Autoload previous library on launch
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Firstly, I am aware of the fact that the software is using the System Preferences: General setting to “Close windows when quitting app”. However it is my strong preference to have that setting enabled, as I don’t ever want all software on my system to remember everything I was doing the last time I was using it.
But with something like this software, it feels to me different than TextEdit or the like. I’m far more likely to only have a few Folders if even more than one.
And meanwhile since the software does use simple folders, without any “handle” file to open, that also rules out what I tend to use in software like this where I’m looking to load a particular thing on launch: to simply launch via some file rather than loading the software by itself. (I know I can “send” a folder to nvUltra to open it, but that’s a few steps over a simple file activation to a default program.)
The ultimate result then is that for one who leaves “Close windows when quitting app” enabled, every single time you launch nvUltra, you have to manually select a folder to load, or maybe even a few if that’s your thing.
Altogether it feels a bit off to me. I wouldn’t suggest anything be changed about how it works fundamentally, I think regarding the system setting is fine and by default that will probably work well for most people. For those that do find themselves in my position though, an override setting in preferences would be welcome. For this program, I don’t mind, and would even desire for it to remember what I was doing the last time I left off. A similar program (in terms of how it works with loose files in folders, roughly, not UI) is EagleFiler, and among its few settings it has a “Remember open libraries between launches” checkbox. For all of the same reasons given above, I use that setting in EagleFiler.
Related:
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You're right about the System Preferences -- nvUltra is just like any other document oriented app, it's just that the documents in this case consist of the folder rather than a file.
We'll consider changes in the future, but as you note, the intended behavior is to follow the system preference for this functionality.
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I agree; I largely want to use the app with a single folder of note files, and I don't want to have to specify which folder that is each time I launch the app.
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Just to be clear for anyone else who finds this thread -- nvUltra remembers the folder(s) you had open when you quit and opens them when you launch the app.
*Unless* you disabled this functionality on your mac.
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True, and as the OP explained, the system behavior feels inappropriate in an app that opens an entire folder as if it is a document. The system setting in question was designed with the thought that apps generally open specific documents, rather than entire folders.
I can see that this is tricky in that the app's document model is an unusual one. However, I would guess that the vast majority of users are going to use this app the same way they have been using nvAlt for years, meaning that they expect the app to open a specific folder on launch. If nothing else, my guess is that an opt-in / checkbox setting to open a default folder on launch would probably be welcomed by many if not most users.
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The fact that nvAlt was limited to a single folder was one of its biggest weaknesses for many users, myself included. That is a key difference between the two applications. nvUltra can open any folder and allow you to easily work with the text folders inside it, in addition to the ability to preview non-text files (e.g. images).
We'll consider different options, but it is important to keep in mind that despite the many commonalities, they are different applications with different purposes. nvUltra is not designed to be limited to a single walled off portion of your hard drive.
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Having the ability to open multiple folders is a great feature, to be sure...but having that ability doesn't rule out an option to open a folder on launch. It simply takes too many fiddly steps to get to my notes this way, when 99% of the time I just want to open my Notes folder.
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See Folder Navigator and beta 27+
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Looks good! I played with it a little bit when the beta landed. My only suggestion would be to reverse sort by access date so the latest thing you worked on is one Enter key away.
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We can consider sorting in a future update. Thanks.
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