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Author Topic: Auto import problem/question  (Read 1774 times)

pwantzel

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Auto import problem/question
« on: May 09, 2010, 01:19:11 pm »

I have auto-import set on several directories.  When I start MC it always imports anything that was added since the last time I ran it.  However, while MC is running it will sometimes import newly-added files and sometimes it won't.  If the background process hasn't imported a file, running Auto Import Now manually also does not work.  I can go directly select a file and then it will import.

How is auto-import supposed to work?  Does it run every so often (while MC is running)?  How long should I have to wait to see new files in the library?

I'm running MC 15.0.16 and 15.0.35 (on two computers) with the same behavior.  This situation has existed at least since sometime in version 14.  Windows Vista Business x64 SP2 (on one computer) Windows XP Pro SP3 (on the other).
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JimH

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Re: Auto import problem/question
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2010, 04:46:07 pm »

I have auto-import set on several directories.  When I start MC it always imports anything that was added since the last time I ran it.  However, while MC is running it will sometimes import newly-added files and sometimes it won't.  If the background process hasn't imported a file, running Auto Import Now manually also does not work.  I can go directly select a file and then it will import.

How is auto-import supposed to work?  Does it run every so often (while MC is running)?  How long should I have to wait to see new files in the library?

I'm running MC 15.0.16 and 15.0.35 (on two computers) with the same behavior.  This situation has existed at least since sometime in version 14.  Windows Vista Business x64 SP2 (on one computer) Windows XP Pro SP3 (on the other).
Edit the auto-import options and make sure the filetype is checked.
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pwantzel

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Re: Auto import problem/question
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2010, 07:30:27 pm »

All (video) filetypes are checked.  And it's video files that I've noticed that (sometimes) don't auto-import while MC is running.

Does MC do something different (relative to importing new files) on startup vs. in the background when running?  Remember that in my case auto-import always works fine when MC is started.
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rpalmer68

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Re: Auto import problem/question
« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2010, 03:46:43 am »

I've found that sometimes autoimport would tag video files as Media Type = Data, maybe this is happenin to you?

Browse the library by path and see if they are in fact there but just aren't being seen a video files.

Richard
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pwantzel

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Re: Auto import problem/question
« Reply #4 on: May 10, 2010, 06:27:46 pm »

I looked in "documents" which is think is the same as what used to be called "data".  I found one group of .avi files from last year, but this doesn't even come close to the number of files that missed importing (while MC was running).  Does the fact that these missing files did import later (when MC started the next time) mean that they would disappear from "documents" if they went there the first time?

I'd still like an answer to my several questions about how auto import is supposed to work.
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rpalmer68

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Re: Auto import problem/question
« Reply #5 on: May 10, 2010, 09:07:27 pm »

I looked in "documents" which is think is the same as what used to be called "data".  I found one group of .avi files from last year, but this doesn't even come close to the number of files that missed importing (while MC was running).  Does the fact that these missing files did import later (when MC started the next time) mean that they would disappear from "documents" if they went there the first time?

I'd still like an answer to my several questions about how auto import is supposed to work.

Hmm, nobody (except Matt) knows how Auto import really works, but in my case auto import (fondly called OTTO in the past ) runs at MC startup and then seems to poll the directory every minute or two for changes.

What I have found myself from testing, and from various changes logged in the past;

- Auto import is DISABLED during full screen playback, but will start as soon as playback stops.

- Auto import will not import a file that is currently being added to (like  TV recordings from an external application etc).  I have found that these can take a little longer (even 10 or 15 minutes) to get imported as it appears Auto Import will detect they are currently "active" and then not retry them again for a while.


What options do you have set for Auto Import and also the folders you have setup?  

Are the folders using UNCs or Drive letters?

Maybe start MC and once it's done it's initial import etc clear the logs and then add a file or two to a monitored folder and see what is logged during an import (make sure you're logging "Import" and "Database" ), post or attach the log here if you're not sure what it's telling you.  Maybe it's finding the files but can't open them or analyse them or something like that?
 


I know how frustrating this issue is as I've had similar issues in the past, but certainly in recent times Auto Import has been working fine for me.

Richard
 
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Matt

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Re: Auto import problem/question
« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2010, 01:57:08 pm »

Auto Import runs once in the background when the program starts, and then registers for notifications from the system when folders it cares about change.  There is no polling.

If there are detected changes, Auto Import waits for activity to stop for 20 seconds before running.  If there are continuous changes to a watched folder, auto import will wait up to five minutes before running.

Some folders (like certain network shares) can not be monitored for changes.

If you run a manual import and it doesn't import a file, it means the file is being skipped intentionally.  One possible cause of this is if a file is in use like you're editing it or downloading it.  Using Help > Logging and searching the log from that filename might show why it's skipping the file.


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Matt Ashland, JRiver Media Center

pwantzel

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Re: Auto import problem/question
« Reply #7 on: May 11, 2010, 02:27:38 pm »

As luck would have it, I haven't seen a failure to import since I started this thread.  I will watch for it and see if any of these conditions apply.

Does the log file information persist?  So that I might be able to search old entries to see what happened a while ago?  Or would I have to have had to set certain things (like what to log) beforehand? 
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Matt

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Re: Auto import problem/question
« Reply #8 on: May 11, 2010, 03:12:48 pm »

As luck would have it, I haven't seen a failure to import since I started this thread.  I will watch for it and see if any of these conditions apply.

Does the log file information persist?  So that I might be able to search old entries to see what happened a while ago?  Or would I have to have had to set certain things (like what to log) beforehand? 

Each run starts a new log.  Only the current and previous logs are kept.
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Matt Ashland, JRiver Media Center
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