Unhappy with new FileDialog default implementation (FileBot 4.9.2)

[x33166]

Whoever thought it was a good idea to change to process of selecting files/folders needs to use the program for more than 3 seconds. Used to be able to select multiple folders/files mix. Now either or and only one folder at a time. Takes way too long now. Plus when you go to select a new folder it reverts to the previous so you first have to back out of that folder to select another ONE FOLDER! Ridiculously inefficient. On top of that once FileBot is done renaming files it forces the FileBot window over the top of all other windows. Forcing you to click on the window even though there is nothing to do. If this is the future I will not be purchasing a for another year and will be looking for an alternative. I may just let Plex/Emby just name do their thing and not rename TV shows anymore. If this was tested you need to fire whoever thought these changes were a good idea. I went from loving this program to absolutely hating it. Not being shitty. It really is painful to use.

[rednoah]

Whoever thought it was a good idea to change to process of selecting files/folders needs to use the program for more than 3 seconds. Used to be able to select multiple folders/files mix. Now either or and only one folder at a time. Takes way too long now. Plus when you go to select a new folder it reverts to the previous so you first have to back out of that folder to select another ONE FOLDER! Ridiculously inefficient.

Most users prefer to use drag-n-drop for efficient file and folder selection, but you can also manually configure the FileChooser implementation if you prefer one over another:
viewtopic.php?p=52306#p52306


If you force the Java Swing JFileChooser implementation then you may also need to force the System theme.


The default FileChooser implementation has indeed changed to the Windows FileDialog instead of the Java Swing JFileChooser because the latter doesn't work well in Dark Mode.


The Windows FolderDialog will remember the folder that you have selected, which isn't necessarily the folder you're currently in. We can't remember the latter because FileBot code is not aware of anything that happens in Windows code.


EDIT:

FileBot r8135 will now restore the parent folder of the selected folder. MultiFolder selection is unfortunately not possible with the Windows FolderDialog due to Windows limitations.

On top of that once FileBot is done renaming files it forces the FileBot window over the top of all other windows. Forcing you to click on the window even though there is nothing to do.

I'm not aware of any changes in this regard. I cannot reproduce the behavior on macOS. Perhaps something specific to Windows. We're now using a TaskBar progress indicator. Windows might automatically focus the window in response to background task completing. I'll look into it.


EDIT:

I've tested on Windows 10 and although the Windows task bar starts blinking for attention on background task completion, the window itself is not elevated on top of any other windows. Different versions of Windows may very well behave differently though. What version of Windows are you using?


EDIT 2:

Turns out the change that makes the notification message popup on the correct monitor in multi-monitor setups also makes Windows think that the popup is a dialog thus "asking for attention" now which wasn't the case previously, and "asking for attention" may result in task bar flashing or window being elevated on top, at the discretion of Windows and your system settings.


EDIT 3:

Possibly fixed with FileBot r8136.


You're welcome to upgrade to the latest beta once in a while to make sure everything is still working well for your particular use case and type of usage:
viewtopic.php?t=1609

Understanding your particular type of usage may help us better serve your particular needs:
viewtopic.php?t=10881

[x33166]

Thank you for your quick response. FileBot is probably the most used program on my PC. Current Plex server has just under 100k episodes so you can see how vital it is. I will try the drag-n-drop method and if it allows for multiple folders and folder/file mix that will work for me. To give you more info on the window force appearing over the top of all windows after renaming process is completed. I keep the FileBot window not full screen so I can click on windows behind it while it renames the files (side note this process seems to be taking longer than in previous versions). So now I'm doing other work on my PC and all of a sudden the FileBot window reappears over what I'm doing but I can still interact with the window behind it. I have to physically click on the window before I can then click on a window behind it and it minimizes.

[rednoah]

Current Plex server has just under 100k episodes so you can see how vital it is. I will try the drag-n-drop method and if it allows for multiple folders and folder/file mix that will work for me.

Understandable. Using drag-n-drop directly from the Explorer window should have you covered then.

I keep the FileBot window not full screen so I can click on windows behind it while it renames the files (side note this process seems to be taking longer than in previous versions). So now I'm doing other work on my PC and all of a sudden the FileBot window reappears over what I'm doing but I can still interact with the window behind it. I have to physically click on the window before I can then click on a window behind it and it minimizes.

Yep, putting another window in focus before a rename process finishes is definitely a test case we were missing there, though my Windows 10 gives me slightly different behaviour.


If you have time, please try the latest *-portable.zip package (you can test it without installing it) to see if you get better behaviour with that:
https://get.filebot.net/filebot/BETA/


If you're using FileBot on Windows, then FileBot will delegate move / copy operations to Windows itself (which will then perform the operations and show you a native progress dialog) so changes in FileBot can't really affect how fast or slow Windows moves or copies files. (There are of course countless other factors unrelated to FileBot that might make things slower or faster, but I'm no expert in that regard.)

[puckpanix]

Hi, longtime user but I registered here because of the focus problem. It is a very serious issue from an accessibility standpoint (the rest of the application is operable for me) when something unexpectedly takes focus in Windows 10. Is there any more information known about whether the beta build addresses this? I'm happy to install it and report back, if not.

[rednoah]

Most users prefer to use drag-n-drop for efficient file and folder selection, but you can also manually configure the FileChooser implementation if you prefer one over another:
viewtopic.php?p=52306#p52306

If you were happy with the previous FileDialog implementation, then the recommended solution is switching back to the previous implementation.

If you have time, please try the latest *-portable.zip package (you can test it without installing it) to see if you get better behaviour with that:
https://get.filebot.net/filebot/BETA/

If you have trouble with auto-focus on Windows, then you can indeed try the latest beta. The issue has possibly been fixed, but that has yet to be confirmed by someone who has the issue.