02-19-2005, 08:37 PM -
Hi all, just a few quick (or maybe not so quick) requests for the command line plugin that I hope you can do! I like Windows' own Address toolbar, but it leaves a LOT to be desired and TLB's Command Line prompt really meets those wants for me. But there are a few things I'd love to see TLB's plugin do similarly to the Windows version.
My first couple requests have to do with how the Command Line plugin interprets what you type in.
Smarter URL guessing. If you type "google.com", take me to the site. Currently this works if you start with "www.google.com" but not just "google.com". I'm currently working around this with a search abbreviation of "." which maps to the url "http://%s", so I can type ". google.com". This works but leaves something to be desired.
Handle spaces in paths. If you type c:\Program Files, the plugin doesn't understand you. You can work around this by typing "c:\Program Files" but that isn't especially convenient.
Since both of these are parsing related issues here is what I would imagine the steps you'd want to go through in parsing the command line:
Ok that's my big 2 requests!
Now for the other ones:
Path autocompletion. Do inline autocompletion as you type, e.g. I type c:\Pro and the plugin adds "gram Files/" to the end, if I hit TAB then that text is added to what I've typed, if I keep typing it goes away instead. This would probably work in concert with the history autocomplete.
Don't erase on Enter. After I hit enter in the prompt box, don't clear the box, but instead leave what I typed there for me to see. That way I can hit my Command Prompt hotkey later, then just hit Enter to do the last thing I did there. Automatically selecting the existing text when I click in the box or use the hotkey would probably be best so if I want to change it, I don't have to type anything extra. I think it also serves as a helpful visual reference point as to what I'm up to.
History dropdown box. A dropdown arrow at the end which shows me my history entries would be really helpful.
I think in large part what I have described here is basically mirroring the functionality of Window's own Address toolbar. But that toolbar has some serious issues, especially if you don't use IE as your default browser (typing URLs just doesn't work). And TLB's websearch abbreviations, font selection and all the rest are just awesome.
Thanks for your consideration!
My first couple requests have to do with how the Command Line plugin interprets what you type in.
Smarter URL guessing. If you type "google.com", take me to the site. Currently this works if you start with "www.google.com" but not just "google.com". I'm currently working around this with a search abbreviation of "." which maps to the url "http://%s", so I can type ". google.com". This works but leaves something to be desired.
Handle spaces in paths. If you type c:\Program Files, the plugin doesn't understand you. You can work around this by typing "c:\Program Files" but that isn't especially convenient.
Since both of these are parsing related issues here is what I would imagine the steps you'd want to go through in parsing the command line:
Code:
[1] First check for "http://", "www.", and the abbreviated websearch commands. If one of those matches, do that.
[2] Failing that, try to execute the command line in the normal way, i.e. search the PATH for the executable, etc.
[3] Failing that, if the command line begins with a drive letter (C:..) or a UNC path (\\server...), try implicitly putting the whole command line in quotes (or just until after the first occurrence of .exe/.com/.bat), and then try to execute that as in [2].
[4] And failing even that, if the command line looks something like site.tld or site.tld/path then pass us off to the default web browser.Ok that's my big 2 requests!
Now for the other ones:Path autocompletion. Do inline autocompletion as you type, e.g. I type c:\Pro and the plugin adds "gram Files/" to the end, if I hit TAB then that text is added to what I've typed, if I keep typing it goes away instead. This would probably work in concert with the history autocomplete.
Don't erase on Enter. After I hit enter in the prompt box, don't clear the box, but instead leave what I typed there for me to see. That way I can hit my Command Prompt hotkey later, then just hit Enter to do the last thing I did there. Automatically selecting the existing text when I click in the box or use the hotkey would probably be best so if I want to change it, I don't have to type anything extra. I think it also serves as a helpful visual reference point as to what I'm up to.
History dropdown box. A dropdown arrow at the end which shows me my history entries would be really helpful.
I think in large part what I have described here is basically mirroring the functionality of Window's own Address toolbar. But that toolbar has some serious issues, especially if you don't use IE as your default browser (typing URLs just doesn't work). And TLB's websearch abbreviations, font selection and all the rest are just awesome.
Thanks for your consideration!
Joel Thornton