request for named sessions

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aamontillo
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request for named sessions

Post by aamontillo »

hello
First time posting here. Excited to use PDF xchange V 9.0 Build 352 on windows 10.
I am looking for a way to be more productive with PDF xchange.
I work on projects, several projects at once. Each of which has their own set of pdf files.
However neither Windows nor PDF xchange make it easy to to have multiple PDF xchange windows running at the same time with a project name identified anywhere.
So for example in windows, when I hover the mouse over the PDF xchange icon in the windows task bar it will show me that I have several PDF xchange windows, along with the title of the currently opened document. That doesnt help me know which window to open for it doesnt identify the project that the title belongs to.

Even if I open a saved PDF xchange *.xcesession session file , the session name is invisible. The PDFs in sides are displayed but the session to which they belong is not visible - neither in PDF xchange or in windows...

If I open several sessions into separate windows, I would like to be able to at least see the session name, preferably prepended to the window title so windows will allow me to switch back and forth between session (project) windows.
Finally, I would like to be able to save just one windows worth of pdfs.. Currently its an all or nothing situation. ALL open windows are saved to the same session file. Can we have an option to save just the current windows files (e.g. to update a session file) ?

Thanks
Albert
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TrackerSupp-Daniel
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Re: request for named sessions

Post by TrackerSupp-Daniel »

Hi, aamontillo

Thank you for the excellent requests. Though I am unsure about the viability of these requests, and do expect that if they are accepted, they will most likely be long term projects, I have created a feature request on this matter for you:
#5568: FR: Session "save window" and "show session name in window"

While internal only, you can check back with me here, or refer to the ticket number above in an email, and we can look up the progress for you.

Kind regards,
Dan McIntyre - Support Technician
Tracker Software Products (Canada) LTD

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pdfxbob
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Re: request for named sessions

Post by pdfxbob »

Hello,

I second Albert (aamontillo): I'm also in need of sessions and currently use .xcesession files to that effect.

It is not easy to distinguish which session is actually open as the Title Bar only offers the (redundant) information as to which PDF file is currently selected (it's already highlighted in the tabs) but does not display the session name. The Title Bar should therefore be a configurable string with at least the session name taken from the .xcesession file in addition to the current document title or filename (could be a mixture of these).

This together with autosaving current session (see https://forum.pdf-xchange.com/viewtopic.php?t=36452 ) would make for a powerful session handling.

Best regards
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TrackerSupp-Daniel
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Re: request for named sessions

Post by TrackerSupp-Daniel »

Hello, pdfxbob

Thank you for that! I have added you to the requestors for the ticket, to show the growing demand. Unfortunately there is still no action on this item, but it has not been rejected, which is always a good sign.

Kind regards,
Dan McIntyre - Support Technician
Tracker Software Products (Canada) LTD

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Our Web site domain and email address has changed as of 26/10/2023.
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Support@pdf-xchange.com
pdfxbob
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Re: request for named sessions

Post by pdfxbob »

Any update on that request?
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Tracker Supp-Stefan
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Re: request for named sessions

Post by Tracker Supp-Stefan »

Hello pdfxbob,

I can't see any update in the ticket, but our "sessions" are not dynamic per se. So while you can load a session from a file, you can then open more files in the same Editor Window, or close some of the ones opened when the session loaded.
So those session files allow you to save a snapshot of a list of files, but is not an interactive session where you can add more files, or remove some, and still have the same session without explicitly saving the session itself to a file.

So implementing this feature request might be tricky, and in the mean time why not consider using session_name_actualFileName.pdf naming convention? That should allow you to easily identify where a given file belongs even if you need to open that same file in another PDF reader or even on another machine.

Kind regards,
Stefan
pdfxbob
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Re: request for named sessions

Post by pdfxbob »

Stefan,

You got the idea about the (let's call them autosavable rather than dynamic) sessions. (Please note that loading an xcesession file, adding a new pdf to the resulting view, making any change to that view, and saving back to that xcesession file already works like a charm.)

However, the OP (who appears to have a workflow pretty similar to mine) merely requested that feature of allowing (configurable, optional) to display an information (let's call it the session title) identifying which xcesession file is linked to the current view.

That alone would already be a great improvement to our workflow.


OK, actually the OP also requested the ability
to link each window to a particular xcesession file (thereby allowing to work in parallel on distinct projects).
From a development perspective, this appears the trickiest to handle.

Bring then autosaving to the mix, and it's the Nirvana of working with sessions.
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Paul - Tracker Supp
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Re: request for named sessions

Post by Paul - Tracker Supp »

Hi Bob,

I can see the usefulness of being able to update different sessions while having more than one open also. I also use sessions to keep things organized and often put each session on a different desktop. The ability to save/update a particular session without effecting the others would be of particular usefulness.

Having said that, just because I like it doesn't mean the dev team will add any extra priority to things. I am afraid we will just have to see how this evolves.

I did bump the priority of the ticket as a result of this discussion however.

Lets see what comes.
Best regards

Paul O'Rorke
Tracker Support North America
http://www.tracker-software.com
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