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Author Topic: Import from symbolically linked directory  (Read 1682 times)

pjdevries

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Import from symbolically linked directory
« on: July 20, 2020, 12:28:59 pm »

It seems MC can not import new tracks from a symbolically linked directory. I'm running MC 25.0.114 on Manjaro (Arch Linux). My audio files are in a directory on an external SSD. That directory is symbolically linked to a subdirectory in my home directory. Today I copied several new tracks to that directory but was unable to import them in MC.

Is this a known issue?
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mwillems

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Re: Import from symbolically linked directory
« Reply #1 on: July 20, 2020, 01:34:25 pm »

Is this an issue only with auto-import (i.e. the files do not import automatically), or do the files fail to import when you run the import process manually?  My recollection is that symlinks can interfere with inotify watches which may cause problems with detecting new files for auto import but that wouldn't explain issues with manually run imports.

Also, for extra ruling things out, does it work correctly if you point the import process at the real mountpoint of the audio directory rather than the symbolic link?

I use bind mounts myself rather than symlinks and can confirm that those do work with MC, but I haven't personally tested symlinks.
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pjdevries

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Re: Import from symbolically linked directory
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2020, 05:54:17 am »

Thanx for the swift reply.

I run the import manually, choosing the folder to search for new albums explicitly. I replaced the symbolic link with a bind mount, but that does not make a difference.

I am wondering if my recent transition has something to do with it. Recently I moved (or rather copied) both my library and audio files to the Linux system. An experiment to see if Linux is the way to go (as opposed to Windows) for my soon to build dedicated streamer. After copying everything, I used the library tools to rename all the files in the library. I played from that system for a few weeks, without a problem. Yesterday it was the first time I tried to import a few new albums, which sadly fails for some reason.

I can not imagine the issue having anything to do with the recent Windows to Linux transition, but you never know. The only thing that strikes me, is the display of filenames in MC. They show up with backslashes and not with the forward slashes I used when renaming them and how one would expect on a Linux system.
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max096

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Re: Import from symbolically linked directory
« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2020, 08:10:47 am »

I can not imagine the issue having anything to do with the recent Windows to Linux transition, but you never know. The only thing that strikes me, is the display of filenames in MC. They show up with backslashes and not with the forward slashes I used when renaming them and how one would expect on a Linux system.

Try what they are suggesting in this thread: https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=117593.0

Quote
Easy way to overcome this is to manually edit the "platform.jmd" file in the active library folder.
Just replace "[Platform]=Windows" with "[Platform]=Linux" and save the file.

Not 100% sure if this is the relevant part. But either way it deffinitely should be a problem with the library restore not fully working cross-platform. Otherwise I canīt imagine a way how you could end up with backslashes on your Linux install.
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pjdevries

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Re: Import from symbolically linked directory
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2020, 09:08:34 am »

It appears to be the relevant part. After changing the platform to Linux, file paths appeared with forward slashes as expected and importing the new tracks worked like a charm.

Thanx for the tip.
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