[UI/UX Feature Request] Centralized Default Settings panel with profile export, format categorization, and strict logical output filtering

[MahmoudhassanGX]

Problem Statement

1. Lack of Global Defaults & Persistence: Users have to re-configure common options repeatedly (e.g., toggling Merge PDF, enabling/disabling OCR, selecting default languages). If the application is updated or reinstalled, all custom settings are lost.
2. Cluttered & Uncategorized Options: Conversion options and supported formats are listed as a huge, flat list, making navigation noisy and overwhelming.
3. Illogical Format Cross-Selection: Currently, selecting an input format does not dynamically constrain the available target formats. For instance, selecting an image still shows video or audio output formats, which makes no functional sense and confuses users.

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Proposed Improvements

1. Dedicated "Defaults & Preferences" Settings Panel

Introduce a separate Defaults / Preferences window with the following controls:

• Persistent Defaults:
  • Multi-image PDF default behavior: Merge into single PDF vs. Separate PDFs.
  • OCR default state: Always On vs. Off.
  • Default OCR language / script presets (e.g., Auto (Arabic + English)).
  • Default output directories and naming templates.
• Action Buttons:
  • Save Changes: Commits settings to a local config file (config.json or .ini).
  • Reset to Factory Defaults: Restores clean initial values with a single click.
  • Export / Import Configuration: Allows users to backup their preferences and restore them after a system wipe, reinstallation, or migration without manual re-entry.

2. Dynamic Output Filtering (Context-Aware Format Logic)

Enforce strict logical filtering between input and output format selectors:

• When an input file is detected/selected, filter the Target Format dropdown strictly to compatible extensions:
  • Input: Image (PNG, JPG, WebP...) $\rightarrow$ Only offer Image targets (JPG, PNG, WEBP, etc.) or Document targets (PDF). Strictly hide Video and Audio formats.
  • Input: Office Doc (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX...) $\rightarrow$ Only offer PDF, TXT, HTML, or reciprocal Office formats.
  • Input: Audio $\rightarrow$ Only offer Audio formats.
  • Input: Video $\rightarrow$ Offer Video formats or Audio extraction formats (MP3, WAV).

3. Categorized / Grouped Settings Layout

Instead of a single crowded panel:

• Organize conversion tools and settings into clear, collapsible categories:
  • 📁 Documents (DOCX, XLSX, PDF, TXT)
  • 🖼️ Images (JPG, PNG, SVG, TIFF, WebP)
  • 🎬 Video & Media
  • 🎵 Audio
• Each category holds only the relevant toggles and parameter fields.

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Expected User Benefit

• Clean UI: Eliminates impossible or absurd conversion paths (e.g., Image $\rightarrow$ MP3).
• Zero Re-configuration Friction: Users configure their primary workflow once, export their backup, and work with predictable defaults every time they open the app.
• Reduced Cognitive Load: Categorized settings make it instantly clear where each option lives.

[KnifeLemon]

Thanks for the detailed write-up! Most of this exists already, in a different shape:

• Export / import: Settings → General → Presets and toolbars → Export… / Import… saves every preset and donut to one file and loads it back (after a reinstall or on another PC). Reset to defaults is next to them.
• Defaults per job: each preset keeps its own options (merge into one PDF, OCR and its languages, output folder and file name pattern), so the preset you pick is the default for that job.
• Only sensible targets: the donut is chosen by the files you drag. Pictures get the images donut, videos the video donut, and Filee only shows targets it can reach for those files.

If something in particular didn't behave like that (an image showing a video target, for example), please tell us which file and which donut.

[MahmoudhassanGX]

Verification Note: Verified against PresetEditorViewModel.cs and the Filee-main architecture as of October 28, 2026, at 08:50 UTC[cite: 1].

Thanks for the continuous feedback and for clarifying how the Donut wheel handles runtime conversion filtering[cite: 1]!

To clear up any ambiguity: my observation regarding format filtering was not about the live Donut wheel during drag-and-drop (which already filters cleanly), but specifically about the logical constraints inside the Preset Editor UI (PresetEditorViewModel / PresetEditorView) during preset creation and editing[cite: 1].

Below is the complete architectural proposal addressing both the Preset Editor logic and an application-wide Advanced Settings layer[cite: 1, 3]:

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1. Cascading Logical Filtering inside Preset Editor (PresetEditorViewModel)

When a user opens the Preset Editor to configure a workflow[cite: 3]:

• Current Friction: Selecting an input format (such as an Image: PNG/JPG) leaves the target format selector as an unfiltered, flat directory containing dozens of unrelated formats (audio tracks, video containers, 3D meshes, fonts, etc.)[cite: 1, 3].
• Logical Expectation: If an input category is set to an Image, the available target formats should dynamically collapse and strictly offer functionally valid destinations[cite: 3]:
  • Compatible Image formats (JPG, PNG, WEBP, AVIF, TIFF, ICO...)[cite: 3]
  • Document packaging (PDF)[cite: 3]
• Implementation via ConverterCatalog: Instead of showing all system formats, query ConverterCatalog for registered conversion routes matching the selected input category (GetReachableTargets(fromFormat))[cite: 1]. This eliminates invalid cross-format selections (e.g., Image → MP3) and removes cognitive clutter right where presets are built[cite: 1].

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2. Dedicated "Advanced Settings" View (Global Baseline Defaults)

While storing preferences inside individual presets provides flexibility[cite: 1], forcing users to configure DPI, OCR toggles, and processing quality inside every individual preset creates repetitive overhead[cite: 1, 3].

Introducing an Advanced settings panel in the sidebar provides an application-wide baseline (as illustrated in the attached mockup)[cite: 3]:

A. PDF & OCR Default Baseline

• Discrete DPI Presets (No Open-Ended Sliders):
  Standardizes rasterization into 5 distinct, meaningful presets rather than arbitrary sliders[cite: 3]:
  • 150 DPI (Fast / Compact)[cite: 3]
  • 300 DPI (Standard OCR baseline)[cite: 3]
  • 400 DPI (Fine text & detail)[cite: 3]
  • 600 DPI (Archival / High reproduction)[cite: 3]
  • 800 DPI (Ultra resolution / Schematics)[cite: 3]
• Global OCR Master Switch:
  • On: Automatically applies a searchable, invisible text layer across rendered image and document PDFs, even if an individual preset leaves it unconfigured[cite: 1, 3].
  • Off: Bypasses OCR entirely for maximum processing speed[cite: 3].
• Multi-Lingual & Bi-Directional (BiDi) OCR Pipeline:
  • Support multi-language combinations natively (e.g., [AR] Arabic + [EN] English + [ZH] Chinese)[cite: 3].
  • Applies Unicode BiDi reordering before writing the text overlay into the PDF[cite: 1], preventing reversed or scrambled character order in mixed RTL/LTR documents.

B. Global Image Processing Modes

Provides a universal rendering profile across common conversions[cite: 3]:

• Fast: Optimizes for rapid processing and lightweight file sizes[cite: 3].
• Balanced (Recommended): The optimal balance between visual quality and storage efficiency[cite: 3].
• Max Quality: Preserves strict visual fidelity with lossless or near-lossless compression[cite: 3].

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Sincere Thanks & Appreciation

I want to apologize for the extensive feedback and detailed suggestions across these issues[cite: 1]!

I have tremendous respect for the immense effort, passion, and engineering you have poured into Filee[cite: 1]. Building and polishing a fast, native, offline-first tool of this caliber is a massive undertaking, and what you’ve built is truly outstanding[cite: 1, 3]. My contributions stem purely from genuine admiration and a desire to see Filee become the undisputed #1 desktop converter[cite: 1, 3].

(Attached: Concept mockup showcasing the proposed Advanced Settings navigation and configuration cards)[cite: 3].

[KnifeLemon]

Thanks for clarifying. A few notes on the preset editor:

• A preset doesn't pick an input format: it's defined by its target and options, and Filee works out which files it accepts. The donut then only offers presets that fit the dropped files.
• Settings → Donut toolbar shows what a preset accepts when you hover its chip ([Feature]: Show what a preset accepts when hovering its chip on the Donut toolbar page #548).
• App-wide defaults for DPI, OCR and the like aren't planned: each preset keeps its own options, so two jobs to the same format can differ.

Closing as answered.