Resources management went from entirely problem-free in RW7 to extremely difficult in RW8. In 8.1 it is near impossible, yet the release notes claim it is improved. I just don’t see it.
Under 8, as I have mentioned before (in the Resources in RW8 thread), the resources window now includes all sorts of files that weren’t there before, especially images for banners etc. that in some cases are duplicated beyond any sort of usability (since I have the same custom banner on dozens of pages). This makes the Link > Resource pop-up menu extremely long and unmanageable.
Now under 8.1, adding a resource has to be done very carefully as the pop up menu list now no longer has any method to its ordering at all: before, it was at least ‘date added’. Now it is just random, making it impossible to find anything EVEN IF YOU KNOW ITS NAME except by searching visually for it, which takes forever when I have hundreds of items in the list. This is nonsense. Why no alphabetical listing? Why no view options on the list? Maddening.
Also I try to do housekeeping on the resource list occasionally by deleting unwanted items in the Resources window. Deleting does not work. I select the item, click for options and select Delete. It just stays there.
I found the 8.1.1 Resource management (I assume you are using 8.1.1) much improved. It now gives much more information regarding any missing resource files and makes it much easier to delete or relink them as required. Right click delete works for me, as does dragging and dropping the resource file into the resource manager.
What I did find with RW 8.1.1 was that it picked up ‘orphan’ files that I had’t actually used in the project for a very long time, so this is definitely an improvement for me, being able to delete those files the project no longer needs.
I didn’t know there was an 8.1.1 update, so I just applied it. I still cannot delete resources in the Resources window by right-clicking but I discovered that the gear wheel at the top does indeed allow files to be deleted. Result! However everything I said regarding the absolute uselessness of the Link > Resource pop-up menu still stands.
You can see all your resources by opening the RW Resources window where you will see an image of the resource along with its file name. I find this most useful in tracking down which resource I want to use.
I am aware of the Resources window. Mine shows hundreds of items in no discernible order and there is no way for me to reorder the items in it — it is not like a Finder window that has view options, as I said. Even if you could, you cannot AFAIK use this window to select the resource to LINK to , only the resource pop-up menu, which is likewise impossible to sort. Sorry but I am unsure why I have to write this twice.