Tree View: expand all, contract

[davidbspalding]

Most Windows file browsers and object browsers have featured an "Expand all" (sub-tree nodes, from current selection point) command using NUMPAD "*", and a contract all (from current selection point) with NUMPAD "-."

Why needed: In a tree view of Location, or Library, or anywhere in the MM tree view, it's advantageous to expand all the nodes below the current selection point. E.g. on Library | Artist | Blondie, expand all shows all sub-nodes, PARALLEL LINES, EAT TO THE BEAT, AUTOAMERICAN,... Otherwise, one must select each node to expand (kybd or mouse).

[rovingcowboy]

you can use tweakmonkey it will allow you to pick which to expand. go to the help with addons forum room and then look in the all scripts thread to find it. if not found in that thread then do a search in that forum for tweakmonkey you'll find it then.

[davidbspalding]

Tweakmonkey looks interesting, but it appears from screenshots that it only "expands" a node you select upon startup. If that assumption is correct, that's not what this RFE is about. (Sorry, but it appears Tweakmonkey installs with an EXE, and I don't readily run unknown EXEs without deliberation.)

Based on this screenshot...



... I'm not asking for the Location or any other node to be expanded by default. That would be aggravating. I want the ability to browse the folder tree (by mouse or keyboard arrow keys), and upon reaching a particular node, expand all at that node and all below it.

If you use the feature in Windows Explorer, Folder view (also works in Gnome Nautilus), you will see that it is an interactive function that executes on the current selected node. This way you can browse to c:\Program Files\Mediamonkey\, THEN use NUMPAD * to expand all folders underneath. If you use the function on c:\Program Files\ you will get a humongous expanding folder tree.



Say you're browsing Library \ Album Artist \ Nina Simone with your selection on the last node. Now hitting NUMPAD * would expand Nina Simone and show you all her albums below that, and their subnodes, without having to click a bunch of [+] boxes or double-clicking folders. Hitting NUMPAD - would contract the whole series of sub-nodes. Very easy way to check a folder structure, and you don't have to reach for mouse. Clearer now?



As you can see from my example, I'm using the "show M3U playlists in My Computer" option to check that each album folder has an associated m3u playlist in it.

[Guest]

You could check out the Expand Child Nodes add-on. It has not a keyboard shortcut, but you could use the right-click menu to expand all child nodes of the selected node.

[davidbspalding]

[Deleted] See next post....

[davidbspalding]

The 1.1 update to ExpandChildNodes works great, and includes the keyboard shortcut as well. As I posted in that thread:

A thing of beauty, thank you. Works great on My Computer node. I then set it loose on the Library \ Artist node, and it churned away speedily, providing an update progress bar, and left the selection point at the node it was initiated from. Working as I hoped it would.