Content plugin value handling performance

[Lefteous]

I just sorted pictures in a folder with about 2000 pictures. I used a content plugin to sort by capture date. The initial sorting took a few seconds which is okay. The computer isn't that fast. I viewed the pictures on the opposite panel, than deleted the picture. Now TC rereads the vales from the content plugin. Again waiting for the values. Impossible to work this way.

Same task in Explorer. Again loading took a few seconds. After deleting the selected pictur pe i just continue my work.

Somehow the handling of already read values isn't that great.

[ghisler(Author)]

The problem is that TC cannot know when these values become invalid, so it has to discard them every time the directory is refreshed. I can only recommend that you do NOT sort by capture date, or first use the attributes dialog to copy the capture date to the real file date (last modified), and then sort by that.

[Lefteous]

2ghisler(Author)
I just don't understand why you need to refresh when sorting. Can't you sort based on the already known data and only read the values for changed files?

[tbeu]

Support: Field values should be cached as there is no reason to reread values from all files if only a file is deleted.

[ghisler(Author)]

TC isn't just sorting: You deleted a file, so TC had to re-read the directory.

[tbeu]

So what about caching?

[MaxX]

So what about caching?

IMHO, it would be better to ask plugin's author about this.
E.g., TCMediaInfo uses it's own database-cache and works much faster with this cache enabled.

[tbeu]

Yes, I know that some plugins cache there values. It still would be better though if TC does not call content plugin functions again if there actually is no need at all.

[Lefteous]

I don't see why deleting a file should force a directory reread. Isn't this just one of the things TC gets notified about? The only proper reaction I see is just deleting this single item without touching the rest.

2tbeu
Yes - asking the plugin would be way to slow! If there is really a need for new values - there is an API for that to implement for plugin author when he does excessive caching. The point is TC has do refresh as little as possible.

[ghisler(Author)]

Unfortunately it's not always clear what gets deleted - for example, when you delete a htm file to recycle bin, a folder belonging to that file may be deleted too. Also some functions like the Explorer method don't tell you what was deleted. Also deleting files may have side effects like an updated descript.ion file.

[XPEHOPE3KA]

The problem is that TC cannot know when these values become invalid, so it has to discard them every time the directory is refreshed.

2ghisler(Author)
Is it possible to add some features instead of that? Like some settings to (almost always) use cache and some commands to manually force rereading values by content plugins.

E.g.: user gets into folder - wdx data is cached, user changes files there, not leaving it, - use cache (with indication of that, if you so worry), user leaves folder - drop cached data.

Or it's possible to have per- file/folder/disk/type/plugin(!) disk caches. You'll save plugin writers a lot of work then. And you are familiar with the feature implementation, as you have thumbnails caching already done.

Can we please have it planned for a future TC release?
This would also allow to speed up the search, as ws requested already here.