will V12 get the project browser back from V11?

DaveA

Hey there

Thanks for what you've done with the look of V12. I noticed one of my most used functions is missing, but maybe it's me. In V11 and prior, there is a project browser that allows you to visually see which project you're picking, vs. having to remember short filenames. I also like the quick filter, I would filter by company. I have about 20+ profiles and it is easy to pick the wrong one from filenames. Is this coming back or is it lost forever?

Mark J

Hi - thanks for the feedback

The original plan was to get rid of the project browser, since we didn't think it was adding much value over a normal Open dialog (and it was really annoying to use if you stored projects in more than one folder). We might be revisiting that decision, though. We've gotten a bunch of feedback about the SQL Compare startup experience in general, so hopefully we'll have some improvements out in the future.

jmeyer

I'd also like to get the project browser back, it contains more information that what I would normally put into file names. And if you are bringing it back, maybe you can add an optional description/comment field to it to better differentiate multiple comparison projects in the same database, would be especially helpful on the DataCompare side.

DaveJF

I would also like to see this (the old Projects Dialog Box) option come back. It (along with the "ProjectDirectlyHistory" reg key values) was how I organized 28 or so deployments by DB version. Really handy.

malcolm-ellis

Put it back ASAP! Today, puhlease!

And take whoever thought it was a good idea to remove it outside for a vigorous session of percussive cranial maintenance.

Seriously, why remove something that has major benefits for productivity? Oh, maybe because it's a really useful, cool, visually intuitive feature that most tools don't have and we'd rather be more like our competitors and not scare first time users with something different, something that's so easy to understand a child could get it it a minute or two. Actually maybe that's a dumb comparison, children grok UIs faster than adults these days, I apologise to all the kids. But anyway, let's replace it with yet another plain old file dialog with no useful visual cues and make the project file name be the only clue you have to select with, even though what we're replacing was much smarter and enabled filtering on what connections the project actually contains. Yeah that must be the right choice.

Don't have a long meeting to discuss this, just put it into the next sprint and get it in release... please, pretty please, stomp my feet and hold my breath until you do please.

BrienKing

Add me to the list that want it back. It's more useful than the open dialog because the filename doesn't necessarily reflect what is actually being compared.

In fact if you had an option to save it under what ever filename you wanted, it wouldn't bother me at all. If I can browse the projects I really don't care what it's called.

CGLuttrell

Add me to the list that want to see it back. I used the DB and Server names to pick my project and most the file names were what it defaulted to. I feel lost now!

MattGodfrey

We're currently investigating how we might reinstate this functionality, but have a few questions we are hoping you can help us with to better understand why this feature was important to you:

1. How often do you find yourselves running a new comparison as opposed to revisiting a saved project?
2. On average how many saved projects do you have?
3. When might you decide to create a new saved project and why?
4. What information would you need to see when deciding which saved project to open?
5. Where you have many projects (20+) how would you go about finding a particular project?
6. If you were asked to organise these projects in some fashion ideally how might you do that?

tslagter

I'd like this back as well. I use a file naming convention, but the interface was easier to read than the standard open file dialog, and included verification of the server and database I was comparing. I think the main improvement to the v11 project browser would be color-coding the different servers (in fact that would be great for the entire app), but I'm generally happy with the current v11 interface.

This is more important for me in SQL Data Compare (some of my answers below are more applicable to it), but I also really like it for SQL Compare.

1) I have a standard set of comparisons I use all the time; new ones are rare.
2) ~20
3) Different sets of objects - schemas, etc
4) v11 data is pretty good: Name/filename, server, database. Date modified is nice. Description may be nice.
5) I use a naming convention; in v11 the FileName list was about all I used, other than for verification. Filename includes the DB name, subset (if necessary), and the servers I'm comparing across.
6) Again, pretty much as v11, except that the filename is most important to me, so it would go first.

I'm not sure how others are using this, so maybe this is more complicated than it seems, but I'm pretty happy with the v11 interface. It's nothing special, but it works. With the column sorting and the filter it does what I need.

tslagter

I forgot the other main difference that really bugs me - opening the project browser automatically on start. In v11, I open SQL (Data) Compare and I can just select my project immediately. In v12, I have to close the new project dialog, click the open project button, select the project file, and then finally run the compare. This gets REALLY annoying after the first couple of times.

Do people really create a new project every time they use this?

Jason Hannas

Add me to the list who will be going back to v.11 solely on this issue. That's for both Compare and Data Compare.

Can I complain about the new icons, too? I have no idea what each is supposed to represent when I look at them on my taskbar. What was easy has now become difficult.

peter eh

Add me to the list that want to see the project browser back.

1) new comparison vs. saved project is about 1:200
2) ~ 100
3) new database or special check conditions e.g. exclude all fields with timestamp on one and binary(8) on the other side (this example would be a great pick for an option in SQL Compare and SQL Data Compare too)
4) 1. database name, 2. server/instance name allways for source and target
5) database name, missing the chance to sort the datasources after database name in v11 and before!
6) database name (once again)

And Jason's comment has my full concurrence: Can I complain about the new icons, too? I have no idea what each is supposed to represent when I look at them on my taskbar. What was easy has now become difficult. It's a pity if something good is made worse.

Peter

Vijay Kannan

Add me to the List. I like to see the Open Project similar to SQl Compare & SQL Data Compare 11 be in 12.

This is very easy when you open up to compare. Regarding No of project I have around 20 Projects organized in SQL Compare and similar amount in Data Compare

I am not sure who gave the idea in first place to remove the very useful feature. Please bring it back on both.

Torgo.434

Please bring this back! I have continued, and will continue to use 11 because of the lack of this feature.

sam.blackburn

We've brought back the project browser in version 12.0.40, which we've just released to our frequent updates channel.

Hopefully this solves your problem - does it do what you want?

tslagter

Yes - this looks good. Thanks!

ComputerChip

sam.blackburn wrote:

We've brought back the project browser in version 12.0.40, which we've just released to our frequent updates channel.

Hopefully this solves your problem - does it do what you want?

Well, its a lot closer than the Open File Dialog...but....when we say we want the previous functionality back, we mean the previous functionality, not just a screen that sort of looks like the previous screen.

1. The screen does not remember is size from previous opening.
2. The sort order is not remembered either.
3. The column width is not remembered either. Also, double clicking a column separater attempts to change every column width which would not be horrible if it worked, but it doesn't. I'm not sure what it doing, but you end up with huge white space in the column to the left and the last column gets shrunk down to just 1 character wide.
4. What is the deal with the date format? It's so long. What was wrong with just dd MMM yyyy hh:mm like before? I'm American and that was just fine for me. Although, you should probably just be using the short date format from my settings.
5. There is no way to open the My Projects from the toolbar.
6. Uggh, the flat icons!! :oops: (I know I know, I'm the only one in the world that doesn't like them).
7. For representing a database snapshot, a flat, black, 'document' icon is not as visual intuitive as a database icon with a camera imposed on it.

The first 3, especially, #2 are the most important from a productivity standpoint. I know that #6 is a non-starter, I just have to say it because I'm on a personal quest to rid the world of this awful design decision. :?
The good news is that you did listen and brought something back. I'm going to go ahead and start using V12, but I'm still not uninstalling V11 just in case. Just get it tweeked back to what we had before. Oh, also, the filter box seems to work correctly, Yah!

mattchandler

Thanks for the feedback. As part of our most recent frequent updates release we are using a shorter date-time format in the project browser.

Matthew Chandler
Software Developer on SQL Compare and SQL Data Compare

sam.blackburn

We've now released a version that remembers the column widths in the My Projects dialog. Does this feature behave as you expected?

tslagter

Thank you. The new update is saving the column widths. It would still be helpful if the overall window size was also remembered, but this helps quite a bit.

I'm confused by the design decision to not include column dividers, at least in the headers. It took me a while to figure out how to adjust the Data Source column widths; I basically had to move the cursor around the header until it changed into the double-arrow icon. Even now, knowing that the dividers are there and roughly where they are, I have to move the cursor back and forth to find the right location since it's a narrow target.

And it would be great to have the option to open the project browser from the toolbar.

Thanks for these updates. I think I'm finally comfortable uninstalling v11.

sam.blackburn

We've released 12.2.2.4140 which will remember the sort order in the My Projects dialog. Does this behave as you expected?

ComputerChip

sam.blackburn wrote: »

We've released 12.2.2.4140 which will remember the sort order in the My Projects dialog. Does this behave as you expected?

That would be great if it actually remember the order, not just which way the arrow was pointing. I've submitted a request to support on this.