Delete Selected Folder in Tree

[macmore]

I have a folder selected in the Tree.  When I press Delete, nothing happens.  Do I need to set a configuration option to allow deleting items in a tree?

[Mathias (Author)]

Delete is not possible from the tree side.

[Ockham]

With respect, this is very poor answer. It is very unusual to find such basic and commonly implemented option missing in a file manager. There is also GUI problem: selecting a folder in tree view does not disable a button "Delete (F8)" and popup help "Delete files of folders" is still present.

Windows Explorer allows this, other two tools I am currently evaluating: XYPlorer and FreeCommander XE also allow this operation. I may be wrong, but from memory I do not remember any other file manager (and I used many) which would have such basic flaw.

Why is it not implemented? The product appears to be mature (ver. 4.1). Some better explanation is needed here. Is it going to be fixed? This is definitely NOT a feature or a logical design decision, it is crippling lack of basic functionality commonly implemented in other similar tools.

[Mathias (Author)]

With respect, this is very poor answer. It is very unusual to find such basic and commonly implemented option missing in a file manager.

Might be an answer you did not like. But it does not change the fact that it is not currently possible.
MC is primary built to be used as a dual panel, Commander style file manager, and a folder tree is not used very often in that setup (since the tree view often is navigated with mouse and in commander mode you are often not using that.)
So the folder tree has not been a priority, It is planned to add it. But it is not as easy to do as one might think. There are some technical issue with it and that require a bit of work (You have delete from the context menu in the FolderTree, But you will see some refresh issues, This is part of the issues )
Also other issues have had higher priority.  But it is on the todo list.

There is also GUI problem: selecting a folder in tree view does not disable a button "Delete (F8)" and popup help "Delete files of folders" is still present.

That is because the button panel are not context sensitive. they are just buttons that you can assign whatever to.

Windows Explorer allows this, other two tools I am currently evaluating: XYPlorer and FreeCommander XE also allow this operation. I may be wrong, but from memory I do not remember any other file manager (and I used many) which would have such basic flaw.

MC is not build using the slow Windows Shell interface that a lot of others are using. MC shows the file system as it really is.
MC is also built in a very different way, everything in MC is a extension/plugin, that makes it easier to add new features but will make some other things harder.
And as a said. MC was first built to be used in commander style setup first and did not even have a tree view since that is not even used there.

Why is it not implemented? The product appears to be mature (ver. 4.1). Some better explanation is needed here. Is it going to be fixed? This is definitely NOT a feature or a logical design decision, it is crippling lack of basic functionality commonly implemented in other similar tools.

Because not everything can be fixed at once, MC is free so there is very limited resources, I do not have a whole team of devs that works 24/7.
Also not many uses the FolderTree most users run MC in CommanderStyled mode and other issues have been more impotent to fix.
But it is on the list, and will be fixed.
It have not been categories as a major flaw since you can still delete, just go up one level and delete from the list part.

[ice-man]

the Folder Tree view, people really use that ?
I find it so very very unpractical and slow to use that.
But I guess if you are a mouse person you don't mind that.

For example if I want to go up two levels in the filesystem I just press the backspace key twice. I do not have to reach the mouse and position the mouse pointer correct and click.

But we are all different. And the nice part with MC is that it also allows mouse folks to use it. And I'm fine with that as long as the keyboard style does not gets crippled by it.

[Ockham]

ice-man: If I want to go up two levels in the filesystem I just reach the mouse and position the mouse pointer correct and click. I do not have to press the backspace key twice.

Seriously, operating Windows without a mouse, people really do that ?

Mathias (Author): thank you for your fast and comprehensive response. The problem is that just about EVERY file manager I am aware of, including free tools created by single developers, allows to delete a folder in tree view. I appreciate that "MC is not build using the slow Windows Shell interface that a lot of others are using", but I would like to bring to your attention that there do exist file managers NOT based on the Win shell which allow a folder deletion in tree view.

As it happens I am software developer myself. I am risking being rude here, so please accept my apologies, as this is not my intention: what I see here is simply not finished, and not elegant. This is not beta, this is rel. 4.1. maybe FAQ should have a section: not yet implemented features you may expect to see, but they are not here yet? Are there any more?

On positive note: great tool, and I appreciate that you invested a lot of your time in creating it, and you released it free, for this you have my well deserved respect.

[ice-man]

ice-man: If I want to go up two levels in the filesystem I just reach the mouse and position the mouse pointer correct and click. I do not have to press the backspace key twice.

Seriously, operating Windows without a mouse, people really do that ?

Of course not everything in windows, that would be insane. But if you do a lot of file management, Using only keys is so very much faster.  If I would use the mouse for everything my arm would have had to replaced a couple of times by now.
But that is where programs like this comes in. 

You can divide most file managers in two category of file managers. the Explorer Clones that focus on mouse and to work like Windows Explorer but to add more features. and you have the Command clones (MultiCmd, TotalCmd, NortionCmd, MidnightCmd,) that focus being able to do advanced thing things fast using the keyboard.
(Ex I can select all files of type X (many 100x files) and copy them to target Z in less then 1 sec.. with just a couple of keys.)

We all have different needs. That why there are so many different to choose from.

[Mathias (Author)]

Mathias (Author): thank you for your fast and comprehensive response. The problem is that just about EVERY file manager I am aware of, including free tools created by single developers, allows to delete a folder in tree view. I appreciate that "MC is not build using the slow Windows Shell interface that a lot of others are using", but I would like to bring to your attention that there do exist file managers NOT based on the Win shell which allow a folder deletion in tree view.

As it happens I am software developer myself. I am risking being rude here, so please accept my apologies, as this is not my intention: what I see here is simply not finished, and not elegant. This is not beta, this is rel. 4.1. maybe FAQ should have a section: not yet implemented features you may expect to see, but they are not here yet? Are there any more?

On positive note: great tool, and I appreciate that you invested a lot of your time in creating it, and you released it free, for this you have my well deserved respect.

Just because FileMan X have it does not mean that it is as easy for everybody to add it. As a developer you knows that it also have to fit into the whole framework you have. It is not just a dumb tree controller that sits there. It have to glue it self into the explorer panel tab and into the core and plugin system.

The point is really that the issue is known, BUT there is no easy fix for it. If it was a 5-10 min fix it would have been fixed a lot time ago.
And since I do not use the shell I do not get the tree stuff for free. I have to create everything my self and it have to fit into the whole architecture of my core system.

And fixing it would require a lot of work. And since my time is limited I have to prioritize.
Should I spend a month redesigned a big chunk of code so delete from folder tree can works (a bug that has very few request to be fixed, and has a workaround, and that does not cause a crash)
Or should I instead fix issue A,B,C and add feature 1,2,3 ?
(So fix one minor issue or fix many issue and also get the the time left to add a couple of new features)
As a developer you know that you have to prioritize, and even if you got a bug you can not spent all the time fixing it if there are other more important stuff to do. specially if you work with a very large code base.

But it is on my fix list. And it will be fixed. Exactly when I do not know. I try to collect all the bugs and feature that are around the same area and do them all. That saves a lot of time.

And yes it is v4.1 but the FolderTree has not existed from the beginning, MC was developed like a pure commander clone from the beginning.
And there was no folder tree at all back then, and nobody ask for it, Because most hard core users of commander clones do not use it.
Then features was added to make "explorer" folk more at home in using it and folder tree was added, BUT the folder tree did
not fit exactly into the core framework so some stuff in it does not work.

[ice-man]

are other more important stuff to do. specially if you work with a very large code base.

I'm also a developer.. and I'm just a bit curious. So If you don't mind.. How large is the code base of MC ?

[Mathias (Author)]

are other more important stuff to do. specially if you work with a very large code base.

I'm also a developer.. and I'm just a bit curious. So If you don't mind.. How large is the code base of MC ?

I run a tool last year that counted SLOC (Source lines of code)
and it was then around 650k SLOC  (3de party libs/dlls NOT included in that)