Why is Refresh not F5?

[biltong]

Just a query - on pretty much all Windows software, F5 is used as a keyboard shortcut to refresh the screen. When I use F5 in FreeCommander, I get Copy. Is it possible to set this back to standard Windows Refresh?

Cheers

[Pinstripe]

Is 'Ctrl+R' so hard to remember?, there's a refresh icon also.

[ralfso]

Extras >>> keyboard shortcuts >>> view - refresh all >>> F5 >>> assign >>> save >>> OK

[biltong]

Pinstripe: It's got nothing to do with not remembering, it's got everything to do with consistency. If every program I used had a different shortcut for common tasks (e.g. copy = CTRL C and paste = CTRL V) then it would be a nightmare when swapping between programs doing different things. It's the same reasons all cars have pedals in the same place...

ralfso: Thanks for that. New should be there somewhere.

(I must admit, there is another program I use a lot that also has non-standard key assignments, but thankfully it also allows the keys to be re assigned.)

Thanks for the replies.

[matera]

Other programs -- notably web browsers -- also use Ctrl + R as an alternative refresh command. As for consistency, the F5 for copy-to is right next to F6, move-to, so there is internal consistency.

Anyway, if you don't like it, you can define your own keyboard shortcuts for just about everything.

[biltong]

Thank you all for the comments. Have mapped shortcuts, and all is well...!

Cheers.

[Scott_Y]

F5 is a standard shortcut for File Copy among Orthodox File Managers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_manager

So there is indeed consistency in using F5 -- it just depends on what you are comparing it to.

[biltong]

Fair point, and an interesting reference.

I was comparing it to what I originally termed "...pretty much all Windows software." Perhaps I inadvertantly meant Microsoft software! I was alluding to the likes of Windows Explorer, all web browsers, and various other file managers I have tried.

The article you pointed to does explain the history of F5 as a copy function key, and as FreeCommander is an orthodox file manager, this does fit.

Thanks to all for the feedback.

[tgm1024]

F5 is a standard shortcut for File Copy among Orthodox File Managers (wikipedia website)/wiki/File_manager

So there is indeed consistency in using F5 -- it just depends on what you are comparing it to.

Hmmmmm.....hold on now. I always like to scrutinize the bejeebers out of anything that wikipedia ends up saying. These are my observations.

1. That article is WOEFULLY lacking in citations. Terribly so in fact. Much of it should be removed for that very reason after enough time has passed.

2. If you look on their discussion page you'll see a long complaint about the very term "orthodox" as applied to file managers. It simply does not appear in enough places to warrant it's usage, let alone use it as a defining category to which F5 belongs as a standard. IMHO. In the minds of many there, "orthodox" was a term coined by one person or by a very few people who are trying to have it spread.

But having said that, I also understand that wikipedia could just as easily be right, citationless or not.

I also am not comfortable with F5 being anything other than refresh....I think that F5 is more established as such. Do you disagree?

[matera]

One can argue until the wind blows vertically, but it's not going to change much. Total Commander fans are used to using F5 to copy; they aren't going to be swayed. Other dual-pane file managers use it. I was already accustomed to it when I switched from 2xexplorer to FC. It was one of the things that made me feel immediately at home.

[tgm1024]

One can argue until the wind blows vertically, but it's not going to change much.

It's just a discussion

Total Commander fans are used to using F5 to copy; they aren't going to be swayed. Other dual-pane file managers use it. <...snip...>

Could be, but having an existing fan base "used" to something doesn't make it a good idea. You can get "used" to anything, good or horrible, and it still permits a discussion.

Even a large fan base must be weighed against the potential fan base. I'm betting that most people using the file manager for the first time are expecting F5 to refresh. I was, and it caught me by surprise when I was using it from a UBCD4Win instance (windows xp PE under it) when I was trying to see the results of a large copy. Based on what was selected at the time, it caused another copy to happen that worried me because the data was very sensitive.