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2166: Scan log

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2019 10:33 pm
by Barry4679
It is good that a sync against a GPM library now shows the Scan Results dbox, and gives access to the scan log. Thanks.

Observations:

The dbox from the initial scan double counts the tracks being "added" ... ie. where tracks that pre-existed in MM, and the scan has now added the GPM link ... it double counts these
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dnt4ees1iajan ... g.png?dl=0

Having a scan log is good, but it could be more helpful. Currently is as as follows:
  • It firstly lists all the GPM tracks which were matched OK. They seem to be listed in random sequence. They are shown as operation = "updated".
  • The report then lists the GPM tracks which were not matched, again in random sequence. These are shown as Operation = "skipped"
  • There is a line for every track in our GPM library ... It can be a long report. GPM libraries may contain up to a max of 50,000 tracks of our own tracks.
  • Every row includes the tracks hidden GPM link; 30 or 40 characters of random text
  • We get one chance to review or save the report ... ie. by pressing the View Log button on the Scan Results dbox ... The report is lost if you close the Scan Results dbox before you realise that you need to review the report.
The report would be more useful if the exceptions were listed at the beginning of what could be a very long report ... ie. the "skipped" tracks ... it would be clearer if the "operation" showed why the tracks were "skipped" .. ie. Operation = "Not found in MM" ... or something like that.
It would be more useful if the "skipped" tracks were sequenced by something useful, like <album><Track> or <album artist><album><track>

Same thing with any other errors ... eg "403 Forbidden" or conversion errors etc.

The matched tracks could then be listed in the same useful sequence. ... Operation = "GPM link saved" .... or "GPM track added to MM" ... or "GPM track downloaded" ... nb. I have only tested the former "operation"

TheGPM track links are useful to you in the case of problem report? ... if no, they could be discarded, as it is no use to a MM customer. It just makes the log less easy to use.

I still believe that MM would be enhanced if it had an option to auto-save the most recent n scan logs ... so that I could go to a menu option like File|ScanLog|View one of the last n Scan Logs

It is disappointing that a Scan Log is not produced if I select a bunch of tracks, and then right click "download". ... This is similar to a sync. It results in a batch of tracks being inserted into the MM db. ... It is different I suppose in that I specifically selected the tracks to be acted upon, but the batch operation may encounter errors, and only be able to complete part of the batch. So there still may be a cleanup job for me to do, and a log would be useful.

I realise that there is no clear end to a download batch .. ie. I may, or may not, add further albums to the download batch, and so you don't know when I am completed ... you could start a download batch whenever I do my 1st download in a specific invocation of MM, and keep adding to it until MM closes, or gets restarted following an abnormal shutdown ... ?

If that were done you could also include any track "removes" into that log also, which would be good.

Some people put a lot of work into their MM db. ... Batch update operations are disconcerting without an activity log IMO.

Re: 2166: Scan log

Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 4:46 am
by Ludek
Hi, thanks for feedback, re-opened: https://www.ventismedia.com/mantis/view.php?id=15360

Re: 2166: Scan log

Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 6:53 am
by Ludek
It would be more useful if the "skipped" tracks were sequenced by something useful, like <album><Track> or <album artist><album><track>
They are sequenced by the summary format for individual files. i.e.
$if(<Artist>,<Artist> - ,)<Title>

The same format is used in "Now playing" , if you don't like it for whatever reason then you can customize it in options:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zr103hf94ze0k ... 7.png?dl=0


TheGPM track links are useful to you in the case of problem report? ... if no, they could be discarded, as it is no use to a MM customer. It just makes the log less easy to use.
Yes, seems useless, I will discard them for 2167 (along with fixing the double counts)

I still believe that MM would be enhanced if it had an option to auto-save the most recent n scan logs ... so that I could go to a menu option like File|ScanLog|View one of the last n Scan Logs
If you are interested in this, you (or anyone) can implement this as an addon.

Re: 2166: Scan log

Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 9:20 pm
by Barry4679
Ludek wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2019 6:53 am They are sequenced by the summary format for individual files. i.e.
$if(<Artist>,<Artist> - ,)<Title>
Thanks for the tip.

I altered the setting to

Code: Select all

$if(<Album Artist>,<Album Artist> - ,)$if(<Album>,<Album> - ,)<Title>
The report looks better, but I still don't understand the sort sequence
  • Captain Beefheart
  • Red House Painters
  • Keith Tippet
  • Van Dyke Parks
  • Hans Zimmer
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ml9t6w6q1ycj2 ... q.png?dl=0

Ludek wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2019 6:53 am
I still believe that MM would be enhanced if it had an option to auto-save the most recent n scan logs ... so that I could go to a menu option like File|ScanLog|View one of the last n Scan Logs
If you are interested in this, you (or anyone) can implement this as an addon.
Yeah, but I may have to upgrade my skill set for that :D
And I am flat out testing MM5 vanilla.

Maybe somebody is reading this. :o

[UPDATE] the Scan Results dbox is displayed while the sync in still in progress ... ie. it is displayed before it starts the step that processes playlist sync ... it would be better to wait to the end, as the last step may add items to the log file

Re: 2166: Scan log

Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2019 5:43 am
by Ludek
The report looks better, but I still don't understand the sort sequence
Yes, current sort sequence is just in groups (imported, updated, skipped) and then just how the tracks are coming from GPM (in the groups).
I will fix that for 2167 -- so that they are sorted alphabetically in the individual groups.

[UPDATE] the Scan Results dbox is displayed while the sync in still in progress ... ie. it is displayed before it starts the step that processes playlist sync ... it would be better to wait to the end, as the last step may add items to the log file
Scanning is at the beginning of sync, note that scan log isn't the sync log. The sync log is shown at the end of sync, but just in case of a sync failure (like failure to upload a playlist or file) -- as has been always the case for device sync and other tasks in MM4.
Similarly the download log is shown only when a download failure happens etc.

Re: 2166: Scan log

Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2019 8:26 pm
by Barry4679
Ludek wrote: Tue Mar 19, 2019 5:43 am Scanning is at the beginning of sync, note that scan log isn't the sync log. The sync log is shown at the end of sync, but just in case of a sync failure (like failure to upload a playlist or file) -- as has been always the case for device sync and other tasks in MM4.
Similarly the download log is shown only when a download failure happens etc.
I think that you would find difficulty finding many customers who saw a sync as the combination of two distinct functions.

It looks wrong to see the result dbox when the wheel is still spinning ... dependant upon the quantity and size of the playlists, it can continue to spin for quite a long time ... its appears broken IMO.

Any harm in delaying the dbox until the whole process has completed?

Warning: it you make this change, I am then going to ask, that where there are any sync or download problems, that these be added to the top of the log report. ... And you if you were feeling generous, you could even throw in a "No Sync problems" and a no "No download problems" message where relevant, to keep us pedants happy.

And while mentioning pedants, the dbox has lines like "Updated n files" and also "Did not import n files" .... so even though it is titled "Scan results", it appears to include sync results.