File Explorer Display

[lausianne]

Hi,

I just installed Webuilder 2011 and in order to start working on some files opened a ftp folder. The files are displayed in an almost useless list, no file info but the names. In the help file I found that there should be a button to change the display, but there is none. How can the display be changed?

Thanks!

Cheers,
Ralf.

[lausianne]

I've spent more time trying to figure out how ftp-things work with WeBuilder. Somehow I've got the impression that the whole implementation is really basic, missing many features (I'm used to Notepad++). Do I just not find the right settings? Since I'm working a lot with online files, this is essential to me.
Otherwise I have a good impression of WeBuilder and I'd be sorry if I can not use it just because of ftp issues.
Thanks!
Cheers, Ralf.

[davenz]

I consider WeBuilder an html/php editor, not an FTP client. Most editors contain basic FTP capability in order to upload and download web-based files to and from the server - much more than that and a dedicated FTP client is usually required. While you can right click in that view and sort by name, date, size etc, I agree it isn't overly helpful if you have multiple versions of files you want to sort out and there isn't the equivalent of Window's 'details' view.

However, to be fair this isn't the focus of the software and many features in WB are not found in some other editors; single-click upload and download from the explorer and folder views and the publish feature which can 'remember' which files are to be uploaded are excellent and not common. Perhaps there are other editors with superior FTP capacity, though the software I have used and tried out are all pretty similar to WeBuilder in this respect.

Dave
davethompson.co.nz

[lausianne]

Hi Dave,

thanks for your elaborate answer. I'm just not very patient when trying new software, so I thought I had just overlooked something. Sometimes there are plugins to add functionality, such as better ftp etc.

Just to explain why this is important to me: Mostly I develop a site locally, so no worries about ftp. But once the site is online, there are often things to be changed later. Mostly design adjustments. So I open Notepad++, connect to the server, browse to the css, double click -> css opens, change the file, Ctrl-S saves it to the server, etc. VERY convenient and fast.
WeBuilder has no tree view, which makes it much harder to find the files I need. Working with different CMSs, locations are different every time. One system I use only has a few css, no big problem there. But others (Joomla) have so many files that need to be worked on in order to change the design just a little bit - without a good tree view, path, and file details display, I'm lost. Then, try Magento ...

In the ancient times, I used FileZilla to find a file, open it, then edit, then switch back to FZ to upload. Very tedious process.
Maybe I just have another try with WeBuilder, maybe it's strengths outweight it's ftp weakness ...

Thanks again!

Cheers,
Ralf.

[Gorky]

hi,
you can give netdrive a try : http://www.netdrive.net/
free for private usage and moderatly priced for commerical usage

[lausianne]

Thanks for the suggestion, Gorky. But what is the relation of Netdrive w/ WeBuilder?

[Gorky]

netdrive "mounts/connects" your remote ftp-directory into your windows-filesystem You can open, edit, save the remote files like any file on your local pc.

[davenz]

@Gorky, that sounds interesting, I'll check that out too.

@lausianne, I understand how the ftp side of things could be limiting in many situations. While it is fine for basic FTP stuff, it would pose problems for some. Luckily I have several good FTP clients purchased over the years, all of which have integrated HTML editors, so anything I cannot do in WeBuilder (which isn't a lot to be honest) I can fire up one of those and do it. Perhaps if those who would like to see that in the software put in a feature request for a tree view, or a details type view, the devs will put it in the queue to look at for future builds. I know they are keen to keep the application light and fast, so adding bulk may not be a priority for them, however it could also be argued that depending on how it is implemented, it doesn't necessarily have to take screeds of code to achieve it, especially when existing Windows api's could be utilised.

As you suggest, hopefully the positives outweigh any perceived negatives. Like I have said, I am prepared to put up with the software's quirks because the rest of it is so well thought-out and powerful, yet still easy to use, even for a lame-duck hobby coder like me.

Dave
davethompson.co.nz

[lausianne]

Meanwhile, after some pushing and support by a friend, I have found a viable solution for the ftp issue. WinSCP immediately uploads changed and saved files (FileZilla doesn't do that, unless I overlooked the feature). Like that I can work almost as conveniently as with Notepad++. There are still a few issues with auto completion and code colouring. But that's probably just a matter of setting the right options.
I just discovered auto formatting for code, which is pretty cool ...

Thanks again, cheers,
Ralf.