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Wireshark-dev: Re: [Wireshark-dev] New feature: custom columns

From: Stephen Fisher <stephentfisher@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:39:25 -0700
On Sun, Feb 17, 2008 at 10:31:24AM -0500, Maynard, Chris wrote:

> Nice feature.  For me, the column naming convention wouldn't be a 
> problem, but maybe it'd be nice to be able to name it something else, 
> especially if the display filter name is long.

Good point about the long field names.

> I think it would also be better to not allow invalid display filter 
> names to be entered.  That way, simple typos, etc. are avoided and the 
> user is not wondering why nothing is ever displayed in the column.

Yeah.  Where does it make sense to add this though?  When you choose the 
custom column type, a field appears below it?  Or a pop-up appears?  
Either way, I agree that this new field should do syntax checking.

> BTW, I added a column called, "ip.ttl", then tried to sort on that 
> column.  It did not sort according to how I would expect.  Rather than 
> sorting 1, 57, 58, 60, 64, 107, 118, 127, 128, 193, 246, it sorted 1, 
> 107, 118, 127, 128, 193, 246, 57, 58, 60, 64.  So the sort seems to be 
> operating on the field as if it's a string rather than a numeric 
> value.

Ah, yes.  I still need to figure out how to change the sort behavior for 
the field type chosen.  It shouldn't be too difficult.

> Another thing that might be improved upon is to alphabetize the 
> drop-down list of available formats so they're a little easier to 
> find.  Since the drop-down list seems to be getting longer, another 
> possible improvement might be to switch from a drop-down list to a 
> toolbar-choice-style selection whereby all available columns are 
> listed in alphabetical order on the left pane, and the right pane has 
> the currently displayed columns in the order to be displayed.  The two 
> panes would each have a scroll-bar (if needed), and the long, somewhat 
> cumbersome drop-down list would be eliminated.  Buttons in between the 
> panes would be used to "Add -->" or "<-- Remove" column choices.  Just 
> a few ideas.

That's a great idea.  What does everyone else think?  This could also 
make a custom field type addition more intuitive with a pop-up box as 
you're adding it to the column list.


Steve