i sort of "need" to be able to set the current display mode for the active window's thumbnail panel using an <onclick> event. is this possible?
no, it's not. (unless you press the view as button ofcourse)
that doesn't actually set the thumbnail panel state, it just switches between the subwindows used in each mode. time for some minor frs
if you want to set the current folder, then this can be done, but only in the file views iirc.
you can use activatewindow(myvideofiles,folder) for instance.