Copy Full File Name (again)

[4mc]

Before posting I did a search and read through a number of threads, including
viewtopic.php?f=62&t=23121&p=89319&hili ... ame#p89319
viewtopic.php?f=62&t=27840&p=108088&hil ... me#p108088
viewtopic.php?f=62&t=35266&p=146648&hil ... me#p146648

Most of the threads end with an answer something like "It works this way because that is how it was intended to be used".

I edit/write dozens of documents per week that are sourced from a library of tens of thousands of scanned newspapers and magazines. Each scanned document has a filename of "publication - date" or normally "publication - date - page" as each page is available as a separate pdf and the OCR text is indexed into a database.

Since I need to create references/citations it would be really useful if I could use the "copy full file name" function from the open document tab. I have PDF Xchange Editor Plus V9.2 build 358.0 and when I use the function and then go to my document in either MS Edge or Google Chrome on Windows and select paste or paste as plain text, nothing happens.

Yes, I have outlook 2016(desktop), and yes if I open an email I can paste and get the document, or paste and keep text only and get the full file name.

Perhaps the intention of the original design was something else, but given this question keeps coming up, and doesn't produce a result at all in two browsers, now is the time to consider a change?

So perhaps an option could be added to allow the user to default between the two existing behaviors and a new 3rd behavior which just makes the plain text full file name available via the clipboard??

++Mark.
https://ctproduced.com

[Paul - Tracker Supp]

Hi Mark,

thanks for the post. When you said this:
then go to my document in either MS Edge or Google Chrome on Windows and select paste or paste as plain text, nothing happens.

does that mean the bowser failed to open the document or nothing at all gets pasted? It sounds like you are saying the latter, yet it does paste into other applications like Outlook and Notepad. Is that right? I need to better understand what is happening here because for me the paste operation is fine in The Edge etc and the PDFs do open.

CopyFullFileName.gif

I am keen to understand what is different between what I am doing and what you are doing.

[4mc]

Yes, thats correct. It maybe the browser application I'm using which is the Wordpress block editor.

1. Click on pdf tab on PDF Xchange, select copy full file name.
2. Go to Wordpress document editor, paste or paste as text, nothing happens.

You are correct though, if I go to the URL bar and select paste, it does paste the full document name and path like this...
C:\Users\Marks M3800\Downloads\Billboard 1957-12-16.pdf

So it appears to be a limitation within Wordpress and their block editor, which is a shame.

Is there anything PDF Xchange could do to set the full file name in the clipboard as plain text as I suggested and make it an settable option or am I stuck trying to get Wordpress to support the format you currently use?

++Mark.
https://ctproduced.com

[4mc]

I've tried using several different block types in the Wordpress editor. I'm normally editing using the paragraph/text block which as described doesn't work. They have a preformatted block which doesn't work; the code block also doesn't work.

However, all the blocks have an option to Edit as HTML. If I select that, paste the full name, then select Edit visually, I can continue. It's not ideal, but is better than retyping the full file name.

You can see the use I make of this by looking at this entry, it's primarily used for footnotes and citations, this has 44 of them.
https://www.ctproduced.com/shock-drama-and-the-toni-darnay-story/

++Mark.
https://ctproduced.com

[Paul - Tracker Supp]

Hi Mark,

I asked the Editor lead dev about this and he says that we used to do just plain text but got complaints that it was not compatible with a number of standard practices and we had numerous complaints. As such we changed it to include references to the document and some other information that is in addition to just the plain text path.

The new way is the recommended way and what we will stick with as it makes things more compatible with more applications that just plain text.

I am afraid you will have to get in touch with the developers of WordPress and get them to change their code to accept the standard as The Edge and other applications do. We won't revert to the plain text approach now that we have made the change. Most applications should be able to handle it, if not they may want to consider adding support for this standard.

regards

[4mc]

I appreciate the consideration, I wasn't asking you to revert.

Given the number of people have had problems over the years based on your own support forums, I was asking if you'd consider adding a 3rd type, and making the use of it optional and settable in I would guess either preferences or Manage Settings or similar, maybe a plug-in could even display a list for formats for the full name and how it should be put in the clipbaord?

++Mark.
https://ctproduced.com

[Arnold]

Possibly the free program "Path To Clipboard" might be of use to you. It works by adding a context menu item in Windows Explorer to allow copying of the path, directory, or name of the selected file to the clipboard. It also works if multiple files are selected.

https://12noon.com/?page_id=182

[Tracker Supp-Stefan]

Hello Arnold,

Many thanks for this suggestion!

@4mc - please do let us know if this works for you!?

Kind regards,
Stefan

[4mc]

Thanks but that's not my use case.

My use case is I have dozens of PDF's open from a network drive with approaching 500,000 PDF's. Every magazine/newspaper is a PDF, plus every page of a magazine/newspaper is an individual PDF. The text in the PDF's is OCR'ed, and I search the issues using PDF-XChange during the first phase, read the document and for the ones that contain useful information leave them open.

Having written the article, I go back to the top and use the COPY FULL FILE NAME function to paste into the article as a reference/citation, I edit the file name and delete the path, the path is irrelevant. If I have to go to explorer it would take me much longer. It's a 40TB NAS with magazines in a file structure based on name/year/month.

There are many great reasons to use PDF-XCHANGE over Adobe and other PDF's readers, one of the best is the search function.

I get that this is really the Wordpress problem(in my case), and I'll try to find a way to get them to do whatever is needed, but it won't be simple. I was just surprised when I came here to find out that others have been having issues with this for 10-years, when it could be added as an additional configurable option/alternative.

++Mark.
https://ctproduced.com

[Paul - Tracker Supp]

Hi 4mc,

I will ask the Editor Development lead again, ironically, when I got my last response I did ask about an option to just use plain text and the concern is that the software already is loaded with so many options, we have to be mindful of the complexity and bloat.

Given that the current method works for most use cases, and that you can copy/paste into Notepad to get a "plain text version" I am not sure how much traction I am going to get but I will try.

[Paul - Tracker Supp]

It must be your lucky day 4mc because the Editor Lead dev has a greed to a compromise, there will not be an "Option" buried somewhere in the preferences to switch between the current copy method and plain text. Instead he asked me to raise a formal Feature Request to add a second menu entry that will offer to copy the path in plain text.

For reference, the ticket is RT#5784: Feature Request :: Editor :: Copy Full File Name in plain text

Quote that ticket when asking for an update and any support staff member should be able to get you a status report. There is no set timeline for this, it will happen at the dev team's discretion.

enjoy!

[David.P]

the Editor Lead dev has a greed to a compromise

I love this glitch in probably your dictation software since this has finally made me recognize the linguistic stem
of the word "to a-gree"

[Paul - Tracker Supp]

spellcheck failed me here!

What is the etymology then? Inquiring minds and all....

[4mc]

Instead he asked me to raise a formal Feature Request to add a second menu entry that will offer to copy the path in plain text.

For reference, the ticket is RT#5784: Feature Request :: Editor :: Copy Full File Name in plain text

Quote that ticket when asking for an update and any support staff member should be able to get you a status report. There is no set timeline for this, it will happen at the dev team's discretion.

enjoy!

Amazing response and total endorsement for supporting smaller, more agile software companies. I've been there, I used to be an IBM Distinguished Engineer and the Chief Software Architect at Dell, although a long time ago now

https://markcathcart.com/about/

Thank you both! I'll wait, happy to edit in HTML mode on Wordpress until the feature appears!
Love PDF-Xchange

[Tracker Supp-Stefan]

[smaziarz]

For reference, the ticket is RT#5784: Feature Request :: Editor :: Copy Full File Name in plain text

Is there a way to see a list of what's in the queue for the next release? Or a list of all the requests and a chance to vote on them?

[4mc]

Thanks to user smaziarz asking I went back and reread this thread.

I've had a number of Wordpress related copy/paste issues over the past few years since raising this function request. Wordpress Guttenberg and the latest Wordpress 6 blocks all interpret a rich text paste that looks like a URL, as a URL, even Windows 10/11 filepaths.

If what you want to paste, as I do for references and citations, I've learned to use CTRl+SHIFT+V at least when using the Micrsoft Edge browser and Wordpress.

I did some tests just now and either Wordpress/Edge/PDF-Xchange has cheanged their handling and this now works

image.png

++Mark.
https://ctproduced.com

[Tracker Supp-Stefan]

Hello 4mc,

Happy to hear that it now works for you!

Kind regards,
Stefan

[4mc]

I would still like to see the option as described.

My use case is fairly narrow in that it only requires Edge browser and Wordpress block editor.

I would guess there are still many use cases where Ctrl-Shift-V does not work.

++Mark.
https://ctproduced.com

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hello, 4mc

No worries, the ticket is still open, while it does not seem to have made much progress yet, it hasn't been rejected either. Hopefully we can see this come along in the future.

Kind regards,

[Vasyl-Tracker Dev Team]

Hi Guys.

We solved this issue a long time ago...

image.png

- here, you may see two different commands in the context menu for the document tab.
The "Copy Full File Name" - just copies the full path (plain text) to the clipboard.
The "Copy File" - copies to the clipboard the reference to the file, and the Paste feature will paste the whole file then...

Cheers...