When in "Details View Mode", the filename is on the far left, and the details are on the far right, with a lot of empty space between them.

Is there any way to have the details automatically move left, to the end of the filenames? I can drag them over to the left, but the next time I open up the folder they are back to the far right again (and I would like it to be that way for all folders anyway when in details mode).

Thanks!

I have just tested this on my system (running something fairly close to KDE 4.10) and it seems that the details view will keep the column sizes across both folder changes and restarts, although it must be newly applied in each folder though.

If you want it to keep the column sizes, then changing the view behaviour may help. You can do this at Dolphin > Settings > Configure Dolphin > General > Behaviour. Make sure the option "Use common properties for all folders" is selected, under the "View" section.

bcooksley wrote:I have just tested this on my system (running something fairly close to KDE 4.10) and it seems that the details view will keep the column sizes across both folder changes and restarts, although it must be newly applied in each folder though.

I have a different behavior here (KDE 4.8.5, Dolphin 2.0); leaving the folder or changing the view resets it back to the far right.

If you want it to keep the column sizes, then changing the view behaviour may help. You can do this at Dolphin > Settings > Configure Dolphin > General > Behaviour. Make sure the option "Use common properties for all folders" is selected, under the "View" section.

That might work, but I only want details on certain folders, and mostly at certain times (invoked).

IMHO, it should be the default to put the details over by the filename; having a foot of whitespace between a filename and the details makes it hard to connect the two. I'm guessing this is just an oversight in Dolphin; maybe I should request this to be added as a feature?

In regards to the different behaviour - updating will probably fix this (I am using Dolphin 2.1, KDE 4.9.80 - to be 4.10)

The large separating distance between the file name and the details is because Dolphin is trying to maximise usage of the available screen real estate. In this case, it has chosen to give a large amount of space to the filename (which is desired if you have long file names) rather than have a large empty space on the right side of the screen.

If you were to show more details (right click in the header area where the column titles are) then the details would gradually move leftward.

bcooksley wrote:In regards to the different behaviour - updating will probably fix this (I am using Dolphin 2.1, KDE 4.9.80 - to be 4.10)

Yes, indeed it did in another installation using the newer version; thanks.

The large separating distance between the file name and the details is because Dolphin is trying to maximise usage of the available screen real estate. In this case, it has chosen to give a large amount of space to the filename (which is desired if you have long file names) rather than have a large empty space on the right side of the screen.

Yes indeed, that is the current behavior of Dolphin, but I do not consider this to be optimal. One alternative that is very effective is to have the default view in "Details" mode such that filenames are truncated at a certain width, say a dozen characters; this usually provides enough of the filename string to be useful. The next step up is to have the filename column just as wide as the longest filename in that particular directory, providing the full string width to be shown, while still bringing the additional details over to the end of the filenames. This "next step up" should have a shortcut available, so that the user can hit a shortcut to enable this (in Windows Explorer, this shortcut is "CTRL and +".

I think the fundamental point here is that having a big "no man's land" between the filename and the details makes it much more difficult to associate the details and the filenames with a quick visual scan, significantly increasing the amount of time spent associating details with filenames, and is an impediment to using Details mode. Practically speaking, it just makes no sense; the goal here should not be going for something that "looks good", but instead something that increases productivity, and assists the user in accomplishing their task - this is the crux of the issue.

If you were to show more details (right click in the header area where the column titles are) then the details would gradually move leftward.

Yes, indeed it would, the details should be closer to the filename in the first place. At the very least, it would be nice if such features were made available to end users as an option, so that we would at least have the option available.

Feature requests can be filed at bugs.kde.org, however I suspect the current behaviour is that which the Dolphin developers intended.

At least on my system, I see alternating coloured bands which allow the easy association of the details across the width of my screen.

danniken wrote:One alternative that is very effective is to have the default view in "Details" mode such that filenames are truncated at a certain width, say a dozen characters; this usually provides enough of the filename string to be useful.

I'm afraid we will get lots of complaints as soon as such a thing would be implemented. Most users like to see the full file names, provided the screen is large enough.