Display graphics as thumbnails

[PAPA]

Windows XP Explorer can display graphics as thumbnails. It would be very helpful if PA could also offer this view mode! There are some other archivers which can do this.

[klumy]

good idea

[Serhiy]

I support this wish too…

But I think it will work very slow…
because PA will have to extract images before showing them as thumbnails…

anyway, good idea!

[TBGBe]

@NTFS:

But I think it will work very slow…
because PA will have to extract images before showing them as thumbnails…

Yes, that is the problem, might as well display the “full” picture or at least ‘fit to window’.
Very slow is an understatement when you consider solid archive formats !
Would be quicker to extract everything and use a real image viewer.

[PAPA]

@NTFS:

I support this wish too…

But I think it will work very slow…
because PA will have to extract images before showing them as thumbnails…

anyway, good idea!

Windows XP uses kind of index files for this purpose: Thumbs.db. When the user activates the Miniature View the first time then Windows Explorer creates a special invisible file Thumbs.db in this directory (if there are any graphic files in this folder at all) and stores the thumbnails for these graphics inside the Thumbs.db file. So if the user activates the Miniature View an other time Windows Explorer doesn’t have to create the thumbnails anymore but looks in the Thumbs.db file.

PA archiver could use a similar concept to speed up the display of thumbnails.

[TBGBe]

@PAPA:

PA archiver could use a similar concept to speed up the display of thumbnails.

But where is this “PAthumbs.db” file to be stored? If inside the archive, then PA has to add-to/re-create every archive file!? If not, then PA has to recreate it every time the archive is accessed.
Why bother, just include the Windows thumbs.db file when you create the archive in the first place.

Besides, most graphics file formats (Jpeg, Gif, PNG etc) are already “compressed” and storing these in an archive (Zip, CAB, 7z etc) is actually wasteful. It makes more sense to archive graphics in a simple TAR file (or sometimes BlakHole) so including windows thumbs.db would be quicker.

Remember, PowerArchiver is not a replacement for Windows Explorer, it is for working with Archives.

[PAPA]

@TBGBe:

Remember, PowerArchiver is not a replacement for Windows Explorer, it is for working with Archives.

However, packing a set of images into an archive often is the only way to distribute them together (e.g. if they are related to each other) on the Internet. And yes, the thumbs file could be created inside the archive.

[By-Tor]

@TBGBe:

But where is this “PAthumbs.db” file to be stored? If inside the archive, then PA has to add-to/re-create every archive file!? If not, then PA has to recreate it every time the archive is accessed.
Why bother, just include the Windows thumbs.db file when you create the archive in the first place.

Besides, most graphics file formats (Jpeg, Gif, PNG etc) are already “compressed” and storing these in an archive (Zip, CAB, 7z etc) is actually wasteful. It makes more sense to archive graphics in a simple TAR file (or sometimes BlakHole) so including windows thumbs.db would be quicker.

Remember, PowerArchiver is not a replacement for Windows Explorer, it is for working with Archives.

I totally agree. It comes down to unneeded bloat. PA is not an image viewer. A lot of image viewers support viewing images in archives already, so why add this to PA?

[Serhiy]

@PAPA:

However, packing a set of images into an archive often is the only way to distribute them together (e.g. if they are related to each other) on the Internet. And yes, the thumbs file could be created inside the archive.

I think you have to contact ZIP-format developers…

[PAPA]

@NTFS:

I think you have to contact ZIP-format developers…

Why?
1. Create thumbs.db outside archive in %temp%
2. ADD thumbs.db to archive

[PAPA]

So why not implement the option to launch an external image viewer (which can read images from inside the archive) from PA.

PseudoCode:

if ThisArchive.ContainsImages then
…ButtonOnToolbarForExternalImageViewer.Enable

ButtonOnToolbarForExternalImageViewer.OnClick
…ExecuteExternalImageViewer(ThisArchive.Path)

[Serhiy]

@PAPA:

Why?
1. Create thumbs.db outside archive in %temp%
2. ADD thumbs.db to archive

OK, but this archive can be viewed only by PA…

you wrote:

However, packing a set of images into an archive often is the only way to distribute
them together (e.g. if they are related to each other) on the Internet. And yes, the
thumbs file could be created inside the archive.

Do you think that all users on the internet use PowerArchiver?

[TBGBe]

@PAPA:

So why not implement the option to launch an external image viewer (which can read images from inside the archive) from PA.

PseudoCode:

if ThisArchive.ContainsImages then
…ButtonOnToolbarForExternalImageViewer.Enable

ButtonOnToolbarForExternalImageViewer.OnClick
…ExecuteExternalImageViewer(ThisArchive.Path)

Or even …
CheckOut {open group folder } then use your external viewer or even Explorer?

Sorry, but I just don’t see a “general benefit” for this thumbs view suggestion.