Speed increase in file listings

[RalphM]

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v4.00.0199 - 30.09.05 13:15
    % File listing gains further 25% speed! It's incredible.

Ever since using TV3, I've got one network drive with really slow access times, which actually keeps me from using it at work like I would like to. (it's a network server running NT4 SP6)
I was hoping your proposed speed up of file listing would solve that problem as well and checked it again with 4.00.0196, but I felt it even got slower.
I have to admit I never really measured the time before, so it might just be a belly feeling that it didn't get faster, but to give you an idea of what's "slow" for me - the initial listing of any directory on that network drive takes up to 40 seconds.

Anybody out there with an idea to solve this? (if possible without replacing the server would be appreciated, he he)

Gonna check it again with 4.00.0199 and keep you posted, but I don't expect much of a change though.

[admin]

...to give you an idea of what's "slow" for me - the initial listing of any directory on that network drive takes up to 40 seconds.

What a sad and shocking story! Of course there must be a solution. There is no reason at all why Explorer should be any faster than TV3 at this.

- Just to make sure: when you say "listing of any directory" you are talking about waiting for the list to fill up, not about waiting for the tree to show the server or server share nodes?
- Is the list slowly filling up (8... 14... 34... 51... items) or is it empty for a long time (waiting for some response) and then filling up rather fast?
- And what about the speed of non-initial listings?
- How long are the lists?
- Please try with List Style "Show Icons = off". Still as slow?

[RalphM]

- Just to make sure: when you say "listing of any directory" you are talking about waiting for the list to fill up, not about waiting for the tree to show the server or server share nodes?

The mapped drive is shown in the tree view as any other one, but no matter how I access it, the delay is the same.
I tried named tabs, favorites and selecting the "+"-sign in the tree view to expand its tree.

- Is the list slowly filling up (8... 14... 34... 51... items) or is it empty for a long time (waiting for some response) and then filling up rather fast?

The latter, waiting without any action (not even the hourglass shown) and then the expanded tree or file list appears suddenly.

- And what about the speed of non-initial listings?

Once accessed within one TV3 session it appears to be as fast as the other mapped drives.

- How long are the lists?

The largest list of files on that drive is a subdir with 3000 - 4000 files in it.
To open that specific dir explorer takes its time as well, but for TV3 the number of list items doesn't seem to matter.

- Please try with List Style "Show Icons = off". Still as slow?

Will try again Monday with 4.00.0199 and the "Show Icons = off".

Thanks so far

[admin]

- Please try with List Style "Show Icons = off". Still as slow?

Will try again Monday with 4.00.0199 and the "Show Icons = off".

At the moment I have 3 hypotheses concerning your issue. 2 of them I could handle... waiting for your result...

[RalphM]

At the moment I have 3 hypotheses concerning your issue. 2 of them I could handle... waiting for your result...

Apparently the first two solved helped a lot already.

I checked the speed yesterday with 4.00.0199 and today with 4.20.0000 and for the "slow" network drive TV3 gained about 50% speed.

The initial listing of the subdir I mentioned (the one with currently about 2600 files) takes only 25 seconds now, with the list slowly filling now and the hourglass showing. Strange thing is, when I change to the tab pointing to that subdir, TV3 takes about 7 secs until the list focus changes to that dir and starts to fill and the file count in the status bar shows increasing numbers for files.
The same subdir takes Explorer 13 secs to list.

The "Show icons" = "off" didn't change a thing - same response times as with "on"

[admin]

At the moment I have 3 hypotheses concerning your issue. 2 of them I could handle... waiting for your result...

Apparently the first two solved helped a lot already.

Ah yes, at least

Thanks for your report. I hope I can do something about that tab change delay in the next BETA...

[RalphM]

Thanks for your report. I hope I can do something about that tab change delay in the next BETA...

The delay is still very present with 4.20.0012.
I just checked it with the network pretty much available just to myself.

1. Changing to the slow subdir via tree in any tab takes about 18 secs. to display the complete file list, with the list filling slowly from the start.
2. Closing TV3 with an inactive tab pointing to that location, starting TV3 again and selecting that tab still takes about 16 secs. (idle time somehow) until the list starts filling slowly and another 15 secs. to display the complete file list.
3. Doing the same as in 1.) and 2.) with a parent dir of that "slow" one (with only 15 subdirs and 20 files) is lightning fast, 2 secs for 1.) and 3 secs. for 2.)

Really strange, isn't it?

[admin]

... selecting that tab still takes about 16 secs. (idle time somehow) until the list starts filling slowly and another 15 secs. to display the complete file list.

That a long list is slower than a short list is no wonder, or isn't your fast list much smaller than your slow list?

The 16 secs idle time is the big mystery. I was sure I had handled that, that is presupposing we are talking about an UNC (\\...) path! Or are we talking about a mapped drive?

[RalphM]

The 16 secs idle time is the big mystery. I was sure I had handled that, that is presupposing we are talking about an UNC (\\...) path! Or are we talking about a mapped drive?

Yep, it is a mapped drive, but all the other ones I used to compare the response times are mapped drives as well - so it's still a mystery to me.

[admin]

The 16 secs idle time is the big mystery. I was sure I had handled that, that is presupposing we are talking about an UNC (\\...) path! Or are we talking about a mapped drive?

Yep, it is a mapped drive, but all the other ones I used to compare the response times are mapped drives as well - so it's still a mystery to me.

OK, that at least explains why the 16 secs idle time on tab change are still there: my changes work only for UNC paths.

I'll try something else...

EDIT: any speed difference if you un-check "Auto-refresh on file system changes"?

[RalphM]

OK, that at least explains why the 16 secs idle time on tab change are still there: my changes work only for UNC paths.

I'll try something else...

EDIT: any speed difference if you un-check "Auto-refresh on file system changes"?

Unchecking that option increased speed a bit:
1.) 12 secs.
2.) the same 16 secs. idle, 15 secs. for the list
3.) 1 sec. and 2 secs. respectively

[admin]

Thanks.

For the moment I'm out of ideas. There's nothing more I can do.

[RalphM]

OK, that at least explains why the 16 secs idle time on tab change are still there: my changes work only for UNC paths.

I'll try something else...

Unfortunately even in 4.40.0027 I still got that 16sec idle time when switching to the tab pointing to my "slow" server/folder.
As designed or did you expect this to be solved with the new server enumeration as well?

[admin]

Unfortunately even in 4.40.0027 I still got that 16sec idle time when switching to the tab pointing to my "slow" server/folder.
As designed or did you expect this to be solved with the new server enumeration as well?

The new enumeration code does speed up only 2 things:
- listing servers under nethood
- listing shares under each server

Below that level (listing share contents) I use normal file APIs and will continue to do so, until I find something better. But I did not see anything better for the last 10 years; I did not even hear of an alternative! Hm.