Document merge with a large amount of files

[jaytraxx]

Hi devs,

one company I know has an issue with when having a lot of files for
merging with application items. For example in projectmanager if you
right-click onto a project and choose “Insert in document” … the
context menu gets ugly at a specific point when too many selectable
documents appear.

We have a few attempts to solve this problem, maybe one or all of them
in combination will do the trick:

1. the splitting of boxes with the “more” item for the context menu is
   limited, so what if we remove this and instead make a scrollable menu of it:

etemplate/inc/class.nextmatch_widget.inc.php

• const DEFAULT_MAX_MENU_LENGTH = 14;

• const DEFAULT_MAX_MENU_LENGTH = 9999;

phpgwapi/js/egw_action/egw_menu_dhtmlx.js
this.dhtmlxmenu.setSkin(“egw”);

• this.dhtmlxmenu.setOverflowHeight(26);

2. Group subfolders. Selecting a file in the context menu then could
   look like this: “Insert in document” -> “Plain Text” -> “myfolder” ->
   “subfolder” -> “mydocument.txt”

3. Add a “revert way”. For example, while browsing a file in filemanager
   -> context menu -> “Merge with item …”. Then a popup appears which
   lets you select an application and search for a term. Then the search
   result gets displayed and can be chosen to be merged.

4. A popup same as 3, but directly out of the application’s context menu
   box, e.g.: Projectmanager -> context menu -> “Insert in document” ->
   “Search…” -> (Search popup appears)

What do you think?
Bye
Christian

---

Live Security Virtual Conference
Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today’s security and
threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/

---

eGroupWare-developers mailing list
eGroupWare-developers@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/egroupware-developers

[DanL]

I think by adding all of these abilities would allow the egroupwear administrators to establish appropriate workflows for the size and usage of their users. Making the user experience easier. I would set my company up with a default directory that has the most common dozen or so files showing in the right-click in the context menu and let the user decide whether the context menu box scrolls or used more boxes. Then I would set up a normal directory structure for the remaining files in some intelligent structure.

In item 3

3. Add a “revert way”. For example, while browsing a file in filemanager
   -> context menu -> “Merge with item …”. Then a popup appears which
   lets you select an application and search for a term. Then the search
   result gets displayed and can be chosen to be merged.

Would there be a place to possibly pre-identify whether the document can be merged with a specific application or applications. For example some documents are not made to be merged with a calendar event they are made to merge with the project. This might be able to be solved by adding a tab to the settings window which would allow you to predefine the application for the file to be merged to with a selection list or something. This is something we definitely need in our office

In item 4

4. A popup same as 3, but directly out of the application’s context menu
   box, e.g.: Projectmanager -> context menu -> “Insert in document” ->
   “Search…” -> (Search popup appears)

I can see this looking much like the drop-down menu for e-mails, where it starts searching the list once it gets 3 characters

The items 1 2 and 4 along with the current splitting of the boxes could all become preference settings.
Items 3 is completely separate and could be turned on and off in preferences as well if needed or if not set up in settings the link doesn’t show.

There are very few documents that leave my office that are not starting out as some sort of template and get somebody’s name or group of people’s names added to them. The key to my success and why I use egroupwear is to try and get them consistently correct. All of these features I think would help this great program and I’m willing to sponsor some.

Dan

[DanL]

Something maybe to add into this discussion.

Is there a way to provide a link to the produced document. Something like you would if you attached the file to the project or address book that was used to generate the document. It may be more appropriate just to put a note type of link that just states this template was generated for this project or address book.

I think this kind of linking is some of the hidden power of egroupwear.

Dan

[Ralf_Becker_Stylite]

Hi Christian,

nice to hear from you again

Hi devs,

one company I know has an issue with when having a lot of files for
merging with application items. For example in projectmanager if you
right-click onto a project and choose “Insert in document” … the
context menu gets ugly at a specific point when too many selectable
documents appear.

There’s already some code improving that situation: If you have only a
couple of merge-files (<= 14), they are in one menu. If you got more,
they are placed in sub-menus by type (Word, Excel, Text files, …).

We have a few attempts to solve this problem, maybe one or all of them
in combination will do the trick:

1. the splitting of boxes with the “more” item for the context menu is
   limited, so what if we remove this and instead make a scrollable menu of it:

etemplate/inc/class.nextmatch_widget.inc.php

• const DEFAULT_MAX_MENU_LENGTH = 14;

• const DEFAULT_MAX_MENU_LENGTH = 9999;

phpgwapi/js/egw_action/egw_menu_dhtmlx.js
this.dhtmlxmenu.setSkin(“egw”);

• this.dhtmlxmenu.setOverflowHeight(26);

So a scrollbar instead of sub-menus. Probably nice with a wheel-mouse,
not so sure about a trackpad. Need to try …

2. Group subfolders. Selecting a file in the context menu then could
   look like this: “Insert in document” -> “Plain Text” -> “myfolder” ->
   “subfolder” -> “mydocument.txt”

That would give admins the ability to create/influence the structure of
context menu. That’s something I support right away. If admin does
nothing, current automatic sub-menus would be used (or scrollbar you
suggested).

3. Add a “revert way”. For example, while browsing a file in filemanager
   -> context menu -> “Merge with item …”. Then a popup appears which
   lets you select an application and search for a term. Then the search
   result gets displayed and can be chosen to be merged.

I’ve two problems with that:

1. Performance, at least at the moment, context menu is generated static
   independent of viewed data, but that could be changed …
2. Just that there is eg. a Word file, does not mean it generates
   anything useful when merging with a contact

4. A popup same as 3, but directly out of the application’s context menu
   box, e.g.: Projectmanager -> context menu -> “Insert in document” ->
   “Search…” -> (Search popup appears)

Not sure how useful. Same argument, merge-able files need to have a
special format.

What do you think?

1. I need to give a try with something else then a wheel-mouse
2. makes most sense to me

Ralf

Ralf Becker
Director Software Development

Stylite AG

Morschheimer Strasse 15 | Tel. +49 6352 70629 0
D-67292 Kirchheimbolanden | Fax. +49 6352 70629 30

Email: rb@stylite.de

www.stylite.de | www.egroupware.org

Managing Directors: Andre Keller | Ralf Becker | Gudrun Mueller
Chairman of the supervisory board: Prof. Dr. Birger Leon Kropshofer

VAT DE214280951 | Registered HRB 31158 Kaiserslautern Germany

---

Live Security Virtual Conference
Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today’s security and
threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/

---

eGroupWare-developers mailing list
eGroupWare-developers@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/egroupware-developers

[Ralf_Becker_Stylite]

Hi Dan,

I think by adding all of these abilities would allow the egroupwear
administrators to establish appropriate workflows for the size and usage of
their users. Making the user experience easier. I would set my company up
with a default directory that has the most common dozen or so files showing
in the right-click in the context menu and let the user decide whether the

That’s already possible, you can force for each application a directory
containing files showing up in context menu of that app (default is
/templates/$app). EPL delivers example files for each application, to
easy developing your own.

context menu box scrolls or used more boxes. Then I would set up a normal
directory structure for the remaining files in some intelligent structure.

In item 3

jaytraxx wrote

3. Add a “revert way”. For example, while browsing a file in filemanager
   -> context menu -> “Merge with item …”. Then a popup appears which
   lets you select an application and search for a term. Then the search
   result gets displayed and can be chosen to be merged.

Would there be a place to possibly pre-identify whether the document can be
merged with a specific application or applications. For example some
documents are not made to be merged with a calendar event they are made to
merge with the project. This might be able to be solved by adding a tab to
the settings window which would allow you to predefine the application for
the file to be merged to with a selection list or something. This is
something we definitely need in our office

That’s why we have application specific directories …

In item 4

jaytraxx wrote

4. A popup same as 3, but directly out of the application’s context menu
   box, e.g.: Projectmanager -> context menu -> “Insert in document” ->
   “Search…” -> (Search popup appears)

I can see this looking much like the drop-down menu for e-mails, where it
starts searching the list once it gets 3 characters

The items 1 2 and 4 along with the current splitting of the boxes could all
become preference settings.
Items 3 is completely separate and could be turned on and off in preferences
as well if needed or if not set up in settings the link doesn’t show.

There are very few documents that leave my office that are not starting out
as some sort of template and get somebody’s name or group of people’s names
added to them. The key to my success and why I use egroupwear is to try and
get them consistently correct. All of these features I think would help this
great program and I’m willing to sponsor some.

Sponsor / help EGroupware development by buying EPL. It already contains
most of the features you talked about

Ralf

Ralf Becker
Director Software Development

Stylite AG

Morschheimer Strasse 15 | Tel. +49 6352 70629 0
D-67292 Kirchheimbolanden | Fax. +49 6352 70629 30

Email: rb@stylite.de

www.stylite.de | www.egroupware.org

Managing Directors: Andre Keller | Ralf Becker | Gudrun Mueller
Chairman of the supervisory board: Prof. Dr. Birger Leon Kropshofer

VAT DE214280951 | Registered HRB 31158 Kaiserslautern Germany

---

Live Security Virtual Conference
Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today’s security and
threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/

---

eGroupWare-developers mailing list
eGroupWare-developers@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/egroupware-developers

[jaytraxx]

Hi alltogether,

Hi Christian,

nice to hear from you again
Yeaah, I’m pleased to work on EGroupare again.

There’s already some code improving that situation: If you have only a
couple of merge-files (<= 14), they are in one menu. If you got more,
they are placed in sub-menus by type (Word, Excel, Text files, …).
Yes, I’ve seen that.
That would give admins the ability to create/influence the structure of
context menu. That’s something I support right away. If admin does
nothing, current automatic sub-menus would be used (or scrollbar you
suggested).
Good idea. Maybe that way: if more than 14 files exist in one (or more)
of the Word, Excel, Text folders AND subfolders exist in filesystem,
then split up the menu according to file system subfolders.

3. Add a “revert way”. For example, while browsing a file in filemanager
   I’ve two problems with that:

1. Performance, at least at the moment, context menu is generated static
   independent of viewed data, but that could be changed …
   yes, agreed.
2. Just that there is eg. a Word file, does not mean it generates
   anything useful when merging with a contact

We can avoid this problem if we do that only for files which are in the
configured path for merge files. Furthermore we circumvent the “which
document for which app” problem (Dan’s post) with that.

Bye
christian

[robertleu]

Don’t you think your procedure for maintaining file are quite complex and difficult one??? There are plenty of other ways to organize your file properly without any merging of document.

[jaytraxx]

Hi,

2. Group subfolders. Selecting a file in the context menu then could
   look like this: “Insert in document” -> “Plain Text” -> “myfolder” ->
   “subfolder” -> “mydocument.txt”

That would give admins the ability to create/influence the structure of
context menu. That’s something I support right away. If admin does
nothing, current automatic sub-menus would be used (or scrollbar you
suggested).

I’ll try to implement this for a first step.

Bye
Christian

---

Live Security Virtual Conference
Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today’s security and
threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/

---

eGroupWare-developers mailing list
eGroupWare-developers@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/egroupware-developers

[jaytraxx]

Hi,

commited step2 (grouping of subfolders):
http://dev.egroupware.org/viewvc/egroupware?revision=39100&view=revision

For the moment the grouping happens if one or more subfolders exist in
the template folder. Any suggestions for doing that more sophisticated?

e.g: group if subfolders exist AND document count in all folders exceeds
NUM files

Bye
Christian

---

Live Security Virtual Conference
Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today’s security and
threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/

---

eGroupWare-developers mailing list
eGroupWare-developers@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/egroupware-developers

[jaytraxx]

3. Add a “revert way”. For example, while browsing a file in filemanager
   -> context menu -> “Merge with item …”. Then a popup appears which
   lets you select an application and search for a term. Then the search
   result gets displayed and can be chosen to be merged.

I’ve two problems with that:

1. Performance, at least at the moment, context menu is generated static
   independent of viewed data, but that could be changed …
2. Just that there is eg. a Word file, does not mean it generates
   anything useful when merging with a contact

Attached a screenshot how it could look like…


Depending on which directory you are in filemenager, the context menu shows up entries for e.g. ‘Projectmanager, Infolog, …’. Prerequisite for showing an application here will be that the current folder in filemanager is part of the defined template folder of the application.

What do you think?