HOST file editor

[crutkas]

Description of the new feature / enhancement

At times, you need to alter the HOST file but it is a very manual process.

It can become very cumbersome and would be very powerful and useful to have a quick editor for the file

This idea came from @snickler

Extra suggestions that would be great for this (and could even come later):

• Multiple HOSTS files that could be switched out. Say I have a group of hosts I only need to map to different IP’s periodically. I’d like to be able to swap out the current HOSTS file for that file and even make changes to it to save back.
• CSV import Hosts file editor #20462 (comment)
• Drag and drop has been disabled: Drag&Drop does not work with within Elevated Apps microsoft-ui-xaml#7690

[davidegiacometti]

Very cool!
I definitely would like to create a POC with basic functionality.
C# and WinUI3 are fine?

[snickler]

Very cool! I definitely would like to create a POC with basic functionality. C# and WinUI3 are fine?

That sounds perfect to me.

[davidegiacometti]

I have started working on the POC. I am focusing more on the service that read/write the hosts file than the UI 😄

@crutkas at the moment lines that aren't parsed as valid entry (including headers/comments) are removed when we write the file. Will be tricky to preserve them especially if sorting will be implemented. What do you think?

@niels9001 what do you suggest for the user inteface? What do you think about using a DataGrid here instead of a ListView?

[crutkas]

Maybe we lead with PT generated comment and our UX had a direct editor for the top part we can’t parse?

[davidegiacometti]

I like the idea for the header on top of the file but still a problem if users mix valid hosts entries and commented lines.

[niels9001]

@niels9001 what do you suggest for the user inteface? What do you think about using a DataGrid here instead of a ListView?

Nice! I think a DataGrid could work, but only if we expect to do resizable columns and/or inline/direct editing (without the popup). (I personally like your current implementation btw :))!

[davidegiacometti]

Since I am not a big fan of DataGrid and I like to pipup let's try keep the ListView.
Thank you @niels9001 😃

[jerone]

I think a DataGrid could work [..]

Shameless plug: https://github.com/jerone/HostProfiles#readme (it's old, but going strong for 9 years. Maybe useful for idea's)

[Svk1190]

It would be nice to have hosts editor functionality similar to Hostsman, which allows us to subscribe to local or remote sources, such as Malware Domain List.