Recent Files order alphabetically by filename, or option to do so

The Files > Recent Files currently appears to order the filenames in reverse chronological order of their being opened, i.e., the most recently opened one is in the first slot, and so on. This means that the user, to quickly find the file name they want, needs to either remember how recently it was opened compared to others, or scan down the list and read the filenames one by one, until reaching the desired one. It would be better to order this list alphabetically, to speed up the process of the user finding the desired file. Even better, would be to have an option in Edit > Preferences > File Opening that would allow the user to specify either alphabetical or chronological ordering of the filenames.

This would become even more important if and when a related feature is added to Komodo IDE – specifically, the ability to increase the number of recent files so it is no longer limited to just 15, since the more file names listed on the menu, the longer it takes to find them if they are not sorted alphabetically.

hi mjross, I think the current way is the best way, normally we want to open the last files we used, they can be accessed quickly in this order because they are nearest to the mouse cursor, I know I can open my last file selecting the first option there.

Order them alphabetically could be a problem for me, I usually forget the name of the last files I wrote, this tool make it easier to remember. You can find files alphabetically on places sidebar, or even better, using the “Go to Anything” input.

Hello, stramin. Yes, users want to open one or more of the most recent files they edited; after all, that’s the whole point of the Files > Recent Files feature. But in most cases, users do know the names of the files they are interested in, and don’t want to waste time scanning through a long list that is not in alphabetical order, trying to find those files. All of the reasons I give in the original post still stand, including my suggestion to have an option so the user can choose either alphabetical or chronological ordering of the filenames. Why wouldn’t that be the best solution? Each one of us could have the filenames sorted the way we like.

I think will be hard to understand and out of standard, the most editors shows the recent items ordered from the last opened file (Microsoft Office, Excel, Adobe Photoshop, Sublime, Blender, even OS like Windows, Linux, and even Facebook notification area, Browser histories, etc).

If Komodo changes this way to work, many people will need to re-adapt

This is the normal way to work, is the logical, way to work :slight_smile:

@stramin: Most of the applications that you mention have recently-used file lists that contain relatively few items, and thus in those apps it is quick and easy to scan a shorter list to find the desired file to open again. But in the case of Komodo IDE, it is annoying having to scan through 15 items to find a file name because the list is not alphabetized.

Providing an option to list the file names alphabetically is not any less logical than listing them by the time they were opened. Your examples of Facebook notifications and web browser histories are inapplicable in this case, because those are clearly suited for chronological ordering and not by alphabetized “names” (URL? page title?).

No one would need to adapt to this proposed change if they don’t want it. Sorting by recency could be the initial setting, and a user could simply refrain from opting for alphabetical ordering in the Komodo IDE preferences (Edit > Preferences > File Opening). That way, everyone gets what they want. I think that’s the most logical way to do it.