Use of Ifilters in Quick View

[RightPaddock]

Recently I raised the issue of X2's use of WMP to Quickview videos as a cause of delays when using X2.

When an archive containing one or more video's is unpacked into the current Pane/Tab the delays are particularly noticeable. My workaround is to turn the WMP application on and off as needed. Which is a PITA solution because each 'on' and 'off' requires doing a post software install restart of Windows - that's the restart you have to do when MS ships its monthly patches, ie the one that says "Don't turn your computer off", and "35% done" etc.

Now I've discovered that preview also makes use of various installed iFilters - ZIP, CHM, CAB etc. I installed those iFilters so that the Search Indexer can use them to populate the indexes used by Windows Search. The indexing task runs as low priority background - it invokes the Ifilters as and when needed, on my system I barely know its there. I have discovered, and its confirmed in the manual, that X2 which runs as a foreground normal priority task, also invokes the same iFilters. So whenever a ZIP, CHM etc becomes the selected item the iFilter is invoked, but iFilters are designed to be invoked when a new items comes into existence - not every time a file browser happens to pass over one.

nikos - on-iing and off-ing the iFilters as I've done with WMP is not an option, as it would trigger index rebuilding. And whilst that's happening Windows Search is effectively out of action.

The delays I experience caused by unpacking videos, creating and unpacking ZIPs etc, happens regardless of whether I have Quick View enabled or not. The only way I've found to eliminate the delays is to get rid of the software that X2 uses to do the Quickviews. That would require me to uninstall Windows Media Player, the iFilters from Citeknet & iFilterShop, PDF Exchange from Tracker, Office from Microsoft...

So once again I ask, please provide a some options to configure the Preview panel that would eliminate (i.e. not just conceal) X2's reliance on 3rd party software to do things that are not needed anyway. I suggest via a list of the file types that are to be shown in the preview panel. You can default it to *.*, just so long as I can change it to *.txt when doing work when that's all I need.

RP

[nikos]

usually people ask for more preview capabilities not less... anyway for the next version I will use more background threading for previewing. But for the draft preview, there is already background threading for the most of the job -- with the exception perhaps of PDFs, check an advanced setting for that "extract pdf in background thread" in GLOBAL page

[RightPaddock]

usually people ask for more preview capabilities not less... anyway for the next version I will use more background threading for previewing. But for the draft preview, there is already background threading for the most of the job -- with the exception perhaps of PDFs, check an advanced setting for that "extract pdf in background thread" in GLOBAL page

Interestingly PDF's are one of the file types on which I don't perceive any delays, but nor do I have that many in the context of this reorg project. I do have Tracker's PDF viewer installed, I also don't see notice any delays if I unpack a load of JPEGS - even ginormous 20MB JPEGS.

The file types that create the delays are all video and audio files, ZIPS, and CHMS particularly when I build them - and its not the indexer because if I build them from within Windows Explorer I don't get this annoying hesitancy, on large files it can be long enough to create a spinning wheel.

I'm not convinced that changing the threading of previews will achieve what I want - which is a zero delay, no hesitation operation. If I create 7z files rather than ZIPs, and ePUBs rather than CHMs then I don't get the delays. I don't have nor am I aware of any iFilters for 7z's and ePUBS which means they don't get indexed which means... no show in Search.

Can you explain why can't you do something similar as you've done for filters - let the user define what they want to preview as and when it suits them. Mon thru Fri during the day when I am 'working' I want minimal previewing because it slows down keyboard intensive operations, but at weekends I may want media previews so I can listen to Abba, Bach and Gaga etc.

I anticipated that putting browse flat results into the main window was a major ask, hence I appreciated your straightforward answer on that one. But I find it hard to imagine that having a list of file types that controlled what gets previewed would be so hard to do. I am not asking for reduced previewing functionality for philosophical or iconoclastic reasons, but simply so that I can work efficiently by having my computer operating at the same speed as my fingers on the keyboard - its a 3.2GHz i5 with 8G of RAM, sometimes when I'm using X2, it feels more like a Sinclair Z80 with 4K of RAM

RP

[nikos]

I don't have any problem with any ifilters. I don't know where you found ifilters for CHM and ZIP but if you got them from citeknet these are buggy and even crash xplorer2 so they are definitely not recommended

[RightPaddock]

I don't have any problem with any ifilters. I don't know where you found ifilters for CHM and ZIP but if you got them from citeknet these are buggy and even crash xplorer2 so they are definitely not recommended

They are both from IFilterShop - even if they were from Citeknet then so <expletive deleted> what.

I don't have any problems with iFilters when they are being used for the purpose for which I acquired them, and in some cases paid for them. Which is building indexes for use by Windows Search. I did not acquire them for doing previews in X2, but the fact that X2 uses them to do previews has a deleterious effect on the performance of X2. Not on Windows Indexing or Windows Search, nor any other applications, just XPLORER2 and only XPLORER2.

I don't have a problem with XPLORER2 crashing I have a problem with its performance when it previews things in which I have absolutely no interest in having previewed with software that I have installed for another purpose entirely.

My request is that X2 only preview the file types the user nominates to be previewed, rather than every file type in sight. Which for me at this time is .TXT and .JPG - and I would hope that is possible without calling on iFilters, Media players, Word processors aor PDF Viewers etc. If JPG previews created performance problems I could forego them and settle for TXT only. I could even settle for turning the Preview panel off - but even with it off the handlers for videos, PDF's etc are still being called upon. The only way I can stop that happening is to uninstall the handlers - as I have already done with Windows Media Player!!

Please stop introducing red herrings and deliberate obfuscations.

If you don't know how to stop the previews, or if to do so would require a rewrite of X2, or if you cant be bothered or if you have a philosophical objection to giving the users the ability to opt out of your latest whizz-bang feature - just say so.

RP

[nikos]

sorry but i don't think that there is any performance issue, and neither limiting previewing capabilities would benefit the vast majority of xplorer2 users

[RightPaddock]

I like you a lot more when you give straight forward answers

I have found a more suitable file manager product to do my reorganisation project, there are no keyboard staggers or spinning wheels after creating or unpacking archives, navigating to video files etc. It doesn't have all the bells & whistles of X2 - but if you're keyboard centric and you like to work quickly then...

Take a look at it nikos, you can get to the download via this site.

Don't bother trying to download the Help File, you'll get a 404 error.

RP

[nikos]

all your bullying has finally paid dividends... just wait for the next version

[RightPaddock]

all your bullying has finally paid dividends... just wait for the next version

Thanks nikos, I look forward to that

Sadly, I don't have the luxury of waiting, I must finish the reorg project by mid January 2014 when I hand over the data to my replacement. Now I'm using 2X Explorer to do the work, I can get it done without the frustrating stuttering responsiveness I was getting with Xplorer2.

Although it's a pity I had to think of 2X Explorer myself rather than its author suggesting it. I was considering using MultiCommander when I thought of 2X Explorer. For my reorg project they are much of muchness, so... keep it in the family...

From the little I saw there some 'nice' features in MC - eg drill into rar and 7z archives.

If you have the CHM file for 2X Explorer perhaps you could put it somewhere where I can download it.

RP

[nikos]

no, i am talking about the mini-update that's cooking as we speak. But really i cannot understand how you feel xplorer2 is so bad in this respect, do you have zero tolerance for millisecond delays?

[RightPaddock]

Its the inconsistency of the delays that drove me to tears, it ranges between imperceptible to several seconds (for large media files and archives). And they are caused by 3rd party programs (like media viewers and iFilters) doing their preview/quickview 'thing'. If they did their 'thing' without causing any delays then they would just be annoying eye candy, but they have a deleterious effect on X2's performance - and I don't even want their 'bling' in the QV panel.

If it happened in casual file management I might grizzle but... However my reorg project involves massaging over 70,000 folders, yes I could have automated it and carried forward the errors, omissions and idiosyncrasies that have accumulated over the last decade and a half. That would require my database to cope with the anomalies and provide a means to rectify them later, whilst preventing them from happening in the future. But I took the easy way out and decided to rectify them before they hit the database.

But 2X Explorer is getting the job done, not as elegantly but just as effectively and with far fewer errors caused by me typing 'too far' ahead of what I can see - and I've been able to restore WMP as my default media player etc.

If the mini-update is released before the end of the year then I'll probably use it to finish the project. And if you're looking for someone to test this specific aspect then count me in as willing volunteer.

RP

[Kilmatead]

A little late to the party in finding this, but for anyone who wants/needs to view/manage their installed iFilters and edit the file-types they apply to (!), Nirsoft's SearchFilterView is a most apt little tool. Not made for mufti-wearing civilians, and the name is a little misleading (it's not a search utility), but if you ever wanted to know the CLSID's associated with your mimes and filters (you know who you are), this toy should be under your bed.

Of particular note are the File -> Add extensions to filter and File -> Remove extensions from filter options which are not immediately obvious and (like any doomed marriage) should not be entered into lightly.