File size query is slow caching needed

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fish
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:07 am

File size query is slow caching needed

Post by fish »

The MFT table contains the size of the file too. Why doesn't Everything store that info?

When a query is performed with size Everything should cache that info in case of reuse.

The size filter is very slow and locks up everything for a long time. Not just the window were the query is in but all the windows.
Such a slow operation should not be blocking normal operations. The user should still be able to make a new window and a new search query.

File size changes isn't that hard to monitor for either.

Please add the option for storing file size info.
Caching is always a good thing on slow operations. Cache can even be kept alive by monitoring the files for size changes.
void
Developer
Posts: 16735
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:31 pm

Re: File size query is slow caching needed

Post by void »

The MFT table contains the size of the file too. Why doesn't Everything store that info?
I would like to add the option to index file sizes/dates in a future release.

Currently, Everything indexes filenames only for efficiency and searching/sorting by size/dates will be slow.

I am looking at adding support for caching sizes/dates directly from the MFT (not storing it in the index).

Thanks for the suggestions.
tomatoRadar
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:47 am

Re: File size query is slow caching needed

Post by tomatoRadar »

Just wondering if these feature would be available soon. With USB drives, sorting by size is really a nightmare.
Link
Posts: 21
Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 10:08 pm

Re: File size query is slow caching needed

Post by Link »

Been using size and date functions often recently and noticed this too. Based on the hard drive activity, 'Everything' doesn't seem to load the size and date information from the MFT table which is weird since that would be the obvious choice. Instead it accesses each file separably to ask for that information. Process Monitor confirms this. That is an extremely slow process and it even affects other programs trying to access the hard-drive because it overloads the hard-drive and windows caching gets confused. To skip the technical developer babble, it is basically a very bad idea and not recommended at all, in the way it is done in 'Everything'. Though I'm a bit rusty on windows programming since I've been dealing with javascript code. :(

My pleading to make Everything open source to speed up the development seem to have pissed off void. I'm blocked from accessing some features on the forum. Might have drunk-private posted him a few times, not sure, I can't remember. :oops:
Refreshing my memory by doing a quick search I can say many have been looking forward to that for years.

I feel the pain of my poor hard drive each time I have to do a size or date query from a fresh start of 'Everything' after a reboot. I have source code repositories of several gigabytes. Many small files. Last time I checked I had 1.5 million files on the hard drive, last check was a year ago so it might be more now.

Would indeed have been nice with some sort of progress report. Doesn't need to be detailed, long or done frequently. Just once a month for example. It satisfies most users. Would avoid the frequent questions like 'Is it done yet?' and 'Is this project dead?'.
void
Developer
Posts: 16735
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:31 pm

Re: File size query is slow caching needed

Post by void »

You will be able to index file sizes in the next release of Everything, this will make the size: function instant.

I will review open sourcing Everything 1.4 once I'm out of beta.
I'm glad you pleaded with me to open source Everything, but its not something I currently want to do, you shouldn't be blocked to any forum features.

I've thought about posting my TODO list, but its mostly programmer notes not many people would understand.
I am almost ready for a beta release, I am currently doing some internal bug testing, and rewriting a few features that I've found issues with already.

Please keep in mind Everything is something I do in my free time, for free.
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