Manual Refresh in 4.15 for PPC but not for PalmOS??

[archituz]

iSilo,
I noticed that the option for Automatic Refresh is available in iSilo 4.15 for PocketPC but NOT for iSilo 4.15 for PalmOS. This and other functionality was removed from previous iSilo PalmOS versions but remains in v4.15 for PPC.

Is there a technical reason these cannot be reinstated to the Palm iSilo? Although I appreciate the concept/desire of automatic refeshing, I'd rather contol refreshing myself-- much like I have chosen to manually refresh apps in my beloved Launcher X.

BTW, I continue to LOVE iSilo and use it more than any other app on my T3-- about 50% more than using Contacts! (as reported by AppStats)

Thanks for your attention to detail and responsiveness to users.
Marty

[iSilo]

The new document list that was implemented starting with version 4.05 works quite differently than the document list that was in version 4.01 and prior versions, both technically underneath and externally to the user. There are also some technical operational differences between the way it all works between Palm OS and Pocket PC.

But above all that, to just get directly at the main point first, on Palm OS, there is no automatic refresh. So the only way to refresh is to manually initiate a refresh by using the List/Refresh command. This is because on Palm OS, only one application can run at any one time. Hence if iSilo is running, it is the only application running, and thus no other application can make changes to files such as deleting or adding files that would affect the list of documents currently displayed.

The just described situation on Palm OS contrasts with the situation on Pocket PC, where more than one application can run concurrently. For example, you could have both iSilo and File Explorer running concurrently. In this situation, automatic refresh is applicable. So for example, say you are in iSilo's document list and using the Device & Storage Cards view to look at the \My Documents\iSilo folder. This would mean that iSilo's document list shows the files in that folder. Then say that you switch to File Explorer. iSilo is still running, but is no longer the foreground application. In File Explorer, say that you navigate to the \My Documents\iSilo folder and delete a file there, then you would expect that file to also be removed from iSilo's document list since it is displaying the same folder. With the automatic refresh option on in iSilo, that is what will happen. With the automatic refresh option off, the deleted file will still be in the list unless you manually initiate a refresh.

Now, if you go back to version 4.01 of iSilo for Palm OS, then the situation is entirely different and the way the document lists worked between iSilo on Palm OS and Pocket PC were very much different. You can say that the new document list view starting in version 4.05 merged features from both Palm OS and Pocket PC worlds to create a "better" document list view.

In the old document list of iSilo for Palm OS, the document list could only show documents in a few limited locations, which contrasts with the new document list, that can show documents located anywhere. What iSilo did in the previous version was that everytime you started iSilo, it would actually iterate through every single file in the few limited locations to determine whether it needed to update its document list. To help with this process, iSilo maintained a database with an entry for every single file it found in the limited locations. iSilo could then check against its database with each iterated file to determine whether it needed to update the list or not. This was the automatic refresh available in the old document list.

The above descriptions are somewhat simplified and do not begin to address numerous other details and complexities involved, but should answer the basic question about the automatic refresh option.

[archituz]

Thanks for the reply. I get it.
Just to be clear, is Refresh is the same as Updating List....?
(It must be, because I get Updating List.. when I press Refresh)
Thanks again
Marty

[iSilo]

Refresh means to update the current displayed list. That means checking for deleted items, added items, and modified items.

[huailing]

Can this "updating" behaviour be changed to a manual one. It used to be a manual decision (or something that only occured after a hotsync) My documents rarely change whereas I would like to move between different folders etc without having to dismiss the updating dialog every single time.

In addition The update progress bar is quite annoying and slows down the whole process. I find that dismissing the dialog results in a significantly faster (3-5 times) sort time.

I have found this part of the new Isilo to significantly reduce the usability and more than cancels out the advantage of being able to use folders.