Cirrus window disappears/re-appears

[Pete]

This is not new, but I think that it's a bit disconcerting the way that the Cirrus window closes (even removed from the TaskBar) and then a different window opens when I switch between Home view and Folder-Compare view (and vice versa). This is especially noticeable when I first start Cirrus and click on the Folder-Compare button (the closing/opening process takes a couple of seconds). The behavior seems wrong and, IMO, gives Cirrus an unprofessional or unpolished feel.

I think that it would be better to have a parent Cirrus window always visible on the screen and in the TaskBar.

[Tim]

(This issue doesn't apply to using Cirrus in tabbed mode)

I agree the behavior seems wrong.

Part of the problem is that Cirrus keeps track of window sizes and locations for the various types of sessions independently. When the Home page comes up, it doesn't know which what type of session you're going to pick, and thus doesn't know how to size or position the window. (It used to open the selected session in the same window and then immediately resize it. That was equally disconcerting.)

I'll be putting some more thought into this and hopefully have an improvement soon.

[Marjolein Katsma]

I'll add my vote to Pete's here - and repeat what I've suggested long ago by now: let the "home" view be an always-present "launch pad".

(This issue doesn't apply to using Cirrus in tabbed mode)

?? I'm not sure what this means. But the way Cirrus works is not the way I'd like it to work for windows and tabs.

Part of the problem is that Cirrus keeps track of window sizes and locations for the various types of sessions independently. When the Home page comes up, it doesn't know which what type of session you're going to pick, and thus doesn't know how to size or position the window.

I think that problem would disappear if "home" were just an always-present (but minimizable) window with its own size and location. After that, it depends on how you want tabs to work.

What I'd like to see is a three-level approach like his:

1. A "home" launch pad that's present as long as Cirrus is active - minimizable, remembering its own location and size
2. Anything (i.e., any session) launched from "home" gathered together in one tabbed window; each of these would have its own size and location, size determined by last size used
3. Anything launched from one of the sessions in (2) gathered together in one tabbed window (so for instance I'd have all text, image, etc. comparisons for one folder compare together as tabs in one window); as with (2), each window would have its own size and location, size determined by latest for this level
4. It would also be great if I cold drag a tab in one window to another window to make it a tab there, as a way to manually organize groups of tabs across windows.

I can't do this now: the closest I can get is to always keep (actually re-create) a "home" tab with sessions started in the same window and child sessions each in their own window, but this leads to a lot of window clutter (primary sessions together but each file comparison in its own window instead of grouped for a (folder comparison) session). It's just about workable, but far from the organization I'd like to have. (And I suspect a lot of windows take up more resources that one window with an equal number of tabs, but I may be mistaken about that - at least they're harder to manage!)

[Michael Bulgrien]

Marjolein,

I am trying hard to envision what you are asking for.

Please explain how you envision Cirrus working from the Explorer context menu or when launched from a Version Control engine? It would not make sense, in either of these two scenarios, to have an always open launch pad. Would the "launch pad" only exist if a user executes Cirrus from the Cirrus icon?

If Cirrus is configured to open new sessions in a new window, then I wouldn't mind keeping the "home" view open as a "launch pad", but not when Cirrus is configured to open new sessions in a new tab. For tabbed mode, I definitely would not like to keep a "launch pad" open. How do you propose handling users that like the functionality as it exists today?

It seems to me that such a "launch pad" could be a separate utility. A user could execute Cirrus as they do today, or they could execute an alternate launch pad utility to manage their Cirrus windows. Such a utility need not replace the current functionality, but supplement it for people that would find it useful. Do you agree? If not, please explain.

Thanks

[Marjolein Katsma]

I am trying hard to envision what you are asking for.

Please explain how you envision Cirrus working from the Explorer context menu or when launched from a Version Control engine? It would not make sense, in either of these two scenarios, to have an always open launch pad. Would the "launch pad" only exist if a user executes Cirrus from the Cirrus icon?

I see "home" as a launch pad, and want to keep that open as its own, separate window. Launch pad in the sense of "launching" sessions from - which implies that if you start Cirrus from an Explorer context menu or version control (for me, another context menu), then those context menus are the launch pad, and do not cause there to be a "home" window (though it may exist already).

If Cirrus is configured to open new sessions in a new window, then I wouldn't mind keeping the "home" view open as a "launch pad", but not when Cirrus is configured to open new sessions in a new tab. For tabbed mode, I definitely would not like to keep a "launch pad" open. How do you propose handling users that like the functionality as it exists today?

I have Cirrus set to open sessions in a new tab (it isn't in fact, a "new" tab when it makes the "home" tab disappear!), and child sessions in a new window - which is the closest I can get to how I'd like my tabs organized. There is no way I can "gather" all child sessions of one parent as tabs in one window, but I definitely don't want them in the same window as their parent sessions.

What I'm asking is not only that child sessions can be gathered (or even moved) together, but also that main sessions are "a new tab in a separate window". I.e., separate from the window that has the "home" view (aka "launch pad"). This could simply be a third option:
Open sessions in

• A new window
• A new tab
• A new tab in a separate window

That would give me my launch pad + main tabbed sessions window, and you just a sessions tabbed window without a "home" view: you'd choose option 2, I'd choose 3 (instead of 2 now). In scenario 3, "home" becomes a launch pad to launch sessions from, and would remember its own position and size (and of course be minimizable).

In order to "gather" child sessions in one window for each parent session, we'd also need a third option ("A new tab in one child window per parent session").

It seems to me that such a "launch pad" could be a separate utility. A user could execute Cirrus as they do today, or they could execute an alternate launch pad utility to manage their Cirrus windows. Such a utility need not replace the current functionality, but supplement it for people that would find it useful. Do you agree? If not, please explain.

Most of the functionality needed is already in Cirrus, so making a separate utility seems just overhead to me. What's needed (over what's already there) is a way to keep track of a separate window for session tabs (if option 3 is selected for sessions), and which session "owns" which "child window" with possibly multiple tabs (if option 3 is selected for child sessions).

Being able to "drag" tabs from one window to another would just be icing on the cake, not really necessary if child sessions can already be grouped together per parent session.

That leaves the question of where (main) sessions would go when using Explorer or some Version Control as launch pad, especially when there are already open windows. I think it should behave just the same: a (main) session started from any launch pad still uses the "Open sessions in" setting - if it's set to "A new window" it would just open a new window, if option 2 or 3 above, the new session would become a tab in the main sessions window (automatically "separate" if the launcher is not "home").

[Michael Bulgrien]

Would a configurable option to "Keep initial home tab open" help?

[Marjolein Katsma]

Would a configurable option to "Keep initial home tab open" help?

It would certainly help but (obviously) not accomplish completely the organization I'm looking for. Apart from that, I dislike having the "home" view as large as (I have) a folder comparison session window - there's a great deal of empty space there.

[Pete]

Switching between Home View and Folder View is much nicer with build 443. Thanks for your efforts.