Add new blog post, some minor changes
This commit is contained in:
parent
37e98b3835
commit
df91e20d7b
95
articles/File pickers suck.md
Normal file
95
articles/File pickers suck.md
Normal file
|
@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
|
|||
# File pickers suck
|
||||
|
||||
2023-07-03
|
||||
|
||||
Now, I would never go as far as to say Windows is better than GNU/Linux, but it
|
||||
still has the edge sometimes. Today I want to talk about one such case.
|
||||
|
||||
## The problem
|
||||
|
||||
File pickers on GNU/Linux are the absolute worst. We've been able to write a new
|
||||
display protocol, Wayland but we somehow still can't have a file picker that doesn't
|
||||
lack basic features or even works for that matter.
|
||||
|
||||
This is not a minimalist nitpick. In fact what I'm really complaining about
|
||||
is the *lack* of basic features that people need. Okay, so let's say you
|
||||
have a Chromium tab open and a website you're on requires you to upload
|
||||
an image. Fine right? Now what if you don't know what the filename is?
|
||||
|
||||
On Windows, what you would probably do is click on a bunch of them,
|
||||
look at the image and see if it's the correct image in the preview pane.
|
||||
On GNU/Linux you cannot do this, because our file pickers are so crap and don't allow
|
||||
you to preview images. In fact, the only file picker I know of that supports
|
||||
this feature is Gimp, and that has a custom file picker that only Gimp uses.
|
||||
And it's clear why it has a custom file picker, it's because all the
|
||||
other file pickers are useless.
|
||||
|
||||
## GTK file picker
|
||||
|
||||
![GTK file picker](/articles/img/gtk-picker.png)
|
||||
|
||||
This is what the GTK file picker looks like. GNOME and GTK has always had a
|
||||
minimalist design philosophy, not in terms of code or anything, but they've
|
||||
had simple UIs, just like Apple software. It's the Apple of the GNU/Linux
|
||||
space. There are multiple issues with this file picker, here are just a few:
|
||||
|
||||
- The aforementioned problem: Images don't have thumbnails, so you have
|
||||
no idea what you're uploading unless you know the filename.
|
||||
- You cannot enter a path to a file. You can only see the parent directories.
|
||||
- The pinned folders on the left are useless, and cannot be unpinned if
|
||||
those folders do not exist.
|
||||
- You can't pin symlinks. This is massive problem for me at least, because
|
||||
I have ~/Screenshots, ~/Music, ~/Recordings and ~/Downloads symlinked
|
||||
to another drive.
|
||||
|
||||
Oh wait, you *can* enter a path to a file. You have to press `/` for it
|
||||
to display. But when you press `/` the path to the current directory
|
||||
will be removed. That is some awesome design right there.
|
||||
|
||||
## QT file picker
|
||||
|
||||
![QT file picker](/articles/img/qt-picker.png)
|
||||
|
||||
Now, on the KDE side of things we have the QT picker. It looks a lot better.
|
||||
For one, it actually has a field for entering a path, which also shows the
|
||||
current directory. It has buttons for navigation and a "Filter" option.
|
||||
It also allows you to resize each pane, which is a basic feature that
|
||||
the GTK picker is lacking for some reason. A massive step in the right direction.
|
||||
|
||||
Only one small problem. Programs that use GTK, which are a lot of programs
|
||||
these days, including your web browser where you NEED a file picker that
|
||||
doesn't suck will still use the GTK file picker, which we've established
|
||||
sucks and is basically useless as a file picker.
|
||||
|
||||
This means you pretty much CAN'T escape the GTK file picker, because it's
|
||||
so tightly integrated with the whole GTK toolkit.
|
||||
|
||||
## Windows was right
|
||||
|
||||
![Windows file picker](/articles/img/windows-picker.png)
|
||||
|
||||
As you're surely aware of at this point, I use free software and I don't
|
||||
support nonfree software. However regardless,
|
||||
Windows does file pickers right. Everything positive I said about the QT
|
||||
file picker Windows has done for decades. It may be absolutely
|
||||
proprietary, but it is functional, something the GTK
|
||||
picker cannot say about itself.
|
||||
|
||||
You may notice some similarities between the Windows file picker and the
|
||||
QT file picker. Regardless, they're both functional and get the job done.
|
||||
You get a list of your files with image previews, both in the form of icons
|
||||
if you increase the icon size and in the form of the preview pane you can
|
||||
open up. The Windows file picker is actually even better though, because
|
||||
it actually displays EVERYTHING, rather than a few folders that you manually
|
||||
go out of your way to pin. It also works with shortcuts (basically symlinks)
|
||||
and handles drives too.
|
||||
|
||||
## Conclusion
|
||||
|
||||
GTK and GNOME is about as useful as a painting. Cool to look at, but when
|
||||
you actually want to get stuff done, you're SOL. GNOME and GTK should
|
||||
take notes, quit designing a painting and instead think about what people
|
||||
ACTUALLY need out of their file pickers.
|
||||
|
||||
In the meantime, If you have a solution to this problem, please send me
|
||||
an email. In any case, that's it for me. Have a good day!
|
1
articles/File pickers suck.md.date
Normal file
1
articles/File pickers suck.md.date
Normal file
|
@ -0,0 +1 @@
|
|||
2023-07-03
|
|
@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
|
|||
# My workflow
|
||||
|
||||
2023-07-03
|
||||
2023-07-02
|
||||
|
||||
Woah, is that an upgraded blog? **Yes.**
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
@ -1 +1 @@
|
|||
2023-07-03
|
||||
2023-07-02
|
||||
|
|
BIN
articles/img/gtk-picker.png
Normal file
BIN
articles/img/gtk-picker.png
Normal file
Binary file not shown.
After Width: | Height: | Size: 94 KiB |
BIN
articles/img/qt-picker.png
Normal file
BIN
articles/img/qt-picker.png
Normal file
Binary file not shown.
After Width: | Height: | Size: 40 KiB |
BIN
articles/img/windows-picker.png
Normal file
BIN
articles/img/windows-picker.png
Normal file
Binary file not shown.
After Width: | Height: | Size: 26 KiB |
112
rss.xml
112
rss.xml
|
@ -3,16 +3,124 @@
|
|||
<title>speedie's blog</title>
|
||||
<description>speedie's blog, about stuff I want to talk about.</description>
|
||||
<atom:link href="https://speedie.site/blog" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
|
||||
<item>
|
||||
<title>File pickers suck</title>
|
||||
<link>/blog.php/File+pickers+suck</link>
|
||||
<guid>/blog.php/File+pickers+suck</guid>
|
||||
<pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
|
||||
<description>
|
||||
<![CDATA[
|
||||
<h1>File pickers suck</h1>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>2023-07-03</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>Now, I would never go as far as to say Windows is better than GNU/Linux, but it
|
||||
still has the edge sometimes. Today I want to talk about one such case.</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<h2>The problem</h2>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>File pickers on GNU/Linux are the absolute worst. We've been able to write a new
|
||||
display protocol, Wayland but we somehow still can't have a file picker that doesn't
|
||||
lack basic features or even works for that matter.</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>This is not a minimalist nitpick. In fact what I'm really complaining about
|
||||
is the <em>lack</em> of basic features that people need. Okay, so let's say you
|
||||
have a Chromium tab open and a website you're on requires you to upload
|
||||
an image. Fine right? Now what if you don't know what the filename is?</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>On Windows, what you would probably do is click on a bunch of them,
|
||||
look at the image and see if it's the correct image in the preview pane.
|
||||
On GNU/Linux you cannot do this, because our file pickers are so crap and don't allow
|
||||
you to preview images. In fact, the only file picker I know of that supports
|
||||
this feature is Gimp, and that has a custom file picker that only Gimp uses.
|
||||
And it's clear why it has a custom file picker, it's because all the
|
||||
other file pickers are useless.</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<h2>GTK file picker</h2>
|
||||
|
||||
<p><img src="/articles/img/gtk-picker.png" alt="GTK file picker" /></p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>This is what the GTK file picker looks like. GNOME and GTK has always had a
|
||||
minimalist design philosophy, not in terms of code or anything, but they've
|
||||
had simple UIs, just like Apple software. It's the Apple of the GNU/Linux
|
||||
space. There are multiple issues with this file picker, here are just a few:</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<ul>
|
||||
<li>The aforementioned problem: Images don't have thumbnails, so you have
|
||||
no idea what you're uploading unless you know the filename.</li>
|
||||
<li>You cannot enter a path to a file. You can only see the parent directories.</li>
|
||||
<li>The pinned folders on the left are useless, and cannot be unpinned if
|
||||
those folders do not exist.</li>
|
||||
<li>You can't pin symlinks. This is massive problem for me at least, because
|
||||
I have ~/Screenshots, ~/Music, ~/Recordings and ~/Downloads symlinked
|
||||
to another drive.</li>
|
||||
</ul>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>Oh wait, you <em>can</em> enter a path to a file. You have to press <code>/</code> for it
|
||||
to display. But when you press <code>/</code> the path to the current directory
|
||||
will be removed. That is some awesome design right there.</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<h2>QT file picker</h2>
|
||||
|
||||
<p><img src="/articles/img/qt-picker.png" alt="QT file picker" /></p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>Now, on the KDE side of things we have the QT picker. It looks a lot better.
|
||||
For one, it actually has a field for entering a path, which also shows the
|
||||
current directory. It has buttons for navigation and a "Filter" option.
|
||||
It also allows you to resize each pane, which is a basic feature that
|
||||
the GTK picker is lacking for some reason. A massive step in the right direction.</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>Only one small problem. Programs that use GTK, which are a lot of programs
|
||||
these days, including your web browser where you NEED a file picker that
|
||||
doesn't suck will still use the GTK file picker, which we've established
|
||||
sucks and is basically useless as a file picker.</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>This means you pretty much CAN'T escape the GTK file picker, because it's
|
||||
so tightly integrated with the whole GTK toolkit.</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<h2>Windows was right</h2>
|
||||
|
||||
<p><img src="/articles/img/windows-picker.png" alt="Windows file picker" /></p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>As you're surely aware of at this point, I use free software and I don't
|
||||
support nonfree software. However regardless,
|
||||
Windows does file pickers right. Everything positive I said about the QT
|
||||
file picker Windows has done for decades. It may be absolutely
|
||||
proprietary, but it is functional, something the GTK
|
||||
picker cannot say about itself.</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>You may notice some similarities between the Windows file picker and the
|
||||
QT file picker. Regardless, they're both functional and get the job done.
|
||||
You get a list of your files with image previews, both in the form of icons
|
||||
if you increase the icon size and in the form of the preview pane you can
|
||||
open up. The Windows file picker is actually even better though, because
|
||||
it actually displays EVERYTHING, rather than a few folders that you manually
|
||||
go out of your way to pin. It also works with shortcuts (basically symlinks)
|
||||
and handles drives too.</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>GTK and GNOME is about as useful as a painting. Cool to look at, but when
|
||||
you actually want to get stuff done, you're SOL. GNOME and GTK should
|
||||
take notes, quit designing a painting and instead think about what people
|
||||
ACTUALLY need out of their file pickers.</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>In the meantime, If you have a solution to this problem, please send me
|
||||
an email. In any case, that's it for me. Have a good day!</p>
|
||||
|
||||
]]>
|
||||
</description>
|
||||
</item>
|
||||
<item>
|
||||
<title>My workflow</title>
|
||||
<link>/blog.php/My+workflow</link>
|
||||
<guid>/blog.php/My+workflow</guid>
|
||||
<pubDate>Mon, 03 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
|
||||
<pubDate>Sun, 02 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
|
||||
<description>
|
||||
<![CDATA[
|
||||
<h1>My workflow</h1>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>2023-07-03</p>
|
||||
<p>2023-07-02</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>Woah, is that an upgraded blog? <strong>Yes.</strong></p>
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
Reference in a new issue