Problem with multiple file masks

[vuser]

I've used multiple file masks for years, and I just found out you can have exclusion masks. That's excellent! I did notice something a little odd, though.

I wanted to show all files that end with _x.sql but didn't contain _comp_. So, I thought I'd use this mask list:

*_x.sql,!*_comp_*

Unfortunately, V shows every file in the folder except for those with a mask of *_comp_*.sql. This includes files ending in .bak and files containing _comp_ that didn't end in _x.sql.

But if I reverse the order of the masks:

!*_comp_*,*_x.sql

V does exactly what I expect.

I'm okay with doing that, I just didn't expect it. Should the exclusions always come first?

[FileViewer]

*_x.sql,!*_comp_*

No. As you have found out, this will not work.

Multiple file masks will (usually) display files that match any of the masks. In the above example, .bak files will match !*_comp_*, so they will be displayed.

But if I reverse the order of the masks (!*_comp_*,*_x.sql) V does exactly what I expect.

Yes. Putting the exclusion at the beginning causes V to display files that match all of the masks.

It has been a while since I implemented this - and I can't recall if this behavior is accidental or intentional. I'd like to think it is the latter!

Regards,
Charles.