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    Rev 1581. Folders switch to appearing as documents in manager tree.

    1. Create a folder -> tree refreshes and shows folder. Expanding it shows no documents.
    2. Add a document and place it in the folder
    3. Delete the document
    4. Purge the deleted documents -> tree refreshes and the folder now switches to appearing as a document

    Andy
    • That’s not a bug, it’s a feature wink No, really, if a folder no longer has anything under it it’s automatically switched to being a document.
        Studying MODX in the desert - http://sottwell.com
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        Quote from: sottwell at Oct 05, 2006, 06:08 AM

        That’s not a bug, it’s a feature wink No, really, if a folder no longer has anything under it it’s automatically switched to being a document.

        OK, how about this: I want to use @INHERIT for some template variables, setting the TV to what I want for the folder that contains the documents.

        1. Create folder
        2. Edit -> default template is Regular but I cannot see the TVs for it
        3. Switch template to (blank), choose No - I don’t want to change it
        4. Switch template to Regular -> both content field and TVs now show up

        So each time I want to do this setup I have to go through these steps. I guess it would be quicker just to create a document rather than a folder and then use the docment as a folder. But how do you explain that to a client, that documents switch into folders and vice versa?

        Andy
        • Quote from: ajayre at Oct 05, 2006, 03:26 PM

          OK, how about this: I want to use @INHERIT for some template variables, setting the TV to what I want for the folder that contains the documents.

          1. Create folder
          2. Edit -> default template is Regular but I cannot see the TVs for it
          3. Switch template to (blank), choose No - I don’t want to change it
          4. Switch template to Regular -> both content field and TVs now show up

          So each time I want to do this setup I have to go through these steps. I guess it would be quicker just to create a document rather than a folder and then use the docment as a folder. But how do you explain that to a client, that documents switch into folders and vice versa?
          The default behavior of creating a folder technically shouldn’t allow for making any content or setting TVs. I find it personally not right and confusing as well. What you’ve managed to do is to find a workaround for this. tongue

          In fact, this is the very reason why there is no create a new folder icon above the tree menu. My reasoning is that if you need a folder, just set the checkbox. I’m not so sure we shouldn’t remove the dedicated "folder" page types from the next version which removes another option (less to think about) and could eliminate a potential point of confusion.

          A folder is JUST a page that contains other pages.

            Ryan Thrash, MODX Co-Founder
            Follow me on Twitter at @rthrash or catch my occasional unofficial thoughts at thrash.me
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            Quote from: rthrash at Oct 05, 2006, 03:45 PM

            In fact, this is the very reason why there is no create a new folder icon above the tree menu. My reasoning is that if you need a folder, just set the checkbox. I’m not so sure we shouldn’t remove the dedicated "folder" page types from the next version which removes another option (less to think about) and could eliminate a potential point of confusion.

            A folder is JUST a page that contains other pages.

            I wouldn’t remove it - sometimes it’s beneficial to "flag" a page as a folder, for navigational and structural purposes. If you’re going to go that way, it might just be better to go one step further - get rid of pages being able to hold other pages, and be able to actually create real "folders" that hold pages, with the default loading of a folder going to the index.

            Of course, the latter introduces all sorts of navigational schematic debates... grin
              shaun mccormick | bigcommerce mgr of software engineering, former modx co-architect | github | splittingred.com
            • The flag would not be removed by any means. Just the dedicated/minimal "create a folder" menu item/action page.
                Ryan Thrash, MODX Co-Founder
                Follow me on Twitter at @rthrash or catch my occasional unofficial thoughts at thrash.me
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                Quote from: rthrash at Oct 05, 2006, 03:45 PM

                A folder is JUST a page that contains other pages.

                I understand exactly what is going on, but I think most non-technical clients who will use MODx for day-to-day managing are familiar with folders and files on Windows and would be confused by this. smiley

                I think real folders where you can set default values for any TV would be better. For example, suppose I have the templates foo and bar, and foo has the TVs foo_tv1 and foo_tv2, and bar has the TVs bar_tv1 and bar_tv2. If a folder allows setting of default values for all four TVs without specifying a template, then the folder can contain documents using both templates and they can all use @INHERIT.

                Andy
                • Then based on that suggestion we should remove the folder checkbox from the document editing page. I think this is going to lead to a lot more confusing and frustration in the long run. Training a person what the checkbox for folder is/does takes less than 60 seconds.

                  To use the Windows analogy for folders is also a potentially dangerous road to go down. A web site is not your local filesystem. Windows folders DON’T contain data/content. They are simply hierarchical storage containers devoid of data (ignoring metadata and special circumstances like .app folders in OS X, but typical users don’t know about that stuff anyway).

                  A MODx "folder" can contain content. So is it a folder, or is it a page?

                  The more I think about it, the more I’m in favor of getting rid of the folder icon entirely, and just letting the indentation indicate a document heirarchy and structure... like a sitemap. That would make the "is folder" checkbox become "is parent". And with the new skinable manager system in the next release, if you absolutely must have folder icons, you can easily do that with a custom manager theme. smiley
                    Ryan Thrash, MODX Co-Founder
                    Follow me on Twitter at @rthrash or catch my occasional unofficial thoughts at thrash.me
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                    Quote from: rthrash at Oct 05, 2006, 04:17 PM

                    The more I think about it, the more I’m in favor of getting rid of the folder icon entirely, and just letting the indentation indicate a document heirarchy and structure... like a sitemap.

                    That would work as well.

                    Andy
                    • Based on an extended chat with Jason and this sub-thread, here’s what I think makes the most sense for 095 (the next release):
                      [*] Loose the new folder action page entirely for now (and the icon too... see custom theme stuff above for folder-icon devotees)
                      [*] Change the "is folder" label to "is container" (a container is just like a folder, only it shows whatever content you put there (or don’t) ... even blank content)
                      [*] Loose the logic that auto-transforms a container/folder back to a page if you empty a folder/container


                      After the 095 release, we could possibly add a true folder type:
                      [*] by default goes to the first child content page
                      [*] can optionally have a specific "index" page set, which would just auto direct to a specific page
                      [*] permissions would allow you to turn off this type of content for anyone but admins/super-users. In fact it should be off by default for anyone but admins as it’s more of a technical concept for dev-types.
                      [*] you could set default TV values on folder types for @INHERIT use without having to jump through hoops to do so.
                        Ryan Thrash, MODX Co-Founder
                        Follow me on Twitter at @rthrash or catch my occasional unofficial thoughts at thrash.me