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 Post subject: File Transfer Conundrum
PostPosted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 10:01 pm 
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Hi Jorge, I've been thinking about this for a long time. I hope it isn't a stupid question.

Is it possible for the docks, WorkShelf and all other items to work while the file(s) are being transferred?

I use Teracopy frequently in conjunction with the dock. I frequently move files (usually very large ones) from one drive to another by dragging them to a drive or folder I have on the dock.

In other words, while the file(s) are being transferred, nothing concerning Winstep can be used. I have to wait until the file transfer is completed.


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 Post subject: Re: File Transfer Conundrum
PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 12:57 am 
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Alas, file copy/move operations are performed by calling SHFileOperation, and SHFileOperation blocks (i.e.; does not return) until the operation is complete. That means no further code in the Winstep application will run until the file operation has finished and SHFileOperation returns.

This should only be a problem when transferring very large files.

I guess the problem could be solved by 'offloading' the actual file copy/move operation to an external component (for instance, have winstep.exe do the actual copying in the background by running it with a special argument, then it's winstep.exe that blocks while the operation is in progress and not the Winstep application itself), but I'm not sure if it's worth the trouble...

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 Post subject: Re: File Transfer Conundrum
PostPosted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 7:30 am 
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Thanks for explaining that! I would greatly appreciate it if you are able to add that feature. It would be just another great addition touting the unique attributes of Winstep products!

You can put that on your Themes page under the Latest News heading!

And who knows, it might even fix a function that now and then does something weird (mostly because of outside programs, drivers etc.) and lead to further enhancement in the functionally of Winstep programs.


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 Post subject: Re: File Transfer Conundrum
PostPosted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 8:31 am 
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winstep wrote:
Alas, file copy/move operations are performed by calling SHFileOperation, and SHFileOperation blocks (i.e.; does not return) until the operation is complete. That means no further code in the Winstep application will run until the file operation has finished and SHFileOperation returns.

This should only be a problem when transferring very large files.

I guess the problem could be solved by 'offloading' the actual file copy/move operation to an external component (for instance, have winstep.exe do the actual copying in the background by running it with a special argument, then it's winstep.exe that blocks while the operation is in progress and not the Winstep application itself), but I'm not sure if it's worth the trouble...


Oh rats! I was hoping that you added this feature in the beta update you just released. Will you be adding it in the next one soon?


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 Post subject: Re: File Transfer Conundrum
PostPosted: Fri Dec 15, 2017 2:26 am 
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You're in luck. Just added it. :wink:

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Jorge Coelho
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 Post subject: Re: File Transfer Conundrum
PostPosted: Fri Dec 15, 2017 7:46 am 
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Tried to upload many GIF's but no luck. So I had to go a different route. I had to settle on using a file host for a non GIF.

Yipeeee!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

View My Video


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 Post subject: Re: File Transfer Conundrum
PostPosted: Fri Dec 15, 2017 9:58 am 
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LOL :D

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 Post subject: Re: File Transfer Conundrum
PostPosted: Sat Dec 23, 2017 8:42 pm 
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Windy, just so you understand that what looks like 'minor requests' can sometimes spell a LOT of trouble:

I implemented your request and it seemed to be working fine (and it was!). Basically when you drag & drop a file and that means a file copy, the main Winstep application will tell winstep.exe to do the actual file copy for it. This way the main Winstep application is free to continue doing other stuff while winstep.exe is busy doing the actual work.

Today I was testing the software for release on a Windows 10 VM and, luckily, because I didn't have a single large file to drag & drop to a folder tab in the Shelf, I decided to drag instead the contents of a folder with over one hundred files.

What happened next cannot really be described: because the Winstep application handles dropped files internally on a one by one case, it tried to open over one hundred simultaneous instances of winstep.exe, each trying to copy a single file at the same time.

That didn't go very well, needless to say.

So, on the plus side, I caught this major issue before the official release. On the minus side, it might have cost all of us an early Christmas present, because now I have to waste time trying to come up with an alternative solution.

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 Post subject: Re: File Transfer Conundrum
PostPosted: Mon Dec 25, 2017 12:00 am 
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OMG!! That would have been disastrous if that would have been in the release! I'm glad you caught it beforehand.

Was that problem only in Win 10? And also, you said the problem happened when you d & d to a folder tab in the Shelf. Did that happen when you dragged and dropped them into a folder on the dock too?

I sure hope you can pull off a miracle for Christmas and find a solution to the problem by then. Then we would be all doing those multiple flips!


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 Post subject: Re: File Transfer Conundrum
PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2017 9:31 am 
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No, the problem would be global. Anyway, now it's even better - and faster - than before. And yes, the problem would also happen when dropping files into a folder on the dock.

Xmas is gone now, but at least the extra time allowed me to fine tune and fix a lot of other minor but annoying things, especially under Windows 10.

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 Post subject: Re: File Transfer Conundrum
PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 6:18 pm 
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winstep wrote:
Anyway, now it's even better - and faster - than before.

Xmas is gone now, but at least the extra time allowed me to fine tune and fix a lot of other minor but annoying things, especially under Windows 10.


Great! I have Win 7 but I know there are a lot of 10 users and unfortunately I might be forced into using 10 in the near future.

Remember what I posted a little more than a month ago about this? :D
Windy wrote:
And who knows, it might even fix a function that now and then does something weird (mostly because of outside programs, drivers etc.) and lead to further enhancement in the functionally of Winstep programs.


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