A pluggable file manager

Llama · 2014-11-16 06:39:57

Hi,

I'd like to integrate a command line utility into a file manager. The utility essentially concerns itself with file copying (shaping audio albums for mobile devices). The plugin must expose some GUI: checkboxes, buttons, text lines.

Above all, the plugin API should be the easiest to use on the block, since I am not interested in massive investment. Any suggestions?

Stefan Husmann · 2014-11-16 10:43:19

Starting a terminal with -e option does not fulfill your needs?

Llama · 2014-11-16 18:20:45

Stefan Husmann wrote:

Starting a terminal with -e option does not fulfill your needs?

What is it? Does it have something to do with GUI utilities?

drcouzelis · 2014-11-17 00:29:52

Your question confuses me. Let me see if I understand: You are looking for a GUI file manager (Thunar, Dolphin, Midnight Commander...) that supports "plugins". You want to create a plugin that will allow you select some files or directories and then run a command on them. Also, you want it to me dead simple to create / use. ...Is this correct so far?

I don't understand this part at all:

Llama wrote:

The plugin must expose some GUI: checkboxes, buttons, text lines.

Can you please explain it again? Would a screenshot mockup help?

Llama · 2014-11-17 05:44:34

Yes, something like this, drcouzelis. I'd like to select a directory, invoke a context menu, get a form with several checkboxes and text fields, make my choices, and press "OK". Pretty much like RabbitVCS plugin for Nautilus, for example. I suppose that the majority of the available file managers have the necessary functionality, which presents a bit of a problem: which one has the easiest learning curve (and/or is better documented)? This is important, if you want a simple plugin once in a lifetime.

drcouzelis · 2014-11-17 12:47:59

I did a quick check in Thunar (what I use). Creating a simple plugin is super quick and easy to do, and the dialog gives a list of all the "%f" style escape characters you can use. But you can only actually enter a single command that will be called when the plugin is run.

Llama wrote:

I'd like to select a directory, invoke a context menu, get a form with several checkboxes and text fields, make my choices, and press "OK".

In my opinion, what you just described is "programming". You MIGHT be able to create a dialog with all of those options in a simple Bash script by using Zenity, but I'm not sure. I've only ever made simple yes / no / enter some text dialog boxes with Zenity before.

Good luck!

Trilby · 2014-11-17 13:41:46

I'm a bit out of touch with gui file managers as I haven't use any of them in a while. But the last I'd use (and the only one I'd go back to) is Rox filer. That is *very* scriptable. It is trivially easy to add user-defined actions to context menus even based on file type.

Rox does not provide any mechanism to create new (customized) dialogs - I doubt any file manager does. But as drcouzelis suggested, something like zenity should allow for that. Or even pygtk (python + gtk) is pretty simple.

Rox would allow for easily triggering any bash/python script from a context menu passing the selected file names. Then that script could display the dialog and do whatever needed to be done.

ANOKNUSA · 2014-11-17 14:00:14

Llama wrote:

I'd like to integrate a command line utility into a file manager. The utility essentially concerns itself with file copying (shaping audio albums for mobile devices). The plugin must expose some GUI: checkboxes, buttons, text lines.
Above all, the plugin API should be the easiest to use on the block, since I am not interested in massive investment. Any suggestions?

This is quite probably an X-Y Problem, so my suggestion would be to tell us exactly what "shaping audio albums for mobile devices" means and what command line utility you're using to do it. There may already be ten other things that do what you want.

Llama · 2014-11-17 16:35:11

ANOKNUSA wrote:

so my suggestion would be to tell us exactly what "shaping audio albums for mobile devices" means and what command line utility you're using to do it. There may already be ten other things that do what you want.

Never mind "shaping audio albums for mobile devices", ANOKNUSA. There is the CLI utility in question, perfectly usable - from the command line, that is. It's a frontend that's lacking. A full featured file manager would be perfect: file search, bookmarks, preview - everything's already there. The plugin is expected to shape the command line arguments, nothing else.

ANOKNUSA · 2014-11-17 17:21:44

Okay, you missed my point. I store my FLAC music library on a box I use as a multi-purpose server at home. Since my smartphone and laptop have limited storage I convert all my FLAC to MP3 on that server, then transfer those files to my laptop using sshfs, which mounts a single remote folder to a local one (/mnt/srv) over SSH. Other options I could use are an NFS share, a Samba share, BitTorrent Sync, SyncThing (or whatever they call it now)...

The point is, I have multiple command-line program options to mount a remote folder that I use to move audio albums to mobile devices, and they all make a remote folder accessible to any file manager you can think of. No special plugin is necessary. Your goal is not to create a plugin, your goal involves moving files around in some particular way for some particular reason. You've just assumed that changing your file manager and then writing a new specialized plugin for it is the best way to achieve that goal. I'm wondering if it might not be. You're asking folks here to spend time and energy brainstorming solutions to a problem without really telling them what the problem is.

Llama · 2014-11-17 19:52:22

ANOKNUSA wrote:

You're asking folks here to spend time and energy brainstorming solutions to a problem without really telling them what the problem is.

It isn't about brainstorming. It's about sharing experience, since I have none in this particular field and face the perspective of full scale research with all the trial and error thing.

Arch Linux

#1 2014-11-16 06:39:57

A pluggable file manager

#2 2014-11-16 10:43:19

Re: A pluggable file manager

#3 2014-11-16 18:20:45

Re: A pluggable file manager

#4 2014-11-17 00:29:52

Re: A pluggable file manager

#5 2014-11-17 05:44:34

Re: A pluggable file manager

#6 2014-11-17 12:47:59

Re: A pluggable file manager

#7 2014-11-17 13:41:46

Re: A pluggable file manager

#8 2014-11-17 14:00:14

Re: A pluggable file manager

#9 2014-11-17 16:35:11

Re: A pluggable file manager

#10 2014-11-17 17:21:44

Re: A pluggable file manager

#11 2014-11-17 19:52:22

Re: A pluggable file manager

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