Folder Columns and Navigation Pane


The folder tree is displayed as a series of columns. A single click on any folder in a column opens that folder in a new column to its right. Columns that behave like this are known as Miller columns, in which all of the columns that are part of the tree branches leading to the currently-open folder remain visible. This makes it easier to see where the currently-open folder sits in the folder tree structure, and to navigate to other branches in the tree.


OneCommander adds two features to standard Miller columns to make it easier to work with folder displays in which a lot of folder columns are visible (when you're working with a folder that is a long way from the drive root):

  • As each new folder is opened, the columns to its left shrinks to make room for the contents of the current folder to be easily read.
  • (Optional) As the cursor moves over folders to the left of the current folder (i.e. over its parent folders), the folders under the cursor expand while the cursor is over them so their contents can be seen. The responsiveness and speed of this expansion, as well as many other features of the column display, can be adjusted in Settings > Columns.

Not everyone likes columns to change width in this way. They can be turned off in  Settings > Columns.


The Navigation Pane displays folders in columns:


Clicking in top-right corner of the browser (or pressing ` [key under esc] on US ANSI keyboard) toggles between simple path "breadcrumbs" and "miller-columns" navigation. All parts of the path are expanded into mini browsers. 


You can navigate to a folder in any of the columns, including the ones to the left of the Current Folder Column, using the:
Mouse: Click on the folder. A new column displaying the contents of that folder will appear to the right of the column you clicked in (replacing what was there before, if the column you clicked on wasn't the Current Folder Column).
Keyboard: You can move through the entire directory tree using just four cursor keys. You can:

  • move between panes, and between folders and files within panes, using a combination of Tab and Cursor Arrow keys (Shift+Tab to move in the opposite direction), and Enter to open folders (this doesn't move the keyboard focus to the folder within) or files;
  • use left/right arrows to move between folder columns. The right arrow also opens the folder from the Current Folder pane.

The easiest way of understanding how this works is to try it.


Files or folders selected using the keyboard are surrounded by a box of "marching ants":

This can be changed from Settings.


In the Columns Layout, the rightmost column is also the Current Folder Pane. Folders in this pane need to be double-clicked to open (although you can set it to open with a single-click in Settings > Other).


The columns to the left of the Current Folder Column compress to fit available space allow you a good view of the Current Folder Column. If they're compressed too much to give a clear view of their contents, you can expand them by clicking expand button for each at the bottom (in Columns layout) or by moving the mouse cursor over them (in Navigation pane of Standard layout). You can change many features of how this works in Settings > Columns, for example how quickly the columns respond to the mouse movements, how much they expand, and so on. Alternatively, if you don't like these animations, you can turn them off.

Navigating through the columns

  • Keyboard
  • Navigating through Parent Folder Columns: Left and Right cursor keys walk left and right through the path of parent folder columns.

  • Enter folder: Enter key or Right arrow (not in grid view)
  • Open Parent: Backspace or Left key (not in grid view), or Alt+Up to


Mouse

    • if cursor is in a parent folder column: click on folder
    • if cursor is in Current Folder Column in the Columns Layout: double-click on folder (similar as users are used to in Explorer where folder in sidebar tree is opened with single click, and double-click in main folder)  (this setting can be changed to a single click at Settings > Other > Opening items.)

  • Move to parent of currently-selected folder: Click (above file/folder name column) or just click title of another column

  • Add Folder or File to selection: Ctrl+Select (with mouse cursor) in the Parent Folder Column in Columns Layout adds that folder or file to the selection and makes that path current.


Path history

Moving back and foward through the history of a path: Click (above file/folder name column), press Alt+Left***/Right cursor keys, or 4th/5th mouse buttons. Note that if a tab was created from a Favorite, there won't be any history for that tab to move back and forth within until you have actually moved back and forth along that path, so until you do this the Alt+Left/Right cursor keys or the 4th/5th mouse buttons won't do anything.


***Alt+Left will not work depending on window type selected. This will be fixed once window library is replaced with a custom one