Lets say you change all double quotes to nothing inside a file. Then decide it was a mistake. There is undo.

Now make the same "mistake" with replace in files. No safety net, no undo. You can foul up an entire directory structure and many of the files in it. And it is too easy to be in a rush and pick replace in files instead of simple replace within a file. You only need to make the mistake once to create quite a mess. I can see where it would be a technical nightmare to have an "undo" for this but ...

... not sure what the recommended approach would be. At a minimum make prompt on replace be the default for replace in files or have one of those "do you really want to" dialog boxes (though I generally hate those).

I don't think there is a single application out there that supports undo for replace in files (like you said, technical nightmare).

However IMHO it is a REALLY bad idea to put both "replace" and "replace in files" in a single dialog, it hugely increases the risk of making mistakes.

So my suggestion would be to either remove the tabs or make clear that your dealing with the "in files" part... perhaps a different background color or something, I don't know.

This is just one of many reasons why people who develop software are using source control systems like CVS, SVN, and the others. With them all your risk is to lose all unsubmitted sources.

I use a SVN. I didn't do unrepairable damage to myself -- it was just inconvenient. But even in a development environment, not all directories are going to be under the control of a SVN. For instance, I was working on some changes to a directory that I had downloaded from a web server. After I screwed up I could re-download it of course but nonetheless I had lost a bit of time and work.

You folks seem genuinely interested in making your product "friendly" and convenient for developers. So I was just making a suggestion that replace in files, which inherently has no undo, could use a bit of a safety net. Of as Blizz suggested, put replace and replace in files in separate dialogs so that the likelihood of clicking the wrong option is reduced. Or have a "do you really want to" message associated with replace in files.

aha


aha, please don't forget to check "Prompt on replace" before pressing Replace All.