From a functional standpoint the tree _is_ a pane. It's just separated from the rest. But selections within the tree appear to cause cascading changes just as the other panes. Someone please clarify if I'm getting that wrong - it's just my observation.
Like many folks on this board I've been thinking a lot lately about all the UI stuff, including the potential "disappearance" of the tree. I can't get over the idea that tabs - actually something similar to tabs - are the most efficient way to utilize available display area, maintain accessibility to a wide range of functions and display methods, and minimize interface space. By "similar to tabs" I mean buttons which control what is displayed in the upper window - panes, playing now, video/image, etc. They might also be drop-downs in order to allow subselection - this is not unlike the current functionality of the pane column headers. Similarly, tabs for the Properties section would be welcome.
Please note that I'm not trying to take credit for these ideas as they have been put forth in different fashions by multiple contributors to this forum, and they have existed in other interfaces for a few years now. My sole interest is in seeing a version of MC which kicks the cr4p out of all other media players
back to gkerber's questions:
I use 3 panes.
I'm trying to visualize how well the tree would fit within a pane. As I mentioned above, to some degree this is already the way I'm using the tree - I select a tree-level like images or audio and use the panes to filter down. This potentially becomes more dicey when you start trying to drag and drop, between drive locations and specific view scheme branches for example.
Initially I don't particularly like the idea of a separate pane for Playing Now/etc. If you've already got a big viewport, why not make it easier to switch what it displays?