Filed under: Software, Open Source
Missing Drawer for TextMate revisited
Way back in 2006 – after the excitement of the Midterm Elections and before the launch of the Wii – Hetima wrote MissingDrawer, a plugin for the oft-mentioned TextMate that took the standard-issue OS X drawer used by TextMate project file lists and turned it into an Xcode-like pane embedded in the edit window. It was lauded by many as a major improvement of the TextMate UI, but has gone pretty much untouched since then, perhaps because it was good enough for most users to begin with. But Jannis Leidel saw room for improvement.
The new MissingDrawer builds off of the original, adding some aesthetic UI tweaks along with some usability polish. On the aesthetic front, it increases the line height of the file list, shrinks the project buttons and tweaks the file list frame. A new resize method accompanies the Mail.app-style resizer handle and the position of the splitter pane is saved automatically now. And lastly, the panel now hides when using the Show/Hide Project Drawer menu item or shortcut.
You can download the 2008 MissingDrawer (including source code) at Jannis' site, and installation is a couple of double clicks away. TextMate users who liked the first version of the plugin will surely appreciate the touch-up. I know I do.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
blaklaybul said 1:33PM on 2-25-2008
Wow! I recently started using textmate and wished that a plugin like this existed. I found myself using smultron when I worked with projects and textmate for individual files. I didnt know of the former missingdrawer plugin, but this new one has settled it for me. TextMate all the way!
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Ben said 1:42PM on 2-25-2008
I don't understand. Why should I use this instead of the built in file browser?
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Tony Pitale said 5:20PM on 2-26-2008
@Ben: it is the built-in file browser, just not as a drawer. If you're like me and using spaces in leopard the drawer becomes detached all-to-often. That's why I use it.
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Wei said 2:57PM on 2-25-2008
I don't get it either... if you open TextMate and open a folder instead of a single file, you have this list on the left as well.
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Doug said 3:20PM on 2-25-2008
I get it. TextMate's file browser is the same, just placed inside the window instead of a drawer. Drawers are very annoying since they affect window zooming.
wififun said 4:05PM on 2-25-2008
This is truly fantastic. I have been using TextMate for about a year now, for all my coding and as an XCode external editor. I just found the old MissingDrawer last week, and tried it out. However, there is a pretty big incompatibility with some TM version, Leopard, and that plugin. I am super excited if this ones works. The project drawer is the only thing bugging me about TM.
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Tom von S. said 7:26PM on 2-25-2008
There is a bizarre opinion floating around the Mac community that these side panes are somehow an improvement over the drawers. I have no idea where this comes from, but I think it's crack-induced. Having a drawer slide in/out of the side of the window is much nicer than having the entire contents of the window rearranged when you wish to show/hide the sidebar.
I'd like someone to explain to me how the side panel is an improvement to a drawer in mail.app.
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Colin said 9:03PM on 2-25-2008
To each his own. I dislike drawers because they slide out from whichever side of the window has more free space beside it.
If you're going to leave a drawer or sidebar open all the time, there's no difference. If you're going to open and close them, the difference is that the window reclaims the space taken by a sidebar but not a drawer. That's about it.