It needs a file finder button

Just to make sure. The file chooser is provided in the Path field. Same dialog, at the top. Selected file is added to the URL. Is that not enough?

Thank you,
Alexander.

Oh oh oh OK my attention was captured by the jdbc:h2:file string which is pre-filled in in that textfield I was referring to. That was an anchor for me whose meaning I understood, so I went there.  I didn't get that setting the path would automagically change that textfield to the same directory as the one in the path. I did notice that changing the jdbc textfield changed the path and database however. I didn't think about causality running the other way. I also did not notice the little file finder square even though that is an regular  IJ GUI affordance which I understand in every other context.

OK well I would say that the file finder is configured to only show folders. But sometimes the way I choose folders is based entirely on what that folder's content is. I need to see the contents of the folder in order to say, "oh, yes, this is the folder I am looking for".

Even if I know the correct folder by name, often times I still need to see the contents of the folder to fill in the actual database name. So I still want to have a file chooser in that jdbc place. For example, I created multiple near same named DBs when I was trying to isolate the "bug" I was talking about in the other post. I had maybe ten of them. I could recognize the name of the one I want if I saw it amongst a list,  but I couldn't recall it's name. Recognition power always exceeds raw recall power. Recall requires that I memorize stuff. I rarely memorise and anyway not throw away file names or ones I never created in the first place.So yeah, I want a file finder there also I guess.

Another thing here is- suppose I recall the DB name wrongly. .Suppose I guess a name near what it really is. Guess what happens? H2 merrily creates a DB with that non-existant name fr me. Now I have two DBs with near identical names. At what point do i notice that I am no connected toteh DB I think I am? Maybe right away. Maybe not. If its not right away, then I am in for some confusion. If it is, then I have to resort to Windows Explorer to see the name of the DB I am looking for. ihad to go outisde )xDBE to get stuff done, which represents a kind of failure for the UI. Don't make the user resort to 3rd party programs to get something done in your program.

Here are some observations in no particular order and perhaps of no particular worth.

1) In the UI menu / dialog / popup menus just call a database a database. Everywhere. Even though technically databases are "data sources" and other-than-databases can be data sources and the software can handle other-than-databases (I guess)  just call it a databsse anyways because 99.9% of the time guess what, it's just a database.

So for instance beleive it or not I did not get  when I clicked on the green + that datasource meant database. I just did not; I went looking elsewhere. I thought datasource was something I didn't know anything about to DBAs or whoever.. Why? Because most things are things I don't know anything about, except for the things I know a lot about. But that's true (I think) for most users. We relentlessly follow the path of least knowledge, always unconsciously triaging things on a "do I really have to know about all this to this detail?" policy. We like to say we are "lazy".What this means to UI design is the bar for what qualifies as "obvious" or "common knowledge" should be set higher than is generally considered. My opinion.

2) In the UI, practice the principle of symmetric operations as much as possible. I can DIS-connect to a DB by hitting that red button that bubble-helps "disconnect" but where is the corresponding connect button? You double click on the database name to connect, that's where it is. Oh. I did not get that.


HTH