I started thinking of this, but now I changed my mind. A filter would be much more flexible:

*** Organizing the download queue with filters (by user, file type, customized...)

The idea is adding a submenu like this to the contextual menu of the download queue window:

Code: Select all

Filter by -> No filter
             Users ->        User1
                             User2
                             [...]
                             [Users in hub ->]
                             [Favorite users]
             [File type ->]
             [Priority ->]
             [...]
             Customized->    General
                             *Action movies
                             *Sci-Fi movies
                             *Old movies
                             [...]

This would make the download queue much more organized and clear. There can be a lot of options in this submenu, but the most important, IMO, are 'By user' and 'Customized':

'By user', because the column containing the sources cannot be sorted (there can be many users in each line). There is not a fast way to know what files are you downloading from a certain user.

'Customized', because it would give a great flexibility when organizing. The user could add or remove categories depending on his needs, the ones marked with an asterisk are only a sample. When the user downloads a file (or group of files) for the first time, he could choose whether download it to the default category (General), or any other he has created.

The first option of the download menu (in the search window or a file list) could be slightly modified so it contains a submenu:

Code: Select all

Download -> *Action movies
            *Sci-Fi movies
            *Old movies
            [...]

Simply clicking on 'Download', or double clicking a file, would assign the file the 'General' category.

A similar submenu should be added to the download queue window's menu, in order to modify a file's category later.

The submenus could contain checkboxes, so one could mix different filters at the same time, that would be great. And if it was so, an independent dialog box would be proper for making complex filters without a thousand clicks (assuming a menu disappears after the first click).

This can be improved, so go ahead and post your suggestions, corrections, etc.

[GargoyleMT]

An organization scheme only by context menu? It doesn't sound very clear to me. You also either a) gloss over details, or b) are making your description more elaborate than you need.

An elaborate system is fine (I like slightly broad but simple solutions that solve multiple feature requests), but the more mutinae you have, the bigger the task becomes of coding it. And it's that investment of time you're trying to convince a programmer to make.

[malote]

An organization scheme only by context menu? It doesn't sound very clear to me.

What do you suggest? I mentioned a dialog box at the end, additional to the menu. However, if one can't make multiple filters at the same time, what would be its purpose?

You also either a) gloss over details, or b) are making your description more elaborate than you need.

Yes, this one is right. I usually extend a lot because i'm afraid people won't understand me (English is not my language).

An elaborate system is fine (I like slightly broad but simple solutions that solve multiple feature requests), but the more mutinae you have, the bigger the task becomes of coding it. And it's that investment of time you're trying to convince a programmer to make.

I don't think it is elaborate. The procedure is always the same: display the part of the download queue that meets a criteria. The search results, for example, are displayed based on some parameters (size, hub, file type, free slots). Why would it be more difficult to do this with the download queue? Maybe some of the code necessary for this task is already written.

[GargoyleMT]

I don't think it is elaborate. ... Maybe some of the code necessary for this task is already written.

It's elaborate from a code point of view. The user interface seems lacking too. If done, it'd make more sense to add a main menu when in the queue, or a toolbar for that window.

Interesting, but if I'm going to code something big, I'd rather do a "My Shared Files" window.