recognize Unix-style hidden files

[Dimitrie O. Paun]

On September 13, 2002 08:12 pm, Francois Gouget wrote:
>
> What you want is not so much to have files starting with a '.' to have
> the hidden DOS file attribute set, but not to see them in open dialogs.

Of course I though about this, but it's not gonna cut it. There are bunch
of programs (FTP programs, etc.) which display directories in some way.
Doing it at the common dialog level is too high.

People, Windows is by excellence an interactive platform. This means
that it places above everything else the user experience. And users
have come to expect that. Wine users are mostly (ex-)Windows users,
so we have to cater to that audience. And handicapping the user
eperience for some remotely possible theoretical case is not gonna
go too well.

But going back to the problem at hand:
  -- Unix users do not expect dot files to show in any listing,
unless they explicitely ask for it. They must be hidden.
  -- Windows users do not expect to see their home directory
misteriously cluttered by hundreds of files that otherwise don't
show up anywere (first reaction: where _is_ my home directory?)
  -- Windows users do not use dot files. I have never see a Windows
person use or create a dot file.
  -- Unix users rarely open dot files. Those how do are most likely
experts.
  -- we need to present the user a consistent interface.

So it seems to me the solution is the other way around:
  -- mark dot-files as FA_HIDDEN
  -- add a global option to turn this behaviour off
     (however, I would do this on demand, if there is even
      one person how would need it)
  -- add a toggle in the common dialog to _show_ hidden files

So, what can happen badly if we have this behaviour? At worse,
you'd have to type in the desired file name to access it, if it
does not show (and you don't have access to the "show hidden files"
flag.

And to end this with a bang, here's the definition of a hidden file,
from the "Int 21h Function 6Ch (FAT32)" found on MSDN:

FILE_ATTRIBUTE_HIDDEN (0002h) The file is hidden and does not appear in an ordinary directory listing.  

Which is *exactly* the Unix semantics of dot-files.

-- 
Dimi.