Data inspector: Navigation to next or previous element of same type

Wishlists for new functionality and features.
Post Reply
Maël
Site Admin
Posts: 1455
Joined: 12 Mar 2005 14:15

Data inspector: Navigation to next or previous element of same type

Post by Maël »

It would be useful to jump in units of the currently selected data type, backwards, and forwards.
Also possible to set an offset/alignment fix, so byte wise changing of the current offset/caret position would be useful.

Since this is about the caret position, it might be better to centralize it then integrate it in the data inspector UI. Also provide shortcuts for quick navigation while inside the hex editor component (that work also globally, in any window, though).

Ideally the navigation toolbar should be close to the data inspector, which in a way conflicts with the idea to centralize it. I will have to make several prototypes and see.

Possibly also add a numfield/spinedit where you can jump several ones up and down, a bit like for the sector navigation toolbar. This would give you a kind of "proto"-array view.

The following post shows one example implementation in TinyHexer, but several others exist and should be considered / the best alternative or combination be found that considers the above use cases.

viewtopic.php?p=3013#p3013

Another related item:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=908
Maël
Site Admin
Posts: 1455
Joined: 12 Mar 2005 14:15

Re: Data inspector: Navigation to next or previous element of same type

Post by Maël »

Implemented a toolbar in the data inspector in the current development version, similar to the navigator for the disk (image) editor.

Possibly add another toolbar under the main menu, for setting the byte offset directly using a spin edit and incrementing/decrementing the offset in byte steps. This could be useful to correct the starting offset from which the data inspector interprets data, without any relation to the currently selected data type (i.e., active row in the data inspector).
Additionally this should be done using shortcut keys, so it's accessible from the data inspector as well, without moving the mouse/focus.

I wont add toolbar buttons / other controls for setting the (byte) offset in the datainspector directly, as was considered earlier, but have it only in the toolbar under the main menu. This has less potential for confusion with the array navigation idea in the data inspector. It's better to keep these two approaches also visually separated. So offset in the main toolbar, "array" index of current datatype in datainspector. (Array index only as increment/decrement and first and last value, not actual index displayed as value in an edit control., This wouldn't make much sense, as we have no notion of a start of the array -- each time the caret is moved the start index of this virtual array changes.)
Post Reply